Color is one of the most important visual cues that humans have for inspecting objects. Yet, color is a subjective value that depends on an object’s illumination and viewing environment as well as its spectral properties. To automate color-based inspection, a machine vision system must model after the behavior of human eyesight.
To improve the quality of visual inspections of hard-to-reach areas such as deep bores or complex castings, borescope video inspection is an effective answer. Borescopes are optical instruments, akin to medical endoscopes, that allow operators to inspect products or components that they cannot inspect via other means.
The SF1491 coil spring load center testing system performs load center and force line testing on coil compression springs. It is an advanced system designed specifically for the automotive industry to measure true force line vector in a suspension spring.
Dirt is the enemy. Still, no matter how dirty the manufacturing environment, measurements need to be taken and have to be accurate. To address these concerns, calipers have evolved over the years.
Conventional calipers offer only limited protection against the liquids and dirt in a shop environment. “When liquids and dirt penetrate the inner workings of the caliper they cause problems with the gears and rack that control the caliper’s movement,” says Lee Kirtlink, marketing manager at Brown & Sharpe Tesa, A Division of Hexagon Metrology (North Kingston, RI). “Machinists have traditionally taken great care to protect their calipers from this environment by taking their parts away from the process to collect their measurements and carefully cleaning and returning their caliper to their toolbox after each use.”
Crane Plastics (Columbus, OH) had all but exhausted their efforts in trying to locate linear digital measurement devices in the market. They needed to be able to meet and even exceed the quality parameters their customers demanded for length requirements in extruded plastic products. Over the past few years, tolerance issues have become more critical among customers’ requirements, says Bob Mullens, Crane’s senior lab technician. He considers the glass scales used to measure these tolerances old technology that is too expensive to repair and maintain. Thus, it was necessary for Crane to find a method of linear measurement to satisfy customer needs. What they found changed their production and virtually eliminated all customer complaints.
Townley Engineering & Manufactur-ing Co. Inc. (Candler, FL), a manufacturer of replacement bearing assemblies for large, severe-service matrix pumps used in mining, solved a service-life problem with dimensional measurement and inspection. And because short service life is an industry-wide quality control issue, Townley turned the solution into a competitive edge.
A machine vision system acquires images of an object, and then uses computers to process, analyze and measure various characteristics of that object. The purpose may be to enhance the image to see characteristics undetected to the human eye, or to analyze image data for measurement purposes. The decisions made from this information are often related to quality. For example, production line parts can be qualified as good or bad based on their shape or size, but almost any industry can benefit from machine vision systems designed for their application.
It’s the new year again, and if you are like most people, you’ve set some personal goals and resolutions that may, if not done correctly, have the lifespan of a fruit fly.
When it comes to analyzing alloy content in components on the shop floor, in a production setting, when speed is of the essence and accuracy is paramount, one of the handiest tools in the toolbox is a portable X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyzer. But these handy instruments have had a drawback; one that recently has been solved.
In automotive powertrain assembly, as goes the bearing press fit, so goes the torque. That is why Dana Corp.’s Traction Products Group monitors bearing press fits so carefully in their differential plant in Orangeburg, SC.
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