Industrial Robotic Vision Systems
August 27, 2022
How does machine vision add value to factory automation?
September 19, 2022On August 25, 2022, an internal webinar for Motion and Motion Automation Intelligence employees was held, introducing Motion Automation Intelligence’s Machine Vision Division, Integro Technologies. Steve Dehlin, Senior Sales Engineer, gave the presentation. What follows is the transcript of that presentation. Transcript has been edited for clarity.
What is machine vision?
A common misconception is that a machine vision solution is simply a camera setup. But typically, it’s only about one-third of the solution. The applications are evenly divided between vision, automation equipment and engineering services. Automation equipment can consist of conveyors, robots, labelers, laser markers and other forms of automation. The market is broken up into four segments, which mostly aligns with what we see from our customers: identification, measurement, position and guidance, and quality inspection.
Identification
Some form of barcode reading is performed in just about every manufacturing or logistics facility. Hands-free barcode reading is a popular solution we are currently seeing. It is simply replacing a hand scanner with a fixed mount reader.
The next subset of identification is human readables. This is where a camera reads text, commonly referred to as OCR (optical character recognition). There are also machine vision solutions for PQI (print quality inspection) for inline applications. Identification can also determine if a part is widget A or widget B. Using these examples, it can identify “am I a pear or an apple?” Is there a known bad substance detected in the camera field? Is a conveyor position occupied or available?
Measurement
Automation makes it possible to inspect every product, every time. An additional benefit is the ability to capture digital data for process monitoring and improvement.
Measurement isn’t limited to 2D; we also can provide 3D measurements. A complete 3D image of a valve block assembly can be taken in under 10 seconds with over 100 2D and 3D measurements being provided.
Traditionally, this was performed by offline sampling. This method allowed bad parts to escape the facility.
Position & Guidance
A camera can also be used for position and guidance of robots and machines. One example is a 3D camera used to locate a position of a part for picking by a robot.
This type of project is typically implemented for repetitive or dangerous jobs, such as continually stacking bags of heavy dog food.
Another example is using a camera to dynamically control a machine. In this case, the data is used to make sure the perforation stays within a certain boundary. This is done by providing real-time data to the machine control system.
Quality Inspection
The most common applications we see are quality inspections. The "I Love Lucy" video is my favorite example.
Often, people are asked to do the impossible task of inspecting product moving quickly down a manufacturing line. Studies show that humans are less than 87% effective at this task, whereas machine vision solutions can easily keep up and provide 99% or better inspection results.
Customers typically buy a machine vision system to:
- Reduce customer complaints and returns.
- Inspect every part every time.
- Decrease labor costs.
- Eliminate bottlenecks.
- Increase machine throughput and uptime.
- Receive valuable data for process improvement and control.
Machine Vision Division
We are one of the largest, most experienced machine vision houses in North America, and we can go toe to toe with anyone in this space, giving you a competitive advantage.
PC vision still represents about 50% of the marketplace, which is why we don’t just provide smart camera solutions. One thing that makes us unique is that we can provide the whole solution.
Most machine vision groups only provide the camera portion and not the other industrial solutions required to provide a full turnkey solution. The camera portion is only a fraction of the whole solution. Robotics, motion control, PLCs, HMIs and more are all required to provide a turnkey solution.
We provide a full project specification, design review, and FAT/SAT, all managed by a dedicated project manager.
Typically, customers have already identified they have a machine vision need. They just need to contact us today.
Don't hestitate. Contact us today. We look forward to working with you soon.
