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Automotive Industry

Simpler "Looking" - Cognex Corporation's In-Sight 2000 system - Brief Article

Automotive Design & Production, Oct, 2001

The site: Dana Glacier Vandervell Europe's plant in Kilmarnock, Scotland), where there is a wide assortment of bearings and bushes produced.

The situation: The facility operates 24/7. Several million parts are produced weekly. One goal is to produce in a cost-effective manner so as to keep business. Quality is a part of that equation. Given the part volumes involved, automated systems are a way of work. Vision systems have long been a part of the systems used at the plant. During a recent equipment upgrade, various vision systems were analyzed by the personnel in DGV's tech center in Rugby.

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The selection: An In-Sight 2000 system from Cognex Corp. (Natick, MA). A key factor behind the selection of the unit- which is said to fall between a high-end, full-function vision system and a "smart camera"-is the ease of setup and programming. The programming is performed through a spreadsheet-based method; a hand-held controller is used, a device that is like something commonly found on a home video game.

The setup: The In-Sight 2000 camera is mounted directly above a small conveyor, looking down into each bush as it passes by. The bushes range in diameter from 15 to 50 mm and are up to 40-mm high. The conveyor brings the parts past two inspection stations. The first is a laser height meter. If a part is the wrong height, it is rejected. Then parts pass under the In-Sight camera. A fiber optic light source illuminates the part; a wide-angle lens captures a "flattened" image of the inside of the part wall; it provides the processing software with a circular ring pattern showing the inside diameter, end features, and internal features (e.g., end slots, oil holes, internal oil grooves, and embossing). Up to 80 parts per minute are checked.

Key benefit: Greg Hay, DGV project engineer, notes about the programming: "Insight puts the power into the hands of the person who really understands the process-me! Commands, computation and parameterization are simply entered into the rows and cells of the spreadsheet, just like normal using the hand-held console for cursor control, character entry, feature selection and formula writing. The spreadsheet can be displayed alone or it can be superimposed on a captured image of the part being inspected, allowing distances and features to be identified and parameterized manually for entry into the spreadsheet using a range of software tools provided by In-sight 2000. Once you're used to it, it is simplicity itself." Importantly, the creation of the spreadsheet is, in effect, the creation of the program. According to Hay, "This makes for very fast machine configuration and, better still, means I can refine our inspection procedures almost on the fly. This is extremely useful as the surface lining of our product c an vary in tone from one batch to the next. When my production statistics captured from the system indicate a recurring failure mode, I can determine whether it is due to either a manufacturing problem or a lighting deficiency. The vision sensor allows these kind of problems to be rapidly addressed and fixed."

Automotive Industry

Simpler "Looking" - Cognex Corporation's In-Sight 2000 system - Brief Article

Automotive Design & Production, Oct, 2001

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