Autonomous Painting System with Part Recognition

Image MATCH 2D is an autonomous painting system with part recognition, made up of dedicated software and a pair of photoelectric barriers, used on the line to identify the 2D surfaces of parts and associate the corresponding painting program.

In a first working phase, the paint jobs are taught for each type of part, after which it is simply necessary to load the supply line with the parts to be painted. The Image MATCH 2D autonomous painting system will take care of recognizing the parts, matching them to the corresponding teachings and painting them.

This accessory is suitable for both liquid and powder industrial painting and finishing systems.

How the autonomous painting system with part recognition works

The operation of Image MATCH 2D is based on two distinct phases. In the teaching phase, the operator slides each type of part in front of the pair of photoelectric barriers: the software captures the two-dimensional image of the part and saves it as a model, associating it with the corresponding painting program. This phase is repeated for each type of part handled by the line, thereby building a library of models recognizable by the system.

In the production phase, when a part passes in front of the photoelectric barriers, the autonomous painting system with part recognition automatically compares the image read with the models saved in the library and, in the event of a match, automatically recalls the associated painting program, without any manual intervention by the operator.

This automatic reading and matching mechanism makes it possible to handle parts of different shapes mixed together on the same line, since it is the system itself, not the operator, that determines which painting program to apply to each part passing through. The result is more flexible production, in which switching reference between one part and another does not require line stops or manual reconfiguration.

The library of models created during the teaching phase can be expanded at any time, simply by teaching the system a new type of part: it is therefore not necessary to reconfigure the autonomous painting system with part recognition from scratch every time production introduces a new reference. This makes Image MATCH 2D suitable both for lines with a limited number of recurring parts and for productions with a constantly evolving catalog of references, typical of contract or job-shop painting.

The autonomous painting system with part recognition in Lesta industrial painting systems

Image MATCH 2D integrates with Lesta’s other accessories and management systems within complete industrial painting systems, helping to automate part recognition and painting program selection throughout the entire production cycle.

For parts that require three-dimensional rather than two-dimensional recognition, Lesta also offers Image MATCH 3D pro, the version of the system designed to identify parts with volume and not just flat surfaces.

This accessory is widely used in lines dedicated to industrial wood painting, where panels, doors and flat-shaped furniture components are often processed in mixed batches on the same line: thanks to automatic part recognition, the system independently selects the correct painting program for each item, keeping productivity high even when the sequence of parts being processed cannot be predicted in advance.

For the operator, adopting an autonomous painting system with part recognition means a simplified workflow: there is no longer any need to manually select the correct program before each part, nor to maintain a rigid order on the supply line. It is enough to load the parts, even mixed together, letting Image MATCH 2D recognize them and automatically start the corresponding painting, reducing the risk of human error in choosing the program.