Vision Applications

This vision system provides an assembly and checking station for left and right hand plastic components for the automotive industry.

The components are placed in a jig and the part is automatically locked in place by the system until the assembly has passed the inspection.

A three stage inspection takes place on each part, requiring operator interface at each stage.  Once the first two stages have been completed successfully, a label printer (one per side) prints an accepted barcode.  This is then checked by the vision system to ensure it is correct, and that the number has not previously been used.

All images of parts are logged to the server as evidence of correct assembly, and two types of product can be run through the machine with a simple tooling change.

The system can perform the following functions:

• Check that all clips are fitted to the part
• Check that components covered by a clip are correctly assembled
• Ensure the parts have been pushed into the housing within tolerance
• Confirm the part has passed inspection
• Log operator details to ensure staff are careful during assembly of the parts

The system removes the requirement to have three staff on-site inspecting every part, and removes the risk of punitive fines from the customer for the delivery of substandard parts.

The features of the system are:

• Six robust Cognex In-Sight vision sensors, standard resolution and high resolution
• Single PC providing two HMI screens, one for left hand and one for right hand operator
• HMI allows operators to work independently and provides sequence and inspection information
• Standard communications’ protocol used to pass data from the PC to the cameras (OPC)
• Robust PatMax tools to identify parts are correctly assembled