The disclosure relates to automated coating application.
Coatings are extensively used in a wide variety of industrial applications to coat various surfaces. Certain surface geometries, including curvatures, may make providing a coating having a desired pattern and thickness difficult and slow.
In some examples, a system includes a transfer roller including a roller surface, a cliché configured to present a layer of coating material to the roller surface, a roller manipulator configured to move the transfer roller relative to the cliché and an object including a plurality of raised features, and a computing device. The computing device may include a manipulator control module configured to control the roller manipulator to move the transfer roller to contact the cliché with a first predetermined force, move the transfer roller relative to the cliché to receive coating material from the layer of coating material while substantially maintaining the first predetermined force between the transfer roller and the cliché, move the transfer roller to contact the object with a second predetermined force, and move the transfer roller relative to the object while substantially maintaining the second predetermined force between the transfer roller and the object to coat each raised feature of the plurality of raised features in a predetermined surface region of the object with a predetermined thickness of the coating material.
In some examples, a technique includes controlling, by a computing device, a first motion of a transfer roller to contact a cliché with a first predetermined force. The technique may further include controlling, by the computing device, a second motion of the transfer roller across the cliché to receive on a roller surface of the transfer roller a layer of coating material presented on the cliché while maintaining the first predetermined force between the roller surface and the cliché. In some examples, the technique also includes controlling, by the computing device, a third motion of the transfer roller to contact an object comprising a plurality of raised features with a second predetermined force. The example technique additionally may include controlling, by the computing device, a fourth motion of the transfer roller relative to the object while substantially maintaining the second predetermined force between the transfer roller and the object to coat each raised feature of the plurality of raised features in a predetermined surface region of the object with a predetermined thickness of the coating material.
In some examples, a computer readable storage medium includes instructions that, when executed, cause at least one processor to control a first motion of a transfer roller to contact a cliché with a first predetermined force. The computer readable storage medium may additionally include instructions that, when executed, cause the at least one processor to control a second motion of the transfer roller across the cliché to receive on a roller surface of the transfer roller a layer of coating material presented on the cliché while maintaining the first predetermined force between the roller surface and the cliché. In some examples, the computer readable storage medium further includes instructions that, when executed, cause the at least one processor to control a third motion of the transfer roller to contact an object comprising a plurality of raised features with a second predetermined force. In some examples, the computer readable storage medium also includes instructions that, when executed, cause the at least one processor to control a fourth motion of the transfer roller relative to the object while substantially maintaining the second predetermined force between the transfer roller and the object to coat each raised feature of the plurality of raised features in a predetermined surface region of the object with a predetermined thickness of the coating material.
The details of one or more examples are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, objects, and advantages will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.
The disclosure describes systems and techniques for coating a coating material on substantially only (e.g., only or nearly only) a plurality of raised features of an object. A system may include a transfer roller, a cliché, and a computing device. The computing device may control a first motion of the transfer roller to contact the cliché with a first predetermined force, and may control a second motion of the transfer roller across the cliché while substantially maintaining (e.g., maintaining or nearly maintaining) the first predetermined force. For example, the computing device may control the transfer roller to roll across the cliché to receive a coating material from a layer of coating material presented by the cliché. The computing device may control a third motion of the transfer roller to contact the object including the plurality of raised features with a second predetermined force, and may control a fourth motion of the transfer roller relative to the object while substantially maintaining (e.g., maintaining or nearly maintaining) the second predetermined force. For example, the computing device may control the transfer roller to roll across a predetermined surface region of the object to coat each raised feature of the plurality of raised features in the predetermined surface region with a predetermined thickness of the coating material. In some examples, the coating material includes a binder for temporarily or permanently bonding metal or alloy surfaces. In this way, by controlling the roller to move relative to the object while substantially maintaining the second predetermined force, the systems and techniques described herein may deposit a substantially uniform (e.g., uniform or nearly uniform) coating and substantially only (e.g., only or nearly only) surfaces of the plurality of raised features, even in instances in which a surface of the object in the predetermined surface region is curved.
