In highly automated home appliance manufacturing lines, the outdoor unit assembly of air conditioners is one of the most critical stages. Among them, the precise and efficient installation of the compressor directly affects product quality and production throughput. Yet this step has long faced multiple challenges such as reflective surfaces, inconsistent part positions, and high takt time requirements.
This case takes you inside a real production-line upgrade, showing how advanced 3D vision empowers traditional assembly with intelligent transformation.
Project Challenges
In the original line, the compressor loading process faced three major issues:
Difficult Positioning:
Compressors often feature dark, reflective surfaces, making it hard for traditional 2D vision or manual positioning to reliably identify their exact location and orientation.
Tight Cycle Time:
The line was designed for a takt time of 9 seconds per unit. Any delay would cause congestion, requiring the vision system to complete detection and guidance within a very short timeframe.
Low Flexibility:
The production line needed to handle multiple compressor models with different sizes and shapes, demanding strong adaptability from the system.
The Solution
To address these pain points, the project adopted a fixed-mounted 3D laser galvanometer camera, giving the robot an “eye” for precise guidance.
The system workflow includes:
Vision Positioning
The 3D camera is mounted above two assembly stations. Once the conveyor brings the compressor tray into position, the camera performs a rapid scan to capture high-precision 3D point cloud data.
Intelligent Analysis
Built-in proprietary algorithms process the point cloud, accurately calculating the 3D coordinates and rotation of each compressor—unaffected by dark surfaces or reflections.
Robot Picking
The coordinate data is sent to the robot in real time, enabling it to precisely pick up the compressors and transfer them to the assembly position.
Accurate Assembly
The robot places each compressor into the pre-positioned base bolts with high accuracy, completing the assembly process.
Technical Highlights
In this project, the 3D vision system demonstrated outstanding performance:
Large View & High Accuracy:
Within a 1.2–3.0 m working distance, the system achieves ultra-wide coverage with ±1.2 mm recognition accuracy, ideal for multi-target positioning of large parts.
High-Speed Cycle:
From image capture to coordinate output, the entire process is completed within a few seconds, enabling stable ≤9-second takt time on the line.
99.9% Operational Stability:
The system adapts well to changing factory lighting, handles dark reflective surfaces with ease, and ensures continuous, stable production.
This project validates the maturity of 3D vision in high-speed, high-precision industrial environments. By delivering reliable detection and guidance, the system not only solves the compressor positioning challenge but also provides a replicable model for intelligent upgrades across the home appliance and broader manufacturing sectors.
As the technology continues to evolve, 3D vision will play an increasingly important role in driving the future of “Intelligent Manufacturing in the world.”
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