Depalletizing with position accuracy

Automated removal of cylinder heads from wire mesh boxes The task Identical cylinder heads are delivered to the production of an automobile manufac-turer. These cylinder heads are piled up in wire mesh boxes in up to five different layers. The robot vision system VIRO automatically provides the handling system with the necessary data for depalletizing each layer of cylinder heads. Once a layer is removed, a signal transfers this information together with the position of the separat-ing layer, which is removed as well. Benefit The major advantage is the automation of a formerly strenuous manual handling of heavy castings. Due to the varying position tolerances of the cylinder heads an automated depalletization without machine vision technology is impossible. The ma- chine vision system recognizes a possible collision of the gripper before it starts moving. This saves time- and cost-intensive downtime. Implementation The camera is mounted above the robot and overlooks the entire box. At first the robot vision system VIRO inspects the box for deformations. Then the positions of the cylinder heads in the first layer are detected. Inconsistent reflections of the heads’ surface (unpolished or shiny) as well as sources of light interference are compensated by robust software algorithms. Finally, the optimal order of removal is determined by the accessibility of the cylinder heads.

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