Vision/Stepper motor system advice.

[BB1980]

Hi Everybody,

I have spent lots of time trying to find some info online and read some very interesting topics here but just hoping to get some advice on a project of mine so any help, advice or pointers would be hugely appreciated.
I need to set up a vision system to read the angle position of a part on a conveyor, I then need a stepper/servo motor system to re-orientate the part to 0deg. This is a part of a college project so I'm hoping to keep it as simple and cheap as possible. I will be using cognex vision system and either RsLogix or Siemens S7 plc which I have access to already. The vision application should be straight forward enough I hope but I'm hoping to get a recommendation for a cheap, user friendly motor system that will be relatively easy to configure to PLC/Cognex. The part to be orientated will be small and light similar to a coin, and the system will be a test rig set up so it wont be doing much work.
Just looking to get some advice on any particular motor/drive which will be easy enough to configure? and if anyone has done similar projects, if so is there much preference between RsLogix/cognex or Siemens/Cognex?
Thanks a million for any advice

 

[gscure]

There are still some questions that need to be answered.

The main question is how much re-orienting needs to be done?

Does the part only need to be rotated? What type of end of arm tool needs to be used to re-orient the part?

This could be something as simple as using two stepper motors. One to lower the tool (z axis)with a suction cup on the end and then using the other to rotate the part. It could get as complicated as 5 steppers to control the different actions. This would be the x, y and z axis for moving the part to proper location and the end of arm tool could use two for rotation and gripping.

 

[BB1980]

Hi,

Thanks for reply,
The movements will be small, varying up to 45 degrees. I was planning on using a linear cylinder to raise/lower the head with vacuum cups on the end.

Thanks.

 

[gscure]

That sounds good. In that case I would say that you could use one stepper motor to rotate the head with the suction cup. If you used a stepper with a belt attached to the suction cup head you could have 360 degree of movement and write an algorithm using the feedback from the vision system to determine the amount of rotation.

As for preference I use RSLogix just because I am more familiar with it. Siemens is more predominant in your part of the world so it would be up to you on which you use. They are both very capable of doing what you want to do.

 

[BB1980]

Thanks for that, I'm actually more comfortable with RS Logix myself so will go with that. Would you have any recommendations or preference for a stepper motor that is relatively easy to set up and configure to RS Logix?
Thanks for replies, I'm sure I'll be back pleading for advice when I get into it more

 

[gscure]

There are a huge amount of stepper motors out there. The biggest thing to consider is what kind of PLC you are using and its capabilities. That will determine what kind of a stepper motor and driver you want to use. Some steppers drives will take a direction and pulse signal that you generate with the PLC. Other drives will take a serial command that can set direction and size of the move in an integer format. I have used Galil but they are pricey. Go online and you can find all kinds of information on what you are looking for.