Can recipes be used on other systems?

Introduction

In what follows, the base system refers to that on which a recipe was created and the target system is the system onto which you want to import that recipe.

An example is shown in Fig. 317 where the system on the right has a different camera position relative to the Asycube compared to the base system on the left.

../../_images/portability_base_target_schema.png

Fig. 317 Base system on the left, Target system on the right with the camera at a higher working distance

Important

The examples presented here are exaggerated to help illustrate how it works. If you plan to import a recipe to another EYE+ Controller, make sure the systems are as identical as possible.

Important

The camera and the Asycube must always be kept orthogonal. See Mounting the camera for more information.

Since EYE+ Studio 5.1.0, EYE+ supports the recipe portability between different setup using the same Asycube model. For instance, a recipe created on an EYE+ Controller (base system) using an Asycube 240 can be exported and then imported on an EYE+ Controller (target system) using also an Asycube 240. The differences linked to the camera positioning relatively to the Asycube (working distance and centering) will be accounted for automatically to guarantee a similar level of performance vision-wise.

Note

In the previous EYE+ versions, these export/import actions were allowed but no parameters would be adapted inside the recipe to make it work properly on the target system.

This feature can be useful in the following scenarios:

  • While duplicating a production line/machine to save on commissioning time and use the same recipes created on the original machine

  • On a machine with several Asycube and EYE+ to allow high flexibility by reusing the same recipes on different EYE+.

  • On a machine with several Asycube and EYE+ to produce the same parts in parallel.

How does it work?

During 8. Perform vision calibration, the following information is computed and retained in the recipe for portability purposes:

  1. Pixel/millimeter or pixel/inch scale calculation

  2. Region of interest definition (ROI)

Based on these parameters, EYE+ can then adapt the following parameters in the recipe:

  1. the area filter

  2. the custom region of interest (ROI) if any defined

  3. the pick point/angle models (including masks)

  4. the picking conditions

  5. the purge reference image

Warning

The Asycube settings are not adapted to the target system and may require fine-tuning to get to the same level of performance as the base system. The EYE+ Controller you import a recipe onto must have the same Asycube type as the base system. This is also the case for the purge vibration.

The screenshots below shows an example from the Pick Point Teaching - Results page. The recipe was created using the base system as shown on Fig. 318. The results after importing the same recipe on the target system and clicking the ACQUIRE A NEW IMAGE button are shown in Fig. 319.

../../_images/portability_pick_point_results_base.png

Fig. 318 Results page from the base system

../../_images/portability_pick_point_results_target.png

Fig. 319 Results page from the target system using the same recipe

Since the hopper configurations are stored on EYE+ and not in the recipe (see Hopper), the corresponding configuration on the target system will be used instead and may not be the same as that of the base system. It is hence important that the target system contains the same hopper configurations, in the same order as the base system.

The exposure times for the images used in a recipe are kept the same between systems and while EYE+ is pretty resilient to external lighting changes, make sure the lens is set to the recommended aperture on both setups (see lens aperture) to get the best performance.

Tip

To further improve robustness, we recommend using a bandpass filter on the camera lens.

Tip

If the candidate selection results are not satisfying on the target system, we recommend acquiring and classifying some more candidates.

Tip

If the advanced purge results are not satisfying on the target system, we recommend acquiring a new reference image on the target system.

This feature is also useful in case you need to move your Asycube relative to the camera (or the other way around), then you can simply perform the camera configuration again and all recipes will be automatically adapted to the new configuration.

If you import a recipe created with an EYE+ version inferior to 5.1 and that was not migrated (i.e. the base system was not upgraded to 5.1 before exporting the recipe) then it does not contain any of the system-specific vision information required to ensure the previously mentioned parameters are adapted. When you import the recipe on the target system, its settings will be used instead so it will effectively become the base system for this recipe. To get the information from the system the recipe was actually created on, simply make sure its EYE+ is up-to-date and import the recipe on it. You can then export it and move it to the target system.

Important

The recipe imported on the target system can be freely modified to account for specific variations on that system. This will not impact the recipe on the base system. Similarly, modifying the recipe on the base system will not impact a recipe already imported on a target system.