A Low-Cost Automated Fastener Painting Method Based on Machine Vision

摘要

Fastener painting of aerospace structures, in particular legacy products, relies heavily on the skill or rather craftsmanship of the human operator. This process is time-consuming while automated operations with industrial robots can be a more efficient solution. Spray painting robots have been widely used in industry, however, they are not suitable for painting fasteners individually because it will cause a significant waste of materials. Thus, it is essential to develop proper tools and automated methods to replace manual work in order to reduce the cost and improve product quality. This research topic has been receiving more and more attention from both academia and industry. In this article, we present a low-cost and flexible solution for automated fastener painting using a painting dabber and machine vision. A specific nozzle for the dabber is designed to apply paint on fasteners. The system locates the fasteners on aerospace structures with a Cognex camera, then painting is done by the robot with off-line programming. Experimental results show the effectiveness and practicality of automated painting system developed in this paper.