In some examples, object 160 may include metal or alloy. For example, object 160 may include a Ni-, Co-, Fe-, or Ti-based alloy or superalloy. In some examples, object 160 may be a molded, forged, or casted component, such as, a component of a high temperature mechanical system. In some examples, object 160 may include a predetermined surface region 162 on a surface 166 of object 160, as seen in
Predetermined surface region 162 includes a plurality of raised features 164. Each raised feature of plurality of raised features 164 has a feature surface 167. In some examples, each raised feature of plurality of raised features 164 may define a substantially similar shape. In other examples, at least one raised feature of plurality of raised features 164 may define a different shape than at least one other raised feature of plurality of raised features 164. The shape of plurality of raised features 164 may refer to the shape, or geometry, of plurality of raised features 164 in any dimension or cross-sectional plane.
In some examples, each raised feature of plurality of raised features 164 is an attachment point to attach object 160 to another component. For example, plurality of raised features 164 may include pedestals or pillars to which another metal or alloy component is to be attached. In some examples, object 160 may be attached to another component by, for example, at least one of adhesive bonding, diffusion bonding, welding, or brazing plurality of raised features 164 to the other component.
Coating material 132 may include at least one transferable medium or composition that may be transferred from one surface to another. In some examples, coating material 132 may include a binder that may temporarily or permanently bond metal or alloy surfaces and may be applied to feature surfaces 167 of plurality of raised features 164. Thus, in some examples, coating material 132 may be used to temporarily bond object 160 to another component for further processing, or may be used to permanently bond object 160 to another component for fabricating a structure.
In some examples, coating material 132 may include additives such as pigments or fluorescing agents that modify the visibility or appearance of surfaces coated with coating material 132, or for allowing object 160 to be inspected after coating features surfaces 167 with coating material 132 to verify the application of coating material 132 to desired portions of object 160.
In some examples, coating material 132 may be applied substantially only to a respective feature surface 167 of each raised feature of plurality of raised features 164. For example, after applying coating material 132 including binder to plurality of raised features 164, the other component may be brought in contact with plurality of raised features 164 of object 160, so that coating material 132 temporarily or permanently bonds object 160 to the other component.
Cliché 120 may present coating material 132 so that transfer roller 140 may receive coating material 132 from cliché 120 before applying coating material 132 to plurality of raised features 164. Cliché 120 includes a contact surface 122 for presenting coating material 132 as a layer of substantially uniform (e.g., uniform or nearly uniform) thickness. In some examples, cliché 120 includes a printing plate, for example, an engraved or etched printing plate. In some examples, contact surface 122 may include a metal surface, or a polymer surface on a metal backing, the metal or polymer surface engraved or etched with a predetermined pattern, for example, by UV or other etching techniques. In some examples, the etched pattern may include a plurality of grooves that assists in retaining a layer of coating material 132 with a substantially uniform (uniform or nearly uniform) thickness across contact surface 122, or in transferring a uniform layer of coating material 132 to a roller surface 142 of transfer roller 140, or both, at least by retaining a predetermined amount of coating material 132 within each groove. In some examples, the number of grooves per unit area of contact surface 122 may be determined based on the density and viscosity of coating material 132. For example, the number of grooves per unit area may be inversely proportional to one or both of density or viscosity of coating material 132. In some examples, contact surface 122 may include stripes of coating material with stripe thickness and spacing corresponding to size and spacing of raised features of plurality of raised features 164. While in some examples, cliché 120 includes a plate, as illustrated in
In some examples, system 100 includes computing device 180 for controlling at least one of a roller manipulator 148, an object manipulator 168, a cup manipulator 138, or vision system 170. For example, computing device 180 may include a manipulator control module for controlling one or more of roller manipulator 148, object manipulator 168, and cup manipulator 138, and a vision system control module for controlling vision system 170. In some examples, computing device 180 may include, for example, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a workstation, a server, a mainframe, a cloud computing system, or the like. Computing device may communicate with components of system 100 via one or more networks, such as one or more wired or wireless networks. Computing device 180 is described below in examples with reference to
In some examples, system 100 includes cup manipulator 138 for moving doctoring cup 130 relative to cliché 120 and an adjacent surface 124. In some examples, computing device 180 may control cup manipulator 138 to translate doctoring cup 130 along at least one selected direction, or rotate doctoring cup 138 about at least one axis, or both. In some examples, cup manipulator 138 includes a 6 axis robot.
