Carton Combination¶

Carton combinations can be divided into two types, which are combined according to the carton pose and combined according to the customized reference frame.

Type	Carton Combination Strategy
Combined according to the carton pose	Free
Combined according to the carton pose	According to Obj Coord Sys
Combined according to the customized reference frame	According to Customized Coord Sys

Combined according to the Carton Pose¶

Description of the Combination¶

By default, the X-axis of the carton pose is parallel with the long side of the carton, and the Y-axis is parallel with the short side, as shown below.

../../../../../_images/box_coordinate_system.png

The pose combination can be divided into “free combination”, “combined along the X-axis of the carton”, and “combined along the Y-axis of the carton”. The figure below shows the top view of the cartons.

Combined along the X-Axis of the Carton

Carton Combination Strategy: According to Obj Coord Sys Obj Coord Sys Restriction: Along Axis X

There are 5 carton combinations as shown below, which are [1,2], [3,4], [5,6], [7,8], and [9,10].
Combined along the Y-Axis of the Carton Carton Combination Strategy: According to Obj Coord Sys Obj Coord Sys Restriction: Along Axis Y

There are 4 carton combinations as shown below, which are [1,3,5,7], [2,4,6,8], [9], and [10].
Free Combination Carton Combination Strategy: Free

The free carton combination strategy will combine as many cartons as possible in a combination automatically, and the combination may be made along the X-axis or Y-axis of the cartons.

There are 3 carton combinations as shown below, which are [1,3,5,7], [2,4,6,8], and [9,10].

Parameter Descriptions¶

Dist Thre for Carton Combination:

Select a carton, and use the direction of the X-axis or Y-axis in the carton reference frame as the combination direction to find other cartons that can be combined.

Assuming that the distance between two cartons along the X-axis is a, and the distance along the Y-axis is b, the combination distance is .

Cartons with the combination distance that is within this threshold can be combined, or cannot be combined otherwise.

Combine along the X-axis of the cartons:
Combine along the Y-axis of the cartons:

Angle Thre for Carton Combination:

The acceptable difference in the rotation angle of the combined cartons around the Z-axis. Cartons with angle differences smaller than this threshold can be combined, or cannot be combined otherwise. The figure below shows the top view of the cartons, and the angle threshold for carton combination is shown in the figure below.

../../../../../_images/angle_threshold.png

Carton Size Scale Ratio for Combination:

Usage scenario: When parallel suction cups are used to pick multiple cartons, the detected carton dimensions may not be accurate. If the detected carton is large or the cartons are overlapping, it will be hard to determine whether the suction cup covers the non-target cartons in offset picking. Under this circumstance, reducing the size of the detected boxes can avoid the impact of dimension errors.

Value range: 0–100%. The default value is 90%. It is not recommended to use a value less than 80%.

Hint

This parameter can be used with the Picking Entire Row in Picking Count to improve performance.

Combined according to the Customized Reference Frame¶

Description of the Combination

You can customize a reference frame in the 3D simulation area. The following examples are based on the reference frame A.

According To Customized Coord Sys can be divided into Along Axis X and Along Axis Y.

Along Axis X: There are 6 carton combinations as shown below, which are [1,2], [3,4], [5,6], [7,8], [9], and [10].
Along Axis Y: There are 3 carton combinations as shown below, which are [1,3,5,7], [2,4,6,8], and [9,10].

Carton Combination Logic

Determine whether the angle between the carton and the target axis of reference frame A is smaller than the Angle Thre of Customized Coord Sys, i.e., whether the carton is parallel or perpendicular to the combination direction.
Combine the selected cartons along the carton axis.

The following exmple shows how to combine the cartons along axis X in the customized reference frame A.

The software will calculate the angles between the X-axes of each carton and the reference frame, and then calculate the angles between the Y-axes of each carton and the reference frame. The relatively small angles will be compared with the Angle Thre of Customized Coord Sys, if the angle is below the threshold, the corresponding carton can be combined, or else it cannot be combined.

As shown in the figure below, the angles of carton 9 and 10 are beyond the threshold, and the angles between the X-axes of other cartons and the reference frame A are within the threshold.
Combine the cartons which are filtered by the angle threshold along the axis of its own reference frame. The combination logic is restricted by Dist Thre for Carton Combination and Angle Thre for Carton Combination.

Parameter Descriptions¶

../../../../../_images/customize_parameter.png

Customized Coord Sys Pos X/Y/Z: The customized X/Y/Z coordinates (relative to the world frame) of the origin in the customized reference frame
Customized Coord Sys Rot Around Z: The rotation angle of the customized reference frame around Z-axis (relative to the world frame)
Angle Thre of Customized Coord Sys: The maximum angle between the X/Y-axis of the carton and the target axis of the customized reference frame. If the angle is less than the threshold, the carton can be combined. Otherwise, the cartons cannot be combined.
Dist Thre for Carton Combination: See above.
Angle Thre for Carton Combination: See above.
Carton Size Scale Ratio for Combination: See above.