Can it be a novel approach? … to detect printing failures by observing the item being printed using computer vision? I was reading about image processing in the OpenCV and computer vision communities. And just thought, maybe, looking at the “product” being printed could also allow detection or maybe even prevention of failures. like a closed-loop control of the printed material, similar to an artist does with his sculpture or painting… correcting and perfecting with time.
Yes Sound possible, but I think if you would use it as a closed loop.
Absolut position sensors on each axis, and a sensor that scans a little area around the extruder opening would better, more accurate.
But a camera would be more easier und cheaper.
And maybe you can built such way that it can als be used as a laserscanner
Many slicers can preview the print, let you see how it should look at any given point in time. If the slicer can be given accurate camera location, orientation, focal length, lighting and material information it should be possible to render an image that very closely matches what the camera would see. Diff the two and alarm when big deviations are seen. That’s quite a bit of compute power unless you do it say once every layer, but should be fine if you’re printing from a PC not off card. A good idea if you don’t have a human in attendance watching the first few layers and you’re doing long expensive prints. Like when building a house you need good foundations. Whenever I’ve had a print fail it’s often been due to an issue with layer 1. Either not enough skirt/brim and many layers later it’s curling up, bed too clean, layer 1 too thick, temperature not right, etc.
I posted this a while ago. I have also had thoughts of using the webcam to scan a barcode or QR code for filament identification.
https://plus.google.com/113737869224798118032/posts/7DkuZdgoHvi
Wow. Thanks for the responses.
Sebastian you’re right. It should be closed loop. I don’t know the details of how it could be implemented but the idea is I guess worth thinking. The hardware and software would be complicated but I guess it’s within the limits of technology.
Mark: I am not a builder (unfortunately), but what you have stated from experience is so important. Submitting a print job is I guess a stressful wait, especially until you make sure that it is printing fine. This computer vision could decrease that level of stress. Maybe start beeping when it detects a failure while you turn your back to the 3d printer.
Neil: I just saw your post now. I guess we are talking about the same concept. Having a computer (system) help monitor (actively or just relaying video) and even maybe correct fixable deficiencies, would be amazing. Maybe somebody is already working on that? I don’t know. It would be an exciting project.
Re closing the loop, if you look back through past posts you’ll see another computer vision idea - using a small temperature sensor to read the print bed or top layer temperature so that fans can be more accurately controlled to maintain optimal adhesion.