Moonflower

More than a bin picking software

what is moonflower

Bin Picking, known as “presa da cassone” in Italian or “Griff in die Kiste” in German, is a process for picking objects from a bin and loading machines using robots and 3D vision systems.
Moonflower is our advanced random bin picking software solution. It is used for product 3D localization inside a bin.
Products are localized using 3D data provided by one of the supported scanners: fast and robust matching algorithms are exploited to find the 3D position and orientation of an object starting from its CAD model or even without model.
Moonflower generates a picking trajectory for reaching the product. It integrates with the robot program in order to efficiently solve complex localization and picking problems with high flexibility.
The picking trajectory is computed starting from the pose of the localized product, checking for collisions between the robot and the surrounding environment.
Moreover, when the shape and distribution of products inside the bin are very complex, an automatic extraction strategy can be defined for a product model. This allows the robot to exit the bin with the grasped part in a more efficient way.

what can i do with moonflower

Loading turning centers

Moonflower software is commonly used for machine tending.

Euclid Labs’ bin picking software solution can drive a robot that services two turning centers simultaneously, picking parts from two bins with different components. Depending on the layout and cycle time, the system can utilize either two cameras or a single camera that moves between the bins. A flexible gripper allows for almost instantaneous model switching. The entire system is easily programmed using a 3D CAD file.

Loading a panel bending machine

A specific part model is designed for the efficient handling of metal sheets, even those with thicknesses of just a few millimeters. By starting with a 3D or 2D drawing (.dxf, .geo, .hpgl) and quickly defining the gripping and placement parameters in a CAD file, you can seamlessly configure the robot for any machine. Additionally, a plugin is available for the palletizing of bent parts.

Picking a bunch of objects/Moving from box to conveyor

In certain scenarios, when a robot is already deployed for rapid part picking from a conveyor, the focus shifts to efficiently filling the conveyor with parts from a bin. In such cases, Moonflower Everest is the solution. It can be integrated with a cost-effective 3D camera, typically a Basler Time-of-Flight (ToF) camera, and a gripper capable of handling a bulk of parts, often utilizing a magnet. This configuration ensures an effective emptying of the bin, optimizing the overall workflow.

Picking from a FlexiBowl or similar system

Certain advantages of Moonflower could be crucial for your application involving a vibratory unit (such as FlexiBowl, Asyril, etc.): its ability to effectively distinguish flipped parts, ensure precise picking at various heights, and define multiple picking positions directly from a CAD file could provide the ideal solution for your current system.

Loading billets in an oven

The model for billet can be automatically generated from parameters, for both cylindrical and squared section types.
In many cases, the cycle time allows the incorporation of a camera on the robot end effector, allowing the system to efficiently serve multiple bins without incurring additional costs. This strategic integration enhances the overall cost-effectiveness and performance of the system, optimizing its ability to handle various types of billets seamlessly.

A plenty of tasks for your industry!

Marking the top (or bottom) of a group
Depalletizing bags
3D localization of pockets into trays for proper placement of components
3D robot guidance to milk cows
3D location of a connector to be plugged
Picking, handling and inserting cables, wires
3D assembly
Picking of O-rings or other flexible objects

Loading turning centers

Moonflower software is commonly used for machine tending.

Loading a panel bending machine

Picking a bunch of objects/Moving from box to conveyor

Picking from a FlexiBowl or similar system

Loading billets in an oven

A plenty of tasks for your industry!

Marking the top (or bottom) of a group
Depalletizing bags
3D localization of pockets into trays for proper placement of components
3D robot guidance to milk cows
3D location of a connector to be plugged
Picking, handling and inserting cables, wires
3D assembly
Picking of O-rings or other flexible objects

Benefits of moonflower

Moonflower, our bin-picking software, offers several advantages:

Flexible 3D Camera placement:
Moonflower allows a dynamic placement of the 3D camera, providing flexibility by enabling vision system movement between different bin positions or fixed to a robot arm based on the specific application needs.
Hardware independence
Our software is designed to be hardware-independent, meaning it seamlessly supports major robot manufacturers and vision systems suppliers. This versatility ensures compatibility and ease of integration with a wide range of robotic systems and vision equipment.
Multiple picking positions
Moonflower facilitates the definition of multiple picking positions, allowing for the efficient handling of various items within the bin. This capability is particularly useful in scenarios where objects need to be picked from different locations.

Path Planner with integrated simulation
The software incorporates a path planner that simulates each robot picking trajectory. This feature allows users to visualize and optimize the robotic arm’s movements, ensuring efficient and collision-free paths during the picking process.
Collision avoidance calculation
Moonflower includes a collision avoidance calculation for each trajectory, enhancing the safety and reliability of the bin-picking operation. This feature helps prevent collisions between the robotic arm and surrounding objects, minimizing the risk of damage and improving overall system performance.
User-Friendly Interface
Moonflower boasts a user-friendly interface, making it accessible and easy to use for operators and technicians. The intuitive design streamlines the setup process and provides a straightforward platform for configuring, monitoring, and managing the bin-picking tasks.
Plugin system for customizing the Bin Picking process
This system allows customization of a bin picking process through the use of plugins, which are small additional software modules. Plugins enable users to tailor the software’s functionalities to their specific needs, modifying aspects such as data management, object selection criteria, or robot trajectories. In this way, the system provides flexibility and adaptability in industrial automation for container picking.

