Dynamic Design Solutions, Inc. provided a system that will feed two strips of material, determine the length of each strip using a vision system coupled with a LVDT, make any adjustments necessary to each strip, and then re-inspect for the proper length, and then cut the strips.

The purpose of this project is to measure and cut a length of material.  The cut length will vary in size from approximately 50mm to 600mm long.  The tolerance on the length is +0/-2mm.  This machine will produce 30 parts per minute.

The material starts at the unwind on 2 rolls.  The unwind feeds material to fill a dancer in the heating section.  The heater softens the material to prevent the set or curl of the material from affecting the cut to length portion of the machine.

The cut to length system will include a feeding section that will consist of a belt and roller arrangement.  This will provide the ability to control the overall length of the material.  This station will include two (2) stepper/servo motors and the associated control components.  
 

The next portion of the system will be the clamping and cutting station. This station will include a motor, a cutter, and an actuator to cut and prepare the end of the material.  This station will have an AC motor and will use a blade to cut the material.

The last section will consist of a camera located on a movable stage, an LVDT and an area to support the material for measurement.  The measurement equipment will be located by the operator, based on the HMI display, which will indicate the cut length of the part currently being made.  The camera will send information on the cut length to the servo/stepper system and once the proper length is achieved, the part will be cut and sent in to the accept bin.  If after adjustment, the part cannot be brought into spec, the part will be rejected into a “bad” bin.  This station will include a track and some rollers that will both guide and restrain the product, so that the cut length is in tolerance for both the short and long lengths. 

The system will include a frame, mounting stage for the camera and light, a linear encoder with a positional display to adjust length, and a panel to house the PLC and camera hardware.

The machine will accurately measure the length of the part using a high resolution camera to within +/- .1 mm in a 1” x 1 ½” field of view.