Packaging and logistics involve a complex supply chain connecting sellers and customers for the transfer of retail goods. The chain requires package measurement, quality inspection, and material handling optimization that many companies currently carry out manually. With the increase in retail purchases made online, the need for manufacturers to automate their warehouse processes is a top priority. Smart 3D sensors are key to these processes for greater factory automation.
The benefits of greater automation include improved manufacturing and fulfillment; higher production and order processing rates that yield higher throughput with increased product quality and cost-efficiency. 3D smart sensor technology such as the Gocator 2490, an ultra-wide field-of-view 3D laser profiler is designed to solve a variety of packaging and logistic applications.
Package dimensioning
Dimensional measurements are essential to many processes in packaging and logistics, including sizing, sorting, palletization, and de-palletization. The industry has shifted from assessing shipping fees strictly by weight to charging by dimensional weight––making accurate dimensional measurement more critical than ever.Â
Application example – Box volume dimensioning
Here the engineer needs to measure a large rectangular cardboard box and provide an accurate volumetric measurement for determining dim-weight. These boxes are typically traveling on a conveyor at speeds of 2 meters per second.Â
For this application, a single wide field of view Gocator 2490 smart sensor is able to scan and measure complete box dimensions (WxHxD) with a 1 m X 1 m scan area, at a rate of 800 Hz and providing resolutions of 2.5 mm in all three dimensions (X, Y, Z)––even at conveyor speeds of 2 meter per second. Competing camera-based systems typically offer just 3-5 mm resolution in the X, Y, and Z axes.
Filling and inspection
The 2490 sensor can also be used for scanning open boxes to determine fill volume based on 3D height map data. By subtracting the fill volume from the total available box volume, the sensor generates a measurement of the ‘void volume’ that can be communicated downstream and used to guide the repacking of contents to achieve the optimal fill level.
Gocator 2490 scanning for correct fill levelIt is worth noting that 2D vision solutions cannot generate height map data, and therefore cannot be used to make critical volumetric measurements.
Package sizing and sorting
Once the label is applied and scanned, the package is transported to a collection station or a warehouse for receiving, sizing, and sorting. Gocator 3D smart sensors are used to automate this process. Finished boxes are scanned and measured for correct sizing, then automatically sorted into the appropriate locations. Built-in timer or encoder tag and track logic ensures each box is correctly identified when it arrives at the sorting station.
Two Gocator 2490 sensors scanning boxes for downstream sizing and sortingRobotic palletization – depalletization
Dimensional measurements are required for both robotic palletization and depalletization in fulfillment applications. In this application, the Gocator 2490 sensor is mounted to a robotic arm to scan a loaded pallet and provide precise positional coordinates to accurately lift the boxes and place them on the outbound conveyor.
Robot-mounted Gocator 2490 used for depalletizationNote that the sensor’s 2-meter field of view is able to cover the entire pallet and its contents in a single scan. The sensor offers built-in robot calibration algorithms and communicates data in real time directly to the robot.
Package traceability
When a package is picked up, a barcode label is applied and scanned for traceability (i.e., for determining the package’s location at any given waypoint in the logistics chain). 3D smart sensors can be used to automate the scanning, reading, and tracing of these barcodes.
Barcode label reading
1D barcodes are the most prevalent format for labeling and tracking the location and movement of packages in today’s logistics warehouses. To address this application, built-in software running in Gocator allows the engineer to scan and read data encoded in 1D (linear) barcodes or OCR data from a 3D scan, without the need for 2D vision cameras or specialized barcode readers.
Package quality inspection
In addition to dimensional gauging, packages need to be inspected for surface defects. Receiving and sorting centers usually conduct this type of quality inspection, checking for defects such as dents, tears, punctures, and folds.
Surface Defect Detection
Two Gocator 2490 sensors can be used to scan the exposed sides of each box traveling on a conveyor, providing real-time defect detection to flag damaged packages. Gocator detects defects such as punctures, tears, dents, and folds. Pass/fail control decisions are stamped with time and position information for every box. Each ‘decision tag’ represents an outcome to be communicated to downstream sorting equipment.
Smart 3D Sensors vs. Time of Flight (ToF) and LIDAR
LIDAR and Time-of-Flight are two commonly used 3D vision solutions in packaging and logistics applications based on distance measurements determined from pulsed transmit and reflection timing of a moving laser point source. The Gocator 2490 3D smart sensor offers key advantages over both of these competing technologies.
Two Gocator 2490 scanning boxes for surface defect inspectionHigher accuracy. The point-to-point Z resolution (height) of 3D smart sensors is at least 10 times more accurate than time-of-flight (ToF) technologies. 3D smart sensors also provide a higher density of data laterally (i.e., across the profile) for more accurate measurement.
Surface defect detectedHigher speed. LIDAR involves rotating a mirror to move a light spot across the target surface, which places significant limitations on its scan rate. In comparison, a smart 3D laser line profiler has built-in light projection and optimized design delivering 4X faster speeds than ToF vision solutions, with the possibility for even greater speed enhancements through PC or hardware-based acceleration. This allows for greater product throughput when installed in a high-speed automatic packaging line.
Easier to Integrate. More cost-efficient. Once mounted, aligned, and fed with a conveyor encoder, a 3D smart sensor does all the processing, measurement, and control decision-making onboard the sensor, with no industrial PCs or external controllers required. Unlike LIDAR and ToF, these sensors do not require a high level of integration or the need to combine data from multiple devices, making them simpler and more cost-effective for field service than component-based vision systems.
Thus with a Gocator 3D smart sensor, you can
- Accurately measure package dimensions for sizing and sorting
- Determine void space
- Seamlessly integrate with industrial robots to stack/unstack pallets
- Decode 1D and 2D barcodes for track and trace
- Detect package defects such as dents, tears, punctures, and folds