In summary, Moonflower stands out for its versatility, efficiency, and user-friendly features, making it a robust solution for a wide range of bin-picking applications.

what is bin picking?

Strictly speaking, the bin-picking problem involves picking a part from a bin containing randomly or orderly arranged objects. However, in an industrial application, it is essential to expand the analysis to include the subsequent placement of the object elsewhere. The placement phase can significantly impact the project analysis, introducing constraints in gripper design or causing a deadly difference in cycle time.
Examining the bin picking process is crucial, as the placement aspect may pose challenges that need to be addressed. This consideration becomes particularly pertinent when contemplating the design of the gripper or assessing the overall cycle time, where even slight variations can have substantial consequences.
It is common to refer to “Robot Vision” by Berthold and Horn (MIT, 1986) as the starting point for discussions on bin picking in industrial applications .
Despite being hailed as a potential revolution, progress in robot bin picking was historically limited by the absence of 3D sensors offering the necessary resolution and speed, computational power, and expertise in tackling pose estimation and path planning challenges.

It is evident that, while software is, at least in principle, universal, and a vision system can address a wide range of parts, the robot end effector usually needs to be designed for each specific application. Robot grasping with contact compliance is still not evolved enough to allow the use of hand-like end effectors at real application speeds.
Certainly, the need for customization can diminish the flexibility advantage of a bin picking system compared to other loaders. However, if this is the primary reason for the slow market growth, we should observe a broader range of applications in cases where designing a gripper device is more straightforward.
For example, many classes of machines are loaded with relatively symmetrical objects (such as billets in an oven for hot stamping or parts for turning centers), making it possible to create a general gripping system for them. Another clear example is a system that has to load a limited number of objects (sometimes only one) throughout its complete lifetime.
Furthermore, all semi-structured bin picking scenarios have simpler gripping requirements since only a very limited number of poses need to be handled. Therefore, there is undoubtedly a much larger market than the one currently addressed, even when considering the maximum weight associated with the end effector design challenge.

A bin-picking system is built by providing a robot workcell with:

MOONFLOWER 3D VISION SYSTEMS

The general output of a 3D camera is a point cloud.
Current 3D vision systems are usually divided into four groups: stereo cameras, structured lights, laser triangulation, and time of flight.
Euclid Labs is sharing data about the best scanners in the market on:
www.industrialrobotics.org.
Moonflower supports a variety of different 3D vision cameras to provide the best solution in terms of performance and price for the many automated bin-picking tasks that robot integrators and OEMs are facing today.
Some examples of 3D vision systems are:

Keyence RB-1200: bin picking of billets in a large box.
Photoneo Phoxi M: bin picking of o-rings.
Zivid Two: localization of household appliances for automatic testing with robots.
Wenglor MLWL: bin picking of thin metal sheet.
Mech Mind LSR L: bin picking of large plastic panels.
Mizar 1600: bin picking of large and shiny body in white components.
Visionerf Cirrus 1200: bin picking of automotive axis for grinding robot cell.
Basler Blaze: bin picking of large spherical caps.

moonflower Gripper

Vacuum systems, magnets, and mechanical grippers are all suitable for bin-picking applications, and in some cases, they could be used simultaneously. However, a bin-picking gripper has to address some unique challenges:

The volume of interference must be minimized to reduce the probability of collisions with surrounding parts in the box.
The end effector must reach all box corners with the greatest freedom of orientation.
There should be a method for picking in all possible poses. Another constraint arises from the deposit configuration: the gripper must match it, or the time cycle must be sufficient to allow a tool change.

Failure in gripper design will lead to deadlock conditions where parts are localized, but there are no available picking positions. If these conditions occur only at the lower corners, it may represent an acceptable limitation in terms of emptiness efficiency.

Moonflower software supports multiple grippers and multiple TCPs in each gripper.

moonflower Robot

Many different robot brands are available, and many of them distribute arms with varying kinematics. In Euclid Labs’ bin-picking software, 6-axis robots, both puma-like and non-puma configurations, are available. External axes are optional (a linear unit may be a very practical way to extend bin numbers, typically coupled with a camera on the robot arm). Additionally, 4-axis palletizers are supported for straightforward situations where the pose is fixed.
Moonflower already support different robot brands such as: Fanuc, KUKA, ABB, Staübli, Yaskawa Motoman, Denso, Epson, Nachi…

It is often undervalued how much selecting a higher payload robot can impact cycle time. In this video, the cycle time increased from 6.5 seconds to 7, 7.8, and 12.2 seconds.