and when it returns to its original position. If the image indicates that the excess aluminium was sheared off then the hydraulic press and plunger resume operations. If the image shows that the billet was not cut cleanly, the Boa sends a message to a programmable logic controller that stops the machine and activates an alarm alerting workers to the problem. Since the system has been up and running, Silver City Aluminum has not damaged a die or experienced any machine downtime. Tis Boa system can also be connected to a


PC, allowing the user to control the cameras from their desk. Since the soſtware is built directly into the camera, the PC can be used to program the Boa through a web interface. ‘Any programming and re-programming is done from my desktop. It’s really easy to use this system,’ comments CPU Automation engineer, Mike Bray. Te Boa soſtware contains an extensive


library of tools for solving most vision applications. At Silver City, a simple pattern matching technique is used. ‘We look at a clean cut and teach the system to run that specific pattern,’ says Bray. ‘Te image gets a score of 100 per cent if it’s an exact match, then the score drops with any variations. Any big fluctuations that occur, say down to 20 per cent, causes the Boa to alert the PLC to a failure.’


camera. Aſterwards, the captured thermal images are analysed with special soſtware, evaluated according to test criteria and processed into a resulting false-colour image. As an imaging procedure, active thermography enables fast detection of flaws and simple documentation of the test results. Because process irregularities can be


identified and located early in production, the reject rate can been minimised thanks to this non-destructive testing of laser welded seams using infrared thermography. As such, active thermography is used in various production technologies in both offline and inline testing in serial production. An automated, turn-key system for


When this


hanging piece of aluminium hits the die, it can... cause $10,000 of damage


non-destructive testing of bodywork parts, developed with the cooperation of InfraTec, was put into serial production by a well-known automotive manufacturer whose name has not been disclosed. Te system controls the quality of laser weld seams of single bodywork components through using active thermography. For the testing, the


component is fixed between two linked robots that target an industrial flash lamp or a thermography camera onto the tested weld seam. A thermal pulse is directed into


Welding car body parts Some of Silver City’s aluminium billets will end up as car parts that are welded together. In recent years, heat flow, or active thermography, has been established as an effective procedure for non-contact and non-destructive testing to detect joining errors as well as the localisation of hidden defects in weld seams. Te fields of application range from quality control for bonding, welding, soldering and other joining procedures. Techniques such as shrink-hole detection can be used for parts of the car interior or the identification of material defects in composites and flaws in metals. Firstly, a targeted thermal or cold pulse is


directed into the test object. Te chronological and local process of the heat flow inside the test object depends on its geometry and thermal characteristics. Accordingly, this process leads to a temperature distribution on the surface of the test object which, subsequently, is imaged by a thermography


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the tested laser weld seam through a defined release of the high-energy industrial flash and the resulting heat flow and its time-based progress are photographed as a sequence of thermal images by a supersensitive high-speed thermography camera. Any flaws or defects in the weld seam will


lead to a change in the heat flow and, therefore, to irregular temperature distribution on the component’s surface. As well as an increase in testing reliability, the procedure leads, at the same time, to a significantly shorter testing period and lower costs compared to destructive testing. All in all, both the quality and the overall performance of production are increased. Soſtware developed by InfraTec analyses


the saved thermal image sequence and allows the visualisation of the measurement results. Te analyst obtains detailed information on the state of the weld seams and is able to take quality assurance actions. Te test soſtware also allows 100 per cent documentation of the testing results and the tester’s actions and can be parameterised individually for each testing authority.


Camera Link &


Mini


Camera Link


Rugged Camera Link


Industrial


al a


PoCL lITE


Camera Link HS


The


CoaXPress


We have a wide selection ofide selection of cable assembly options available.


il ble


Call us to see how we can help with your custom application.


(218) 828-3157 Intercon 1


A Division of Nortech Systems Precision Cable Assemblies for the Vision Industry


intercon@nortechsys.com www.intercon-1.com


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