System and process for manufacturing laser marked elastomer components
A system for manufacturing elastomeric components is provided. The system may include a molding station having a mold configured to receive an elastomeric material, form a pad that includes a plurality of untrimmed elastomeric components, and cure the pad. The system may further include an automated marking station comprising a laser and a camera. The automated marking station may be configured to remove the cured pad from the molding station, present the cured pad to the laser to form a mark on each of the untrimmed elastomeric components, and present the cured pad to the camera to capture an image of each mark. A process for manufacturing the elastomeric components is also provided.
1 . A system for manufacturing elastomeric components, the system comprising:
a molding station comprising a mold, the molding station being configured to receive an elastomeric material, to form a pad comprising a plurality of untrimmed elastomeric components, and to cure the pad;
an inspection station comprising a processor and a camera; and
an automated marking station comprising a laser, the automated marking station being configured to remove the cured pad from the molding station, to present the cured pad to the laser to form a mark on each of the untrimmed elastomeric components, and to present the cured pad to the inspection station to capture an image of each mark with the camera,
wherein the processor is configured to determine a location of each mark on the elastomeric components, to determine that the location of the mark on one of the elastomeric components is not outside of a target area, and to reject the one of the elastomeric components based on the location of the mark on one of the elastomeric components not being outside of the target area.
2 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising a mixing station configured to compound the elastomeric material and deliver the elastomeric material to the molding station.
3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the molding station comprises a plurality of compression molds.
4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the mark is a data matrix code.
5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to decode each mark and record a unique identifier associated with each mark.
6 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising a cooling station configured to receive the cured pad following application of the mark to each untrimmed elastomeric component.
7 . The system of claim 6 , further comprising a robot configured to remove the cured pad from the cooling station and to deliver the cured pad to at least one of a trimming station, a washing station, or a packing station.
8 . The system of claim 7 , further comprising a second camera configured to capture a second image of the mark of at least one of the elastomeric components following processing by at least one of the trimming station or the washing station.
9 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to determine whether each mark on the elastomeric components is readable.
10 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the processor is configured to determine that the mark on one of the elastomeric components cannot be read, and the system is configured to reject the one elastomeric component based on the determination that the mark on the one elastomeric component cannot be read.
11 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising a trimming station configured to trim the pad to separate the elastomeric components after the image is captured.
12 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the automated marking station comprises a robot configured to remove the cured pad of untrimmed elastomeric components from the molding station.