Tag: Technology News

The next-generation IVS-NCGi range of digital cameras from Industrial Vision Systems provides a breakthrough in flexibility, performance and ease of use for machine vision inspection. With heightened resolution options for more precision and faster frame rates, the cameras are designed for integration into modern product processes. Its compact form factor easily fits into space constrained manufacturing lines and cells.

With manufacturers relying on dependable and consistent machine vision throughout the production process, these advanced camera heads provide industrial grade inspection capability with much higher resolutions allowing them to handle the most complex inspection and quality control tasks. Full integration with the IVS software platforms make it one of the most flexible vision systems on the market today.

The cameras come ready to be mounted with standard LED lighting options plus a wide range of field-changeable C-mount lenses and industrial autofocus lens options. The powerful IVS software platforms allow simple set-up and quick integration for inspection across all industry sectors. The cameras are ideally suited for presence verification, gauging, surface inspection and optical character recognition. In addition, the cameras fit the standard IVS-SVP IP65 rated housing for integration into food and harsh manufacturing environments.

The IVS-NCGi cameras offer comprehensive and real-time communication between the cameras and factory information systems. IVS vision systems are designed to communicate with all PLCs, master controllers and proprietary factory controls out of the box allowing rapid integration and easy commissioning on the production floor. They offer fast and efficient operation at every stage from image capture to data output.

IVS has launched a range of vision systems for 3D vision operations in industrial environments. This series of products offers a wide range of powerful and flexible sensors, from single point displacement units to full 3D point cloud scanners. These products are designed for reliable operation in harsh industrial surroundings ensuring longevity and low maintenance.

The 3D vision systems introduced by IVS can also be used for many challenging inspection and guidance applications where traditional machine visions would struggle, such as assembly verification, robot pick and place, and precision 3D measurements. With these improved systems, manufacturers for industries such as food & drink, automotive, pharmaceutical, printing & packaging and electronics can receive quality data instantly, and at full production speed. The accurate, high-speed measurement avoids costly slowdowns or processing errors, ultimately unlocking higher profit margins.

The advanced capability of the 3D systems, compared to conventional two-dimensional sensors, comes from their ability to measure size and position with extremely high accuracy – with resolutions down to micron level – regardless of an object’s height or colour. The sensors are able to capture 3D, scatter, and grayscale images simultaneously to produce a more robust and reliable vision control system, either through stand-alone sensors or complex engineered machines.

The IVS 3D products range from versatile high-speed cameras that deliver high quality 3D and contrast images to smart and configurable stand-alone sensors that facilitate rapid development.

“One of the biggest vision technology challenges manufacturers face is the integration of 3D cameras. This complex technology requires vision engineering at an extremely high level; something that we can provide. IVS have experience in integrating such systems in many factory environments and applications. These 3D machine vision systems provide factory calibrated 3D with built-in lighting which means they instantly provide precision results, thus making the integration easier for the customer.”

IVS is already successfully implementing the 3D technology into several inspection applications across a variety of industries, from automated height inspection through to pick & place robot control. With new 3D technologies in development IVS is well placed to provide the very latest vision system technology and solutions.

For further information on IVS’s 3D vision systems please visit:

https://www.industrialvision.co.uk/applications/3d-vision-systems

Launched by Industrial Visions Systems the IVS-ELCi removes human error and completely inspects final vehicles for conformance

Industrial Vision Systems (IVS) (www.industrialvision.co.uk), a supplier of machine vision solutions to the automotive industry, has introduced its new end of line automated car inspection and conformance cell – the IVS-ELCi. The new product will enable automotive manufacturers to automate repetitive and critical inspection tasks covering entire vehicles which, in turn, will free operators from more mundane tasks allowing them to focus on other areas of the business. The system has been developed due to the ever increasing diversity of options available in modern vehicle production.

Using up to 50 sensors for a complete 360-degree check of every vehicle, the IVS-ELCi also automatically saves images and data which provides evidence for the manufacturer protecting them against potential recalls or warranty claims. The quick to install cell with swift set-up uses adaptable artificial intelligence vision sensors which provide critical quality inspection criteria across the entire vehicle build cycle.

Crucially, the IVS-ELCi inspects at high speed with precision detail which means operators are then freed up to add value to other stages of the automotive inspection and production process. Typical applications of the machine include exhaust type confirmation, licence plate variants, vehicle decals, logos, alloy wheels, door handles, mirror scalps and trim match. The product provides a 100% guaranteed final quality check before every car leaves the factory floor.

“Having highly accurate information and added peace of mind in the final vehicle acceptance stages is a primary concern for every manufacturer operating in the automotive industry. The IVS-ELCi system allows manufacturers to rest assured in the knowledge that quality control is being handled accurately and automatically utilising the very latest in cutting edge machine vision technology. This enables their employees to step away from the inspection tasks to focus on other elements of the production process which will eventually improve the overall performance of the business.”

Further details on the product can be found at: https://www.industrialvision.co.uk/products/car-conformance-inspection

Final set-up and installation of a new vision system machine for precision measurement. Checking focus and mechanical settings for tooling. Dual axis servo control with linescan and areascan sensors.

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Industrial Vision Systems Ltd (IVS) has launched a number of new machines and systems which are now available for automated inspection of medical device products. The automated medical device inspection systems, which utilise machine vision, are supplied to various high-profile blue-chip medical device manufacturers for the programmed checking of components, sub-assemblies and packs.

