Method and device for installing a wire guide on a torch head for a coating system

An installation device for installing a wire guide on a torch head for a coating system for thermal coating, including:

• a support configured to detachably affix the torch head at a defined position on the support;
• an image capture device attached to the installation device such that the image capture device is disposed in a first predetermined spatial relationship with respect to the torch head attached at the defined position, the image capture device being configured to capture at least one image that includes at least one portion of the wire guide positioned on the torch head and at least one portion of a predetermined component or region of the torch head;
• a processing unit configured to process the at least one image captured by the image capture device;
• and
• a display unit configured to display a result of the processing by the processing unit,
• wherein
• the processing unit is configured to:
• process the at least one image to identify at least one first feature of the wire guide, wherein a position (x1) of the wire guide on a first axis (X) in the at least one image can be determined based on the first feature, and to identify at least one second feature of the predetermined component or region, wherein a reference position (M) of the predetermined component or region in the at least one image can be determined based on the second feature;
• determine the position (x1) of the wire guide on the first axis (X) based on the at least one identified first feature;
• determine the reference position (M) of the predetermined component or region based on the at least one identified second feature;
• and
• determine a distance (d) between the position (x1) of the wire guide on the first axis (X) and a coordinate (Mx) of the reference position (M) on the first axis (X), and
• wherein the display unit configured to display the determined distance (d).

A method for installing a wire guide on a torch head for a coating system that applies thermal coatings, including:

• positioning an image capture device relative to the torch head in a first predetermined spatial relationship;
• using the image capture device to capture a digital image that includes at least one portion of the torch head and at least one portion of the wire guide positioned on the torch head;
• storing the digital image in a storage accessible by a processing unit;
• in the processing unit, performing image processing on the digital image to identify at least one first feature of the wire guide and at least one second feature of the at least one portion of the torch head, determining a position (x1) of the wire guide in a first direction (X) based on the at least one identified first feature, and determining a reference position (M) of the at least one portion of the torch head in the first direction (X) based on the at least one identified second feature;
• and
• moving the wire guide in the first direction (X) to position the wire guide in a predetermined positional relationship with respect to the reference position (M).