AUTOMOTIVE
created technology that uses a combination of camera sensors, processing hardware and soſtware algorithms to automate complex or mundane visual inspection tasks and precisely guide handling equipment during product assembly. As Dave Richardson, vision solutions manager
at Teledyne Dalsa, explains, current applications of the company’s machine vision technologies include ‘positioning, identification, verification, measurement and flaw detection’. ‘Our machine vision solutions are deployed
across all stages of automotive manufacturing, from body stamping and finishing, to powertrain and assembly, to final inspection,’ he says. ‘Tier one and tier two automotive suppliers use vision extensively to ensure that every part or sub-assembly is manufactured defect free to the OEM’s specification.’ In Richardson’s view, the main advantages
of using machine vision in such applications are ‘the ability to meet throughput and ensure manufacturing quality’ – particularly in view of the fact that automotive subassemblies are ‘oſten produced in very high volumes, making human assembly and verification impractical’. In addition, he highlights the fact that automotive suppliers have to maintain flexibility in their manufacturing processes to ‘accommodate small or large assembly changes associated with different makes and models of cars’. ‘For these demanding applications, machine
vision systems are widely used to guide robots, track parts and verify every step of the evolving assembly process,’ he says.
Robotic grippers According to Richardson, Teledyne Dalsa’s technology is already widely used in automotive manufacturing plants throughout the world – and he cites one particular application where a company uses the technology for guiding robotic grippers to liſt automotive parts on to the assembly line automatically. If the robotic gripper fails to attach to a part in the right place, usually at designated marks, he says that the part ‘could tilt and be suspended from the robotic arm, or be dropped off the line.’ ‘Te automobile manufacturer tested several
vision systems, and chose Teledyne Dalsa’s technology, which offered the high resolution and image quality needed to process images from two distinct assembly lines simultaneously. Triggered independently, our vision cameras take images, capturing multiple positions simultaneously to identify the type of vehicle part being moved, and then to ensure that the four robotic arms will grab the part in the correct locations,’ he says.
The new vision system is able to inspect the roller bearings and identify a number of potential defects
‘Te flexibility to accommodate these two
different types of inspections simultaneously is unique to our vision solution. By implementing this vision technology, productivity has increased six times overall and has reduced the potential for error significantly, protecting the safety of operators and eliminating the risk of damage to the vehicle part being processed,’ he adds.
Minimising defects In another interesting recent development, the Indian-based automotive component company Timken India – which manufactures bearings, gear drives, belts, and chains – has introduced an automated inspection system at its facility in Bangalore that uses Teledyne
46 Imaging and Machine Vision Europe • October/November 2018
Dalsa Sherlock soſtware to enable more accurate quality inspection. Te decision to introduce an automated system was prompted by a recognition of the limitations of the existing manual process – which selected random samples for inspection and defect identification in bearings – and the pressing need to introduce a more efficient way of inspecting complete batches of finished products before they were dispatched to customers. In an effort to meet these requirements, the
company has installed cutting-edge machine vision soſtware that is specially configured to operate three cameras – two of which are positioned on each side of the manufacturing line, with a third with a clear view of the flat surface at the end of each roller bearing, in the process enabling a comprehensive 360-degree cylindrical surface inspection. In such a way, the new vision system is able to inspect the roller bearings and identify a number of potential defects – including anomalies such as unfinished end faces, missing plating and rust or tool marks, in addition to dents and scratches. Another leading company in the field
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