Utilising a customisable dial plate which can be modified to suit varying sizes and shapes of parts, the Industrial Vision System machines use the latest generation IVS HD digital camera technology with telecentric optics to provide high speed inspection of medical device products at up to 300 parts per minute. The machines can accommodate up to six inspection camera stations each utilising different light and optics for varying quality checks. An integrated hopper and bowl supplies continuous feeding of parts allowing the vision system to provide 24/7 continuous inspection. Typical applications include inspecting for micron level mould defects in flash and shorts, checking key dimensional data on parts, syringe body inspection for inclusions, needle tip verification and measurement, plus medical device sub-assembly checks. The vision system includes integration with factory information systems and line controllers.

All machines, installed and commissioned by Industrial Vision Systems, are fully validated to GAMP/ISPE protocols for medical device and pharmaceutical manufacturing.

IVS has enhanced its product offering with the launch of a new enclosure to protect vision system cameras placed within harsh working, industrial environments. The IVS-SVP camera housing, which supports all standard IVS camera options, is readily available for current IVS customers.

In terms of accessibility, the front of the enclosure cover can be easily removed to provide the user with full access to the vision system camera and optics, allowing changes to the focus and aperture settings.

The camera housing also fosters flexibility; it is designed to readily accommodate large diameter lenses and it boasts telescopic adjustment to allow the lens to be altered close to the viewport to minimise reflections.

Ready to mount on standard fixings, the enclosure also includes an anti-reflection optical viewport and, at the rear of the product, the IP65 cable gland is configurable to provide a watertight seal around one or more cables. The housing is designed to be used in medical device, pharmaceutical, automotive and food production environments.

Earl Yardley, Industrial Vision Systems Director comments: “Designing and producing high quality machine vision products have been the cornerstone of our success. The new camera enclosure will help protect the thousands of cameras at risk from dust, dirt, water and oil mist and enhance the performance of the vision systems at our customer sites across all industry sectors.”

Further details and a datasheet can be found here.

IVS install 15 camera vision machine to prestigious automotive customer for the inspection of a key part of the main drive chain. The front corner braking assembly quality control system is integrated as a final inspection of the complete unit prior to release to the main production line. The fully integrated machine vision system provides 100% inspection of the full sub-assembly.

Device makers look to on-line vision systems to quality check the FDA’s unique device identifier requirements.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the US have released a final ruling requiring that most medical devices distributed in the United States must carry a unique device identifier (UDI). With the directive starting in September 2014 it has become increasingly important for device manufacturers to put the necessary quality control procedures in place now to confirm the UDI is both legible and traceable. As the FDA sees it, “A unique device identifier system has the potential to improve the quality of information in medical device adverse event reports, which will help the FDA identify product problems more quickly, better target recalls, and improve patient safety.” The UDI allows the device or product to be traced back to its roots in manufacturing.

This directive has implications for the whole of the medical device and pharmaceutical business but at a fundamental level during the production of the device or product the UDI needs to be applied and quality checked to confirm it meets the necessary specification.

Industrial Vision Systems (IVS) have been working with a number of companies to tackle these problems through the use of ever more sophisticated automated machine vision systems and processes. The FDA demands that automatic identification and data capture (AIDC) technology is used for the inspection process. By combining Optical Character Recognition/Optical Character Verification with print quality inspection and ID/code reading the UDI can be checked in real time through the whole production cycle to confirm compliance to the FDA specifications. The UDI can be applied to labels, boxes, products, components and devices – therefore a generic approach to the quality inspection needs to constructed. The UDI directive also states that all devices that will be implanted or sterilised must have permanent marks so the vision inspection system has to cope with confirming marks on varying material types, including implants.

Typically the code would be applied to include both a human readable and a machine readable mark, be it a 1D or 2D/Data Matrix code. Both need to be inspected to confirm they reach the necessary quality standards. For symbols this is according to the ISO standards 15415 and 15416. Digital cameras are used throughout the production process connected to a central IVS vision system which then communicates to the Factory Information System database to provide historical information and conformance. Full track and trace is now seen as the ideal solution. Most medical device companies run varied quality systems, data management and IT applications for their UDI requirements. The flexible user interface allows data storage, image storage and historical statistical process control (SPC) data to be easily managed independent of the background IT infrastructure.

These latest generation vision systems provide full audit logging and traceability to allow systems to be validated to Good Automated Manufacturing Practice (GAMP) standards. The UDI quality can be tracked through the process to make sure that it has not degraded through the production cycle and that multiple elements (e.g. inserts and instructions) have gone together correctly.

The UDI program will provide consumers with a better quality product, increased traceability against forgery and assurance that the product has been through the necessary production cycle and checks.

Further details can be found on the FDA website www.fda.gov/udi and information on quality checking the UDI can be found at www.industrialvision.co.uk/industries/medical-devices-pharmaceuticals

Industrial Vision Systems (IVS) are pleased to announce the new line-up of digital vision system cameras offering even greater speeds of inspection, coupled with higher resolution. The latest NCHG220 color camera offers a resolution of 2048 x 1088 at 105 frames per second, offering the ability to inspect up to 6,300 parts per minute on a single camera – one of the fastest vision systems available on the market today.

IVS vision camera systems can be configured and deployed with ease thanks to plug and play support within the industry standard NeuroCheck® software suite. These latest generation machine vision cameras provide state-of-the-art digital technology, offering precise signal processing and superior image quality.

The IVS suite of factory communication solutions ensures that IVS vision systems can connect and communicate with a diverse range of factory floor PLC and control devices. The new cameras can be configured for hundreds of different applications covering presence verification, measurement, guidance and identification.

New IVS Vision System Cameras Datasheet