Doctoring cup 130 contains a volume of coating material 132. In some examples, doctoring cup 130 is inverted so that the volume of coating material 132 is shielded from the environment by the body of doctoring cup 130, and so that the volume of coating material 132 is substantially only (e.g., only or nearly only) exposed to cliché 120 or adjacent surface 124. Such shielding may prevent premature drying or curing of the volume of coating material 132. In some examples, doctoring cup 130 includes doctoring edge 134, which maintains a substantially sealed (e.g., sealed or nearly sealed) sliding relationship with contact surface 122 of cliché 120 or adjacent surface 124 as cup manipulator 138 moves doctoring cup 130 between cliché 120 and adjacent surface 124 to control release of coating material 132 from doctoring cup 130 to contact surface 122 on cliché 120. Doctoring edge 134 also provides a layer of coating material 132 having a substantially uniform (e.g., uniform or substantially uniform) thickness on contact surface 122 of cliché 120. Thus, with each pass of doctoring cup 130 over cliché 120, contact surface 122 on cliché 120 is re-supplied with coating material 132 from doctoring cup 130. In some examples, doctoring cup 130 is replenished with coating material 132 from time to time.
In some examples, computing device 180 may control cup manipulator 138 to occasionally (e.g., periodically) reciprocate doctoring cup 130 between contact surface 122 and adjacent surface 124. In some examples, computing device 180 may control cup manipulator 138 and roller manipulator 148 to co-ordinate the reciprocation of doctoring cup 130 across contact surface 122 with each contact of transfer roller 140 with object 160, so that computing device 180 causes cup manipulator 138 to move doctoring cup 130 to resupply contact surface 122 with coating material 132 while computing device 180 causes roller manipulator 148 to move transfer roller 140 to coat plurality of raised features 164 with coating material layer 136. For example, transfer roller 140 may be sized based on curvature of object 160 within predetermined surface region 162, to allow coating curved regions in a direction along a rotational axis of transfer roller 140.
In some examples, system 100 may not include computing device 180, or manipulator control module 252, and motion of doctoring cup 130 may be controlled by mechanical mechanisms, for example, by guiding the movement of doctoring cup 130 along fixed cam tracks, slots, grooves, or other mechanically defined paths, and by mechanically imparting a predetermined fixed or variable velocity and force to doctoring cup 130, for example, using weights and springs. Alternatively, system 100 may include computing device 180, manipulator control module 252, or both, and computing device 180 or manipulator control module 252 may control motion of doctoring cup 130 in combination with at least one mechanical mechanism. For example, computing device 180, manipulator control module 252, or both may control a linear motion of doctoring cup 130, while a mechanical mechanism may control the force or spacing between doctoring cup 130 and contact surface 122.
In some examples, system 100 includes an object manipulator 168 for holding and moving object 160 relative to transfer roller 140. In some examples, computing device 180 may control object manipulator 168 to translate object 160 along at least one selected direction, or rotate object 160 about at least one selected axis. For example, object manipulator 168 may include a 6 axis robot. In some examples, computing device 180 may control object manipulator 168 to impart a selected linear speed to object 160 relative to transfer roller 140. In some examples, computing device 180 may control object manipulator 168 to reposition object 160 between or during multiple passes of transfer roller 140 relative to object 160 so that a selected region of object 160 is coated. In some examples, computing device 180 may control each pass of transfer roller 140 to overlap to a predetermined extent with a previous pass of transfer roller 140. In other examples, computing device 180 may control each pass of transfer roller 140 to substantially avoid overlapping with previous passes of transfer roller 140.
In some examples, system 100 includes roller manipulator 148 for controlling a motion of transfer roller 140 relative to cliché 120 and object 160, as seen in
In some examples, system 100 may not include computing device 180, or manipulator control module 252, and transfer roller 140 may be controlled by mechanical mechanisms, for example, by guiding the movement of transfer roller 140 along fixed cam tracks, slots, grooves, or other mechanically defined paths, and by mechanically imparting a predetermined fixed or variable velocity and force to transfer roller 140, for example, using weights and springs. Alternatively, system 100 may include computing device 180, manipulator control module 252, or both, and computing device 180 or manipulator control module 252 may control motion of transfer roller 140 in combination with at least one mechanical mechanism. For example, computing device 180, manipulator control module 252, or both may control a linear motion of transfer roller 140, while a mechanical mechanism may control the force or rotational motion of transfer roller 140.
