The post 3D Tracking-Pen for Paint-Repair: An Introduction appeared first on Convergent Information Technologies.

The post User-Interface for Defect Marking appeared first on Convergent Information Technologies.

The post Defect Marking – the Procedure appeared first on Convergent Information Technologies.

The post Pen-based paint-repair cell – procedure appeared first on Convergent Information Technologies.

AUTOMAPPPS Defect Marking is a user interface from Convergent Information Technology GmbH which uses the AUTOMAPPPS RoboTrace Pen for marking defects or spots on a processing part. These defects get prepared for forwarding to AUTOMAPPPS AOB, which is used as underlying software to apply the needed paths (recipes) to process the them and created the necessary robot programs.

Prerequites

Before starting the defect marking process, ensure the following conditions are met:

• SteamVR is installed and operational
• RoboTrace Pen is available
• Calibration gauge is correctly positioned
• Base stations have a clear line of sight to the RoboTrace Pen and optional additional trackers
• Additional trackers (optional)

User Interface

The user interface requires SteamVR already running and the RoboTrace Pen already connected to it. During startup, it automatically connects to the available RoboTrace and sets up the connection to it.

Figure: AUTOMAPPPS Defect Marking User interface

Above Figure shows the interface with its relevant features. It contains a viewport which visualizes the working area (robot cell, conveyor, etc.) where the processing part, red fender in this case, is located. The view can be changed via mouse interaction (Left mouse click hold → pan the view, right mouse click hold → Zoom in and out, → Left and right mouse click hold → rotate view). The three different colored spheres represent defects selected on the workpiece. The colors indicate which button was pressed to mark them: silver is the Trigger button, black is the ApplicationMenu button and blue the Trackpad button. The color represents the button, which is used to press to mark a defect with the respective class. Each button represents a different class of defect marked, which is later used at AUTOMAPPPS AOB to determine which kind of paths are used for processing it. With a long click on either of the three mentioned buttons, the last marked defect gets removed.

In the lower right corner, a green rectangle highlights a CONFIRM button, which starts the calculation of the paths after the defects are set properly. This button can also be simulated by the red Grip button on the RoboTrace Pen. The above hovering Calibrate button (red rectangle) allows the extrinsic calibration of the RoboTrace Pen to the calibration tool. The process is described in chapter Calibration process.

In the upper right corner, a blue rectangle highlights a choice widget, which allows to select which workpiece part is currently in the working area. Based on the selection there, the visualization of the workpiece changes. Depending on enabled functionality, this choice widget can change to a button widget, which then opens a selection dialog. This is described in chapter Multiple Stations.

The yellow rectangle on the upper right part of the image highlight the legend, which shows which button (color) represents which class. Directly underneath the current station is visualized, only if multi station mode is enabled. On the lower left part, an orange rectangle highlight a Save startup view button, which allows to save the current view as default view at startup time of the application. Right above the Save startup view button, there is another one highlighted in a violet rectangle. This one allows to store a RoboTrace Pen for this application in case of a multi tracker scenario. This is explained in detail in chapter Multiple Tracker Scenario.

Multiple Stations

This functionality is optional and may not be enabled. It allows to have multiple multiple working areas (stations) within the process. An example would be a rotation table, where both sides of the table can be used for processing and one side is rotated in for processing, the second side is rotated out for marking the defects. This is supported and via a signal passed to the application, the empty workpiece is visualized as soon as the table rotated. This allows a fresh marking of defects while the other workpiece is processed. If this option is enabled and more than one station exists, the choice widget in Figure 1 exchanges to a button Select Workpiece and when pressed, it opens a choice dialog.

Figure : Choice dialog for the case of multiple stations

This choice dialog (Figure above) contains the respective station number and a choice widget per station number, which allows to select the workpiece per station.

Calibration Process

The calibration process is started via the button Calibrate (Figure 1). This opens another window, which describes the process in text form. The process itself is carried out in conjunction with the calibration gauge. This must be placed in the actual workspace in advance so that the potential work tool (robot, etc.) can also measure it. Then, use the pen to move to points P0, PX, and PY one after the other and confirm each one with the Trigger button (silver). Hold the RoboTrace Pen upright and don’t cover the view from the base stations to the RoboTrace Pen. The window displays the requirement for the next point as soon as the previous one has been successfully recorded. At the last point, the window closes as soon as the calibration has been successful.

Scenario : Multiple Trackers

It is possible to have multiple tracking devices connected to the SteamVR application. This sometimes improves drift stability for the 3D Pen. To prevent confusion for the application which tracker is used for marking the defects, it is now possible to save the respective RoboTrace Pen, which should be used for defect marking. First just connect only the wanted RoboTrace Pen to SteamVR and startup the application. Then the button shows a text Save Tracker LHR-XXX, whereas LHR-XXX the serial number of the used RoboTrace Pen is. Press the button to save it. When successfully saved, the button text changes to Clear Tracker LHR-XXX. This indicates, that only the RoboTrace Pen with this serial number is used for defects marking. Now the second (or more) trackers can be connected to the SteamVR application. At next startup, the application explicitly searches for a RoboTrace Pen with serial number LHR-XXX. If it does not find one, the connection fails.

In case a RoboTrace Pen should be replaced, just press the button saying Clear Tracker LHR-XXX. This is even possible when the stored RoboTrace Pen is not connected at all. After this, repeat the explained procedure for the new RoboTrace Pen.

When starting up the application without a RoboTrace Pen connected nor stored, the button shows No Tracker connected. This indicates that no tracker is connected to application to use at all.

The post Paint-repair Pen – Multi-Station / Multi-Tracker appeared first on Convergent Information Technologies.