Objective
Systems currently exist for the laser cutting of complex shapes, at high speeds, using pre-stored paths. However, when the cut has to be positioned precisely with respect to features on the material, the cutting is normally performed manually as there are currently no systems available capable of tracking complex edges at high speeds and adaptively modifying the cut position. This tracking is especially important for the cutting of pliable materials, for example the cutting of embroidered patterns from their base material.
This research programme aims to develop an high speed laser cutting machine with a high speed vision based following capability which will allow the following and cutting of complex patterns from pliable and rigid substrate.
This research will have applications in European textile industries where they are having to overcome competition from non-European sources by the Introduction of heavily automated machinery The system will also have applications in the European automotive industry where composite structures are now being manufactured reinforced with embroidered components.
The workprogramme contains three major activities namely:
1. The development of a high speed vision and image processing system capable of analysing 1000 images per second.
Currently available commercial seam following sensors have an update time of 20 ms (this is a function of the mains frequency 50 HZ). The proposed system has a much faster update time of 1 ms per frame. During this update time a detailed analysis of the image is carried out using parallel processing (transputer - T9000) techniques. Quantitative values of the seam shape and the width of cut will be produced by the image processing algorithms. This is in far more detail than obtained by the present slow sensors system.
2. The development of an advanced control system to allow
modifications from the vision system to update the cutting path in real time.
Current controllers for laser cutting systems use stored data to construct the cutting path.The proposed controller will be receiving information from the vision system. This information will be used to adaptively modify the path in real time. To achieve this will require the development of novel control strategies as current control systems normally limit the update rate to 50 Hz, whilst this system is intended to operate at 1000 Hz.
3. The development of a gantry system capable of cutting complex shapes at speeds of up to 1000 mm/s.
The current gantry tables for cloth cutting have been developed for use with pre-stored paths. This allows the accelerations of the cutting head to be precisely controlled so that it will always remain within tolerance. However, the uncertainty in the path position will require constant recalculations of the accelerating forces. Therefore the gantry developed will have to be capable of withstanding these high forces whilst remaining rigid. This will require an in-depth study of the dynamics of the gantry movements and the cutting table. The proposed sensors for the feature following will require the orientation to be in-line with the direction of cutting. Therefor a wrist mechanism will require development which will house the camera system. This wrist will have to rotate at high speeds (15 rev/s) when cutting at high speed, to allow the system to cut around complex shapes with a high degree of accuracy (0.1 mm).
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- engineering and technology electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering electronic engineering control systems
- engineering and technology electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering electronic engineering sensors optical sensors
- engineering and technology mechanical engineering vehicle engineering automotive engineering
- engineering and technology materials engineering textiles
- natural sciences physical sciences optics laser physics
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Programme(s)
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Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
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Coordinator
59127 Walincourt
France
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