Transfer roller 140 includes a roller surface 142, which may receive a layer of coating material layer 132 from cliché 120 and transfer it to object 160 as shown in
In some examples, as computing device 180 controls roller manipulator 148 to cause transfer roller 140 to move across contact surface 122 while substantially maintaining (e.g., maintaining or nearly maintaining) the first predetermined force, roller surface 142 of transfer roller 140 collects a layer of coating material 132 and depletes coating material 132 on contact surface 122 of cliché 120. In some examples, roller surface 142 retains coating material 136 as computing device 180 controls roller manipulator 148 to move from cliché 120 towards object 160, as shown in
In some examples, in combination with controlling roller manipulator 148 to move transfer roller 140, computing device 180 may control object manipulator 168 to translate object 160 along at least one selected axis or rotate object 160 about at least one selected axis to position object 160 relative to transfer roller 140 and facilitate coating selected portions of object 160 with coating material 132. For example, computing device 180 may control object manipulator 168 to translate object 160 along at least one selected axis or rotate object 160 about at least one selected axis to facilitate access to surface regions of object 160 by transfer roller 140. For example, object manipulator 168 may provide object 160 with at least one degree of freedom of movement that is different from a degree of freedom of movement provided by roller manipulator 148 to transfer roller 140.
In some examples, system 100 may not include computing device 180, or manipulator control module 252, and object 160 may be controlled by mechanical mechanisms, for example, by guiding the movement of object 160 along fixed cam tracks, slots, grooves, or other mechanically defined paths, and by mechanically imparting a predetermined fixed or variable velocity and force to object 160, for example, using weights and springs. Alternatively, system 100 may include computing device 180, manipulator control module 252, or both, and computing device 180 or manipulator control module 252 may control motion of object 160 in combination with at least one mechanical mechanism.
Thus, in some examples, computing device 180 may control one or more of roller manipulator 148, object manipulator 168, and cup manipulator 138 to provide a coating of a selected thickness of coating material 132 on a respective feature surface 167 of each raised feature of plurality of raised features 164 in predetermined surface region 162 of object 160. System 100 may be used for automated application of coating material to substantially only the respective feature surface 167 of each raised feature of plurality of raised features 164, without operator or other human intervention, even if predetermined surface region 162 includes a curved surface of object 160, including compound curved surfaces.
In some examples, predetermined surface region 162 may include the entire external surface of object 160, and system 100 may coat substantially only the respective feature surface 167 of each raised feature of plurality of raised features 164 across the entire surface of object 160, while leaving unraised surface regions of object 160 between each raised feature of plurality of raised features 164 substantially uncoated (e.g., uncoated or nearly uncoated). In some examples, computing device 180 controls roller manipulator 148 to maintain transfer roller 140 substantially tangential (e.g., tangential or nearly tangential) to any curvature of predetermined surface region 162 while contacting object 160. This may allow application of coating material, for instance, binder, substantially only (e.g., only or nearly only) to plurality of raised features 164 so that object 160 may be bonded with another component substantially only (e.g., only or nearly only) at the respective feature surface 167 of each raised feature of plurality of raised features 164.
In some examples, system 100 includes vision system 170 for visually inspecting object 160 before, during, or after coating, so that a coating characteristic may be evaluated. In some examples, vision system 170 includes a camera 172. In some examples, coating material 132 may exhibit an optical characteristic (for example, at least one of color, saturation, visible intensity, infrared intensity, or ultraviolet intensity), and camera 172 may include one or more of color, monochrome, visible light, infrared, or ultraviolet sensors to detect where on object 160 coating material 132 is applied. Vision system 170 or computing device 180 may determine where on object 160 coating material 132 is applied by comparing images acquired before, during, or after coating. In some examples, vision system 170 or computing device 180 may determine a coating characteristic such as area of coating, a number of coated raised features of plurality of raised features 164, an average thickness of coating material layer 136 on plurality of raised features 164, or the like.
