Practice

Planning and realization of applications

Planning Machine Vision solutions

For several decades, camera-based optical inspection technologies have been used in automation, transportation, food production, testing but also increasingly in non-industrial applications.

In addition to a wide range of application fields, the utilized camera technologies and system solutions have also significantly improved. At the beginning of the 2000s, for example, mainly PC-based systems with 2D monochrome cameras were still in use.

Traps everywhere... what to use?

There are many pitfalls in the decision-making process for camera technologies

Some of the challenges:

Simply do nothing? Surely one of the worse options. Stagnation is regression.
Usage of non-industrial solutions. Cheap board cameras, self-soldered LED lighting.... But what about the supply of spare parts (already within one year), necessary certifications (UL certificates, LED risk classes, CE, RoHs etc.?). A probably inexpensive initial purchase may end up in tinkering solutions! Who does the long-term support for your software and hardware drivers?
Unclear application criteria: Do you really know the environmental conditions, all error criteria, the variety of components, etc., or will there be eternal re-specification?
Time and cost management
Low know-how and understanding of the different technologies: Can you really judge whether you are using the right equipment?

Plan your solution

In addition to the actual inspection task, many other topics must also be taken into account.

A few small examples for you:

For example, your task is to measure a component to 100 µm and you have already selected the suitable hardware and software components. But many stumbling blocks can potentially be found here:

Do you really know all the component sizes or have you only considered the sample part sent to you
Is the environment suitable for the inspection, or are there influences such as sunlight or temperature that can affect your measurement?
Have you considered all process variations, such as object contamination or corrosion?

There are many such potential pitfalls....

Details about the test object
Number of component types and variations
Features to be inspected
Cycle and inspection times
Required data interfaces & communication
Machine effects
Environmental factors
General project information
Budget, costs
Timing of implementation, procurement times for components
System vailidation precedures

VDI / VDA / VDMA 2632-2 Requirement and system specification
for planning and implementing MV systems

Rescue in sight!

The guideline VDA / VDI / VDMA 2632-2 helps them in a perfect way to question the requirements and complexity of the needed camera systems. The VDI/VDE (Gesellschaft Mess- und Automatisierungstechnik), in cooperation with the VDMA (German Engineering Federation), has created an extremely useful guideline that is equally suitable for customers and system suppliers and offers a questionnaire that serves as a checklist for all these topics and provides many examples.

No dry, vague standard that beats around the bush. An investment of around 70 euros that is extremely worthwhile!

System specification:

What is to be tested, under what conditions? Exact specifications from the end customer, what he expects

Requirement specification:

What a possible solution of the supplier could look like, with which technology, in which time and cost frame, taking into account all customer requirements.

Without exact specifications, planning and implementation is extremely difficult and may lead to project delays, cost explosions or, in the worst case, to unsuitable inspection systems.