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AI.Rob is a brand of intelligent machines for industry 4.0. Vissavi.tech is one of the companies developing solutions for intelligent machines under the Ai.Rob brand. Vissavi.tech is responsible for vision solutions in this group.

Viveka 3D vision systems for robots

Vissavi.tech released the Viveka 3D stereovision system for robots in Ai.Rob Automated THT Station with Smart Odd-Form Components Insertion, assembled THT electronic components on PCBs in electronics manufacturing factories. Patent-pending Viveka 3D solution due to the unique vision algorithm architecture, provides sub-millimetre accuracy with split-second image processing speed and enables six-axis robots to easily and accurately determine location electronic components and precisely assemble them.

AI.Rob is a brand of intelligent machines for industry 4.0. Vissavi.tech is one of the companies developing solutions for intelligent machines under the Ai.Rob brand. Vissavi.tech is responsible for vision solutions in this group.

In the electronics industry, we have different classes of odd-shape insertion machines which assemble THT (through-hole) electronic components on PCBs. However, there remains a group of electronic components which are still assembled manually by workers, such as some transformers, chokes, relays, resistors, capacitors, fuses, connectors and others.

Automated production of this group of components has not yet been possible so far due to the lack of repeatability of their dimensions, possible deviations in the position of the leads, their sometimes relatively large size (up to several cm) and the method of feeding these components – often on trays.

This causes the position of the components picked by the robot gripper from the tray to be random, as the lying components can be shifted/rotated in 3 axes. To insert such a component with the robot arm it is necessary to determine the detailed geometry of the leads including their position and offset in order to insert them precisely in the holes of the PCB and not to damage the PCB and the metallization of the hole or the component itself.

Existing 3D vision systems either did not provide the required measurement accuracy (minimum 0.03 mm in 3 axes) for this task or, with sufficient accuracy, had too long acquisition and processing times (maximum 300 milliseconds required). The precision of the measurement has a direct impact on the speed of the 6-axis robot. In the case of inaccurate measurement, the robot with the insertion algorithm must accurately locate the hole, which takes longer. This results in a longer work cycle for the robot than for a manual insertion process by a worker.

As no market solution met the required working criteria, it was necessary to develop an in-house vision and software solution called VIVEKA 3D to support robotic applications .

VIVEKA 3D is an open modular system for image analysis, a cloud-connected measurement platform to which different modules can be added. The VIVEKA 3D is an ROS (Robot Operating System) based environment for vision systems.

The Vision PC (hardware and software) is the brain of the VIVEKA 3D system, and measurement modules such as THT Check Component are the eyes of the solution (dedicated cameras or illuminators and the corresponding software module).

The THT Check Component module for detecting the position of component leads is one of the first in a group of vision measurement modules designed by the engineers at Vissavi.tech. Further measurement (PCB hole detection, component edge detection, detection of required shapes) are under development.

The environment is also equipped with modules for monitoring system operation, self-check module, module for reporting results and errors to the local database and/or the cloud, service module, calibration module and a module for adding new components for measurement directly by the user.

Thanks to the image from two independent cameras in the in-house software, a spatial model of the electronic component’s leads is built, where deviations in their position can be traced. After developing advanced, complex and innovative mathematical vision algorithms from scratch, it was possible to achieve a stereovision system that fully meets the requirements.

Automated THT Station with Smart Odd-Form Components Insertion manufactured in 2021 by another company from Ai.Rob Group: Fitech with the Viveka3D vision system was shown at Productronica 2021 in Munich; it passed tests and was deployed on the customer’s production line placing tens of thousands of components with a yield of 99.8 %.

This has eliminated errors in the component assembly process and has significantly increased production quality while reducing production costs. Such high yield allows to avoid the situation of missing or wrong assembly of THT electronic components on a PCB, which happens during manual assembly. This results in significant savings, as PCBs with such errors during manual assembly are detected only at the end of the production process, when repair is impossible or expensive.

In 2022, according to the orders placed, a dozen new Automated THT Station equipped with the VIVEKA 3D system will be deployed on customers’ production lines.

Dariusz Hebisz CEO Vissavi.tech (Ai.Rob Group)