Methods and Systems for Sensor-Based Deburring

Abstract

A sensor may be used to determine the presence of burrs on a workpiece, and a blasting media may be applied to the workpiece to lessen or eliminate burrs. The blasting media may be applied to the workpiece using a nozzle. The sensor may be scanned over the workpiece, and one or more burr metrics may be determined to qualify or quantify the presence of burrs. Based on the one or more burr metrics, a blasting schedule may be determined and performed. One or more characteristics of the workpiece may be checked after deburring to determine the extent of alteration, if any, of the workpiece caused by deburring.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A deburring system comprising:
 a reference surface configured to secure a workpiece;   a sensor configured to detect burrs on the workpiece and provide an output;   a nozzle configured to direct a flow of a blasting media to the workpiece; and   processing equipment coupled to the sensor, and wherein the processing equipment is configured to control the flow of the blasting media based on the output of the sensor.   
     
     
         2 . The deburring system of  claim 1 , wherein the sensor comprises a camera configured to capture an image of the workpiece. 
     
     
         3 . The deburring system of  claim 1 , wherein the processing equipment is further configured to control the flow of the blasting media based on a computer program specific to the workpiece, wherein the computer program comprises a dimension of the workpiece. 
     
     
         4 . The deburring system of  claim 1 , further comprising at least one motion control actuator mechanically coupled to the reference surface and the nozzle, wherein the at least one motion control actuator is communicatively coupled to the processing equipment, and wherein the processing equipment is further configured to control the at least one motion control actuator to move the reference surface relative to the nozzle. 
     
     
         5 . The deburring system of  claim 1 , further comprising at least one motion control actuator mechanically coupled to the reference surface and the nozzle, wherein the at least one motion control actuator is communicatively coupled to the processing equipment, and wherein the processing equipment is further configured to control the at least one motion control actuator to move the nozzle relative to the reference surface. 
     
     
         6 . The deburring system of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a blasting media container configured to contain the blasting media;   a blasting media delivery system coupled to the blasting media container and the nozzle, wherein the blasting media delivery system configured to deliver the blasting media to the nozzle.   
     
     
         7 . The deburring system of  claim 6 , wherein the blasting media container is configured to contain dry ice, and wherein the blasting media delivery system further comprises a blade to shave dry ice into dry ice particles, and wherein the blasting media delivery system is further configured to entrain the dry ice particles with a gas flow and deliver the entrained particles to the nozzle. 
     
     
         8 . The deburring system of  claim 6 , wherein the blasting media delivery system further comprises a flexible hose coupled to the nozzle. 
     
     
         9 . The deburring system of  claim 1 , further comprising a display screen, wherein the processing equipment is further configured to display information on the display screen based at least in part on the output of the sensor. 
     
     
         10 . The deburring system of  claim 1 , wherein the processing equipment is further configured to determine a burr metric based at least in part on the output of the sensor. 
     
     
         11 . The deburring system of  claim 10 , wherein the processing equipment is further configured to control the flow of the blasting media based at least in part on the burr metric. 
     
     
         12 . The deburring system of  claim 1 , further comprising a metrology sensor for measuring a characteristic of the workpiece. 
     
     
         13 . The deburring system of  claim 12 , wherein the metrology sensor for measuring the characteristic of the workpiece comprises at least one of a flatness sensor for measuring flatness, a dimension sensor for measuring a dimension, a roughness sensor for measuring a surface roughness. 
     
     
         14 . A deburring module for deburring a workpiece, the deburring module comprising:
 at least one sensor configured to sense a burr on the workpiece and provide an output; and   a nozzle configured to the deliver a flow of a blasting media to the workpiece, wherein the flow of the blasting media is controlled by processing equipment based at least in part on the output of the at least one sensor.   
     
     
         15 . The deburring module of  claim 14 , further comprising a frame mechanically coupled to the nozzle and the at least one sensor, wherein the frame is configured to be coupled to a motion control actuator. 
     
     
         16 . The deburring module of  claim 14 , wherein the nozzle is further configured to be coupled to a blasting media delivery system, wherein the blasting media delivery system is controllable using the processing equipment. 
     
     
         17 . The deburring module of  claim 14 , wherein the at least one sensor comprises a camera configured to capture an image of the workpiece. 
     
     
         18 . The deburring module of  claim 14 , wherein the at least one sensor comprises a first sensor and a second sensor, wherein the first sensor is configured to sense the burr on the workpiece, and the second sensor is configured to determine a characteristic of the workpiece. 
     
     
         19 . The deburring module of  claim 14 , wherein the blasting media comprises a particulate entrained in a gas flow. 
     
     
         20 . A method for deburring a workpiece, the method comprising:
 sensing a parameter of the workpiece using a sensor;   determining a burr metric based at least in part on the parameter; and   delivering a blasting media to at least one portion of the workpiece based at least in part on the burr metric.   
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein the sensing the parameter of the workpiece comprises capturing an image of the workpiece using a camera. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 21 , further comprising applying image processing to the image using processing equipment. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein the delivering the blasting media to the at least one portion of the workpiece further comprises controlling a flow of the blasting media. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein the parameter comprises one of a distance, an area, a shape, and a volume. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein the sensing the parameter, the determining the burr metric, and the delivering the blasting media are performed during a single pass over the workpiece. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein the sensing the parameter is performed during a first pass over the workpiece, and the delivering the blasting media is performed during a second pass over the workpiece, wherein the determining the burr metric is performed prior to or during the second pass. 
     
     
         27 . A method for deburring a workpiece, the method comprising:
 sensing one or more parameters of the workpiece using a sensor;   determining, using processing equipment, one or more burr metrics based at least in part on the output of the sensor;   performing a blasting schedule based on the one or more burr metrics, wherein the blasting schedule comprises delivering a controlled flow of a blasting media to the workpiece; and   determining one or more workpiece characteristics based on one or more diagnostic tests.   
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the sensing the parameter and the performing the blasting schedule are performed during a single pass over the workpiece. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the sensing the parameter is performed during a first pass over the workpiece, and the performing the blasting schedule is performed during a second pass over the workpiece, wherein the determining the one or more burr metrics is performed prior to or during the second pass. 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the one or more diagnostic tests comprise an optical flatness test. 
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the one or more diagnostic tests comprise an optical dimension test. 
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the one or more diagnostic tests comprise a surface roughness test. 
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the one or more diagnostic tests comprise using a touch probe to measure one or more surface points of the workpiece, wherein the one or more surface points are used to determine a dimension of the workpiece. 
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 27 , further comprising determining whether to repeat the steps of  claim 27  based at least in part on the one or more workpiece characteristics. 
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 27 , further comprising receiving a reference corresponding to the workpiece, wherein the reference comprises dimension information of the workpiece.