In the example illustrated in
At least one processor 240 is configured to implement functionality and/or process instructions for execution within computing device 180. For example, at least one processor 240 may be capable of processing instructions stored by storage device 248. Examples of at least one processor 240 may include, any one or more of a microprocessor, a controller, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or equivalent discrete or integrated logic circuitry.
At least one storage device 248 may be configured to store information. At least one storage device 248, in some examples, may include a computer-readable storage medium or computer-readable storage device. In some examples, at least one storage device 248 may include a temporary memory, meaning that a primary purpose of at least one storage device 248 is not long-term storage. At least one storage device 248, in some examples, may include a volatile memory, meaning that at least one storage device 248 does not maintain stored contents when power is not provided to at least one storage device 248. Examples of volatile memories include random access memories (RAM), dynamic random access memories (DRAM), static random access memories (SRAM), and other forms of volatile memories known in the art. In some examples, at least one storage device 248 is used to store program instructions for execution by processors 240. At least one storage device 248, in some examples, may be used by software or applications running on computing device 180 to temporarily store information during program execution.
In some examples, at least one storage device 248 may further include one or more storage devices configured for longer-term storage of information. In some examples, at least one storage devices 248 may include non-volatile storage elements. Examples of such non-volatile storage elements include magnetic hard discs, optical discs, floppy discs, flash memories, or forms of electrically programmable memories (EPROM) or electrically erasable and programmable (EEPROM) memories.
Computing device 180 may further include at least one communication unit 244. Computing device 180 may utilize at least one communication unit 244 to communicate with external devices (e.g., roller manipulator 148, object manipulator 168, cup manipulator 138, or vision system 170) via one or more networks, such as one or more wired or wireless networks. At least one communication unit 244 may include a network interface card, such as an Ethernet card, an optical transceiver, a radio frequency transceiver, or any other type of device that can send and receive information. In some examples, the communication connections may include network links, such as Ethernet, ATM, or other network connections. Such connections may be wireless and/or wired connections. In other examples, the communication connections may include other types of device connections, such as USB, IEEE 1394, or the like. Other examples of such network interfaces may include WiFi radios or Universal Serial Bus (USB). In some examples, computing device 180 utilizes at least one communication unit 244 to wirelessly communicate with an external device such as a server.
Computing device 180 also includes at least one input device 242. At least one input device 242, in some examples, may be configured to receive input from a user through tactile, audio, or video sources. Examples of at least one input device 242 include a mouse, a keyboard, a voice responsive system, video camera, microphone, touchscreen, or any other type of device for detecting a command from a user.
Computing device 180 may further include at least one output device 246. At least one output device 46, in some examples, may be configured to provide output to a user using audio or video media. For example, at least one output device 246 may include a display, a sound card, a video graphics adapter card, or any other type of device for converting a signal into an appropriate form understandable to humans or machines. In some examples, computing device 180 outputs a representation of one or more of object 160, predetermined surface region 162, plurality of raised features 164, feature surface 167, coating material layer 136 on object 160, transfer roller 140, cliché 120, and doctoring cup 130.
Computing device 180 may include force calculation module 250, for calculating the first predetermined force, the second predetermined force, or both. Computing device 180 may include manipulator control module 252, for controlling one or more of roller manipulator 148, object manipulator 168, and cup manipulator 138. Computing device 180 may include vision system control module 254, for controlling vision system 170. Force calculation module 250, manipulator control module 252, or vision system control module 254 may be implemented in various ways. For example, one or more of force calculation module 250, manipulator control module 252, or vision system control module 254 may be implemented as software, such as an executable application or an operating system, or firmware executed by one or more processors 240. In other examples, one or more of force calculation module 250, manipulator control module 252, or vision system control module 254 may be implemented as part of a hardware unit of computing device 200. Functions performed by force calculation module 250, manipulator control module 252, and vision system control module 254 are explained below with reference to the example flow diagram illustrated in
Computing device 180 may include additional components that, for clarity, are not shown in
The technique of
In some examples, roller surface 142 may include stripes or other patterns of coating material such that roller surface 142 exhibits a substantially uniform (e.g., uniform or nearly uniform) thickness of coating material 132 only on portions of roller surface 142. Thus in some examples, roller surface 142 may only carry material 132 on a portion of roller surface 142. In other examples, roller surface 142 may carry material 132 on substantially an entire surface of roller surface 142.
