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INDUSTRIAL FINISHING: ROBOTICS

3D PERCEPTION AND COATING ROBOTICS:

THE FIRST STEP TO AUTONOMY

By Robert Ravensbergen

An example of an HMI-driven robotic powder
oating and dispensing robots have been primarily deployed in coating cell, allowing for responsiveness to doors of various
Cavenues like automotive and consumer electronics. While dimensions, but on a purpose-built basis.
Source: https://youtu.be/VkGlZrpCix8?t=72
significant optimization has been achieved in these verticals, most
industries have tended to go without robots because of changeover
limitations around programming, precision fixturing and the need Attempts to Make Robots More Versatile
for process know-how to achieve the best quality output. Robotic versatility has long been attempted and often realized only
3D vision has been a key feature of automatic machine control for in highly specialized scenarios. The 3D vision used to identify and
years now, but the advent of advanced sensor fusion techniques in ship items from fulfillment centers, for instance, has been available
the 2010s finally enabled 3D perception to become an economically in principle for decades – it is only today that human-level object
viable machine control solution for most manufacturers. More than recognition is being worked on to entirely displace the repetitive and
simply perceiving an object’s position in Cartesian space, 3D percep- draining tasks that come in the logistics space.
tion allows for understanding of an object’s dimensions, surface fea- When it comes to coatings, quasi-robotic type applications have
tures and orientation. long existed in the form of automated paint and powder coating
Combined with the appropriate software, this “window” into booths. Typically, these solutions come with reciprocating arms that
your factory operations can actually allow coating robots to can be calibrated to a particular range depending on the dimensions
become autonomous, removing the limitations around program- of the objects they’re coating. They may also be enabled to adapt in
ming and more that have kept most manufacturers from using real process time to a part’s dimensions by use of a light screen or
them consistently. Initially, this has evolved from the use of HMIs other rudimentary 3D vision mechanism.
(Human-Machine Interfaces) to a more broadly addressable tech- While these are high-throughput solutions, they are not neces-
nology set. Today, the ability of machines to perceive objects in sarily suited to manufacturers who have high quality finish expecta-
ways similar to human interactions within factory environments tions, or who often may need to avoid drip and unevenness
means that many of the most well-known limitations of coating challenges that come with paint applications.
robots are finally being overcome. In this context, the articulation of robotic arms – functioning on
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