Automating pouring process in precision casting

Abstract

Standing at the intersection of industry 4.0, most traditional manufacturers, especially those produce non-standard parts, are still facing the challenges from multiple aspects on the implementation of automations, that indicates a significant and necessary step towards their upgrading. The potential performance improvement that could be brought by the automation may be continuingly squeezed as the increasement of complexity when dealing with the various targets. This article is extended by a general concept of implementing automation on the metal pouring process of precision casting, aims to explore an efficient and robust automation solution with the integration of human-robots collaboration and the adoption of computer science techniques. The implementation emphasizes the reduction of unnecessary complexities from each working step, the applied algorithms, such as Object Bounding, Greedy Strategy and Last-In-First-Out, have been correspondingly tailored based on the characteristics of its engaged working steps and illustrated by the flowcharts. Both the adaptability and practicability of the automation are expected to be enhanced with the principles of constructing easy-interactive frames, allowing a certain degree of human intervention, and proactively utilizing the matured algorithms.