Method for calibrating a mounting device

1. A method for calibrating a mounting-device;

said mounting-device used for automatically mounting a contact-part into a connector-housing;

said contact-part attached to an electrical line;

said connector-housing defining a cavity into which the contact-part is inserted;

said method comprising the steps of:

providing the mounting-device which comprises:

a holder for the connector-housing;

the holder having a marking-carrier attached thereto,

a positioning-device that includes a moveable-gripper;

the movable-gripper including a marking-device;

the movable-gripper configured to insert the contact-part into the connector-housing;

a camera configured to capture an image of a portion of the holder; and

a control unit in communication with the positioning-device, the camera, and the moveable-gripper, said control unit configured to:

determine a position of the cavity based on the image; and

control the positioning-device such that the moveable-gripper inserts the contact-part into the cavity;

marking a plurality of marking-points on the marking-carrier using the marking-device, wherein the moveable-gripper is sequentially positioned based on predetermined coordinates stored in the control unit;

capturing the image of the plurality of the marking-points using the camera;

determining positions of the plurality of the marking-points based on the image using the control unit;

said positions indicative of an actual insertion-position of the contact-part into the connector-housing by the moveable-gripper; and

storing the positions of the plurality of the marking-points in a memory of the control unit.

2. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising the step of moving the moveable-gripper with the marking-device spaced apart from the marking-carrier in a displacement direction transverse to a marking-position.

3. The method according to claim 2 , further comprising the step of moving the moveable-gripper in an insertion-direction towards the marking-carrier after the moveable-gripper has reached the marking-position.

4. The method according to claim 3 , further comprising the step of determining the positions of the marking-points on the marking-carrier in relation to a reference-marking provided on the holder, said reference-marking identifiable by the camera.

5. The method according to claim 4 , further comprising the step of storing the position of the reference-marking in the memory.

6. The method according to claim 5 , wherein the marking-carrier includes a reference-body to the formed of sheet metal attached thereto, said reference-body defining a reference indicia selected from one of a punched recess and a lasered recess.

7. The method according to claim 6 , further comprising the step of moving the moveable-gripper to the reference-marking followed by the step of moving the moveable-gripper to the respective marking-position.

8. The method according to claim 7 , further comprising the step of marking the marking-points in rows and columns at a uniform distance from each other.

9. The method according to claim 8 , further comprising the step of marking a grid-like array of points on the marking-carrier by repeated row-wise and column-wise marking of the marking-points extending across an operation-area of the holder.

10. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the marking-carrier is marked at a mounting-station of the mounting-device, and wherein the step of determining the positions of the marking-points is performed at a measuring-station of the mounting-device separate from the mounting-station.

11. The method according to claim 10 , wherein the camera is successively moved to the individual marking-points by a camera-positioning-system during the step of capturing the image of the plurality of the marking-points using the camera, wherein the positions of the marking-points on the marking-carrier are each determined from a displacement-position of the camera-positioning-system and the position of the marking-point in the captured image.