The technique of
In some examples, the technique of
In some examples, manipulator control module 252 may control roller manipulator 148 to control a fourth motion of transfer roller 140 relative to object 160 while substantially maintaining the second predetermined force between transfer roller 140 and object 160 (380). In some examples, the second predetermined force is calculated to cause transfer roller 140 to coat a respective feature surface 167 of each raised feature of plurality of raised features 164 with a selected thickness of coating material layer 136, as shown in
In some examples, the technique of
In some examples, the technique of
In some examples, the technique of
In some examples, based on the image data received from vision system 170, computing device 180 may control system 100, for instance, by controlling one or more of roller manipulator 148, object manipulator 168, and cup manipulator 138, to correct deviations from selected coating characteristics, or to stop coating when selected coating characteristics are achieved.
In some examples, the technique of
Example systems, techniques, and computer readable storage media for coating a coating material on substantially only (e.g., only or nearly only) a plurality of raised features of an object have been described. For example, a computing device may control a transfer roller to roll across a predetermined surface region of the object to coat each raised feature of the plurality of raised features in the predetermined surface region with a predetermined thickness of the coating material. The coating material may include a binder for temporarily or permanently bonding metal or alloy surfaces. In this way, by controlling the transfer roller to move relative to the object while substantially maintaining a predetermined force, the systems and techniques described herein may deposit a substantially uniform (e.g., uniform or nearly uniform) coating and substantially only (e.g., only or nearly only) surfaces of the plurality of raised features, even in instances in which a surface of the object in the predetermined surface region is curved.
The techniques described in this disclosure may be implemented, at least in part, in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. For example, various aspects of the described techniques may be implemented within one or more processors, including one or more microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or any other equivalent integrated or discrete logic circuitry, as well as any combinations of such components. The term “processor” or “processing circuitry” may generally refer to any of the foregoing logic circuitry, alone or in combination with other logic circuitry, or any other equivalent circuitry. A control unit including hardware may also perform one or more of the techniques of this disclosure.
Such hardware, software, and firmware may be implemented within the same device or within separate devices to support the various techniques described in this disclosure. In addition, any of the described units, modules or components may be implemented together or separately as discrete but interoperable logic devices. Depiction of different features as modules or units is intended to highlight different functional aspects and does not necessarily imply that such modules or units must be realized by separate hardware, firmware, or software components. Rather, functionality associated with one or more modules or units may be performed by separate hardware, firmware, or software components, or integrated within common or separate hardware, firmware, or software components.
The techniques described in this disclosure may also be embodied or encoded in a computer system-readable medium, such as a computer system-readable storage medium, containing instructions. Instructions embedded or encoded in a computer system-readable medium, including a computer system-readable storage medium, may cause one or more programmable processors, or other processors, to implement one or more of the techniques described herein, such as when instructions included or encoded in the computer system-readable medium are executed by the one or more processors. Computer system readable storage media may include random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), programmable read only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM), electronically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, a hard disk, a compact disc ROM (CD-ROM), a floppy disk, a cassette, magnetic media, optical media, or other computer system readable media. In some examples, an article of manufacture may comprise one or more computer system-readable storage media.
Although various examples have been described with reference to different figures, features of the examples and the examples themselves may be combined in various combinations. For example, the roller manipulator, cup manipulator, or object manipulator may include springs or weighted mechanisms or other mechanical components capable of applying a predetermined fixed or variable force. In some examples, the roller, doctoring cup, or the object may be move along a fixed cam track, slot or groove defining a predetermined path. Other combinations of the techniques described herein are also contemplated by this disclosure and will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art.
Various examples have been described. These and other examples are within the scope of the following claims.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/184,090, filed Jun. 24, 2015 and titled, “AUTOMATED COATING APPLICATION,” the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
62184090 | Jun 2015 | US |