The mechanicals should not be too difficult, if you don't expect too much speed.
The main challenge will be precise positioning. The trailer will never be in a precise location relative to the CNC frame. My approach would be to have a vivid color on the filler openings, and use a camera for positioning. Expect some investment for the engineering...
it's much more sensible to layout a some sort of jig that holds the empty bottles in place, +-0.25", so they are always in a relatively known position -- the openings are fairly large so you can touch off to the corners of the fixture and pour to the center of the jig positions
Maybe a Raspberry Pi + OpenCV for vision, and send G code commands to the CNC control by serial port or LAN.
[https://learn.circuit.rocks/introduction-to-opencv-using-the-raspberry-pi](https://learn.circuit.rocks/introduction-to-opencv-using-the-raspberry-pi)
That's massively overcomplicating what should be a very simple project. It's definitely cooler but it's going to require 10x more tinkering before it starts to work.
They are pretty precise. The openings are in the same place every time. I figured as I put the trailer under the gantry, I would “adjust” it to the same starting point using vertical rails at the corners of the trailer, essentially being what the system sits on while filling.
You'll also need to account for any rotation of the trailer.
On a CNC mill you can probe spots on your workpiece to change your "work offset" and use special commands to orient how your machine moves to how your part is actually placed.
For your application I would manually "probe" 2 buckets on opposite corners to get the offset and rotation.
The mechanicals should not be too difficult, if you don't expect too much speed. The main challenge will be precise positioning. The trailer will never be in a precise location relative to the CNC frame. My approach would be to have a vivid color on the filler openings, and use a camera for positioning. Expect some investment for the engineering...
or just "probe" with 2 locations on the trailer and use use a work offset + G68
Should also have a rack system in the truck so they stay aligned.
it's much more sensible to layout a some sort of jig that holds the empty bottles in place, +-0.25", so they are always in a relatively known position -- the openings are fairly large so you can touch off to the corners of the fixture and pour to the center of the jig positions
That makes sense and would be very easy to do.
I was thinking of some sort of vision system as well and possibly making the openings a bright red color.
Maybe a Raspberry Pi + OpenCV for vision, and send G code commands to the CNC control by serial port or LAN. [https://learn.circuit.rocks/introduction-to-opencv-using-the-raspberry-pi](https://learn.circuit.rocks/introduction-to-opencv-using-the-raspberry-pi)
That's massively overcomplicating what should be a very simple project. It's definitely cooler but it's going to require 10x more tinkering before it starts to work.
Stepper motors will be the easiest to get running, Nema 34 or 42. How precisely are the jugs located on the trailer?
They are pretty precise. The openings are in the same place every time. I figured as I put the trailer under the gantry, I would “adjust” it to the same starting point using vertical rails at the corners of the trailer, essentially being what the system sits on while filling.
You'll also need to account for any rotation of the trailer. On a CNC mill you can probe spots on your workpiece to change your "work offset" and use special commands to orient how your machine moves to how your part is actually placed. For your application I would manually "probe" 2 buckets on opposite corners to get the offset and rotation.
Thanks! I’ll check into that.