Products Machine Vision BMW assures exhaust flap performance What’s new in machine vision?
All BMW vehicles produced in Bavaria are subjected to numer- ous, individual quality control measures and whilst cost and time efficient automated testing is the common goal, identifying the optimum procedure for each inspection task is a priority. A prime example is testing exhaust flaps as not all models with dual exhaust systems operate the same. So the inspection method has to be flexible to allow the spe- cific characteristics of each model to be checked so thermal imaging is therefore an ideal choice. Recently, an ageing and high maintenance twin camera system on each dynamometer test rig has been replaced by a neat FLIR Systems’ solution. Instead of two
cameras inspecting the dual exhaust systems from the left and right, single FLIR A-Series cameras are employed.
Centrally positioned in the rig, the FLIR A-Series camera with wide field of view, images the entire end of the vehicle from a distance of approximately two metres. This model has a frame rate of 30Hz, ideal for recording exhaust flow and supports both GigE Vision and GeniCam proto- cols - data is transmitted via TCP IP or Ethernet.
The FLIR solution not only halved the cost of the new camera hardware but also improved system reliability significantly. FLIR Systems
www.flir.com T: 01732 220 011
Machine Vision is increasingly finding its way into a huge variety of industrial applications. From fully automated quality control using vision sensors or smart cameras, without the use of PCs, to performing more complex tasks such as web inspection, high resolution, high framerate optical inspection, pick and place machines, robotics or production line troubleshooting with high speed cameras.
The last ten years have seen a huge increase of capabilities, with better,
higher resolution and
faster sensors, both CCD and specially CMOS, with the newest digital interfaces such as GigE Vision, USB3 Vision and CoaXPress. There has also been advances in lighting technology such as high intensity LEDs and structured lasers, with new optical designs capable of inspection inside and outside of complex shapes. The ever improving optical quality of lenses is keeping pace with the increased sensor res- olution. Infrared (NIR, SWIR and LWIR) technologies have also come down in price and have entered the machine vision territory to supplement and sometimes eliminate the visible spec- trum cameras.
Of course, computer hardware is continually undergoing performance improvements to allow processing and recording of the ever increasing amounts of data produced by the latest cameras.
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Specialist vision companies, such as Alrad Imaging, keep abreast of all the new develop- ments and offer all the latest vision system solutions using components from a wide range of specialist manufacturers. Alrad Imaging
www.alrad.com T: 01635 303 45
Enter 234 3D smart sensors inspect food containers to improve quality
Food containers that use foil closures must have a flat, distortion-free sealing surface to ensure seal integrity. Commonly used manual sample inspection procedures can be costly in terms of time and labour. More importantly, manual inspection does not provide absolute confidence that every container produced conforms to precise quality specifications. With production speeds often at 500 containers or more per minute, an automated, 100% high speed inline 3D inspection system is an ideal solution. Overall quality can be dramati-
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cally improved by providing dimensional data on every container. LMI Technologies’ Gocator 3D smart sensors are designed to be easily deployed into applications that require cost effec- tive, 100% high speed inline 3D inspec- tion automation. Gocator acquires and processes 3D data within the sensor and offers built-in tools for measuring toler- ance. A built-in web server enables Gocator users to set-up and measure pre- cisely as needed using a web browser. These features and PLC connectivity solve many typical implementation barriers and enable more users to focus on achieving quality specifications, regardless of previ- ous 3D expertise. Using Gocator’s built-in measurement tools, every food container’s tolerance requirements, such as length, width, height, area and volume, can easily be inspected. This means that inspecting every feature that could affect the foil seal’s integrity can be monitored and measured. Within each measurement tool, the user sets minimum and maxi- mum threshold enable pass/fail limits to be precisely established to automate trig- gering of process decisions (sorting, rejecting, etc). Using Gocator’s 3D data visualisation
provides real time feedback of the target. In this case, a complete 3D profile colour height map of the seal area is shown for two food containers (above). The con- tainer on the left shows a flat, distortion- free seal area, while the container on the right is a reject with a slight defect. This visual data makes it easier to set toler- ances and can be useful in determining if there are any external factors that lead to similar shaped defects.
Gocator 3D smart sensors are easy to implement and provide high speed 100% automated inspection of container seal areas. Container manufacturers searching for a new technology solution to automate 100% inspection of food packaging now have a great alternative solution to improve quality and reduce inspection costs in their production facilities. LMI Technologies
www.lmi3d.com T: +1 604 636 1011
Enter 238 OCTOBER 2013 Machine Vision
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