Geometry measurement of weld and solder seams

• Fast and precise geometry measurement of weld and solder seams
• Detects deviations from the admissible weld seam geometry with great reliability and highest speed
• Detects e.g. seam cambering or concavity, edge notches, edge offset, one-sided connection etc.
• Through high resolution the detection in the tenth of a millimeter range possible at 6m/min. and above
• Also detects the dangerous pinholes or cracks, that are visible on the surface
• With laser soldering also detects those pores, that have not been reliably closed during painting
• Due to the high speed can be used parallel to the soldering robot
• Slim construction also enables the use for poorly accessible seams

This is how the plasmo profileobserver works...

The plasmo profileobserver series functions according to the principle of laser triangulation.
The image is acquired by means of a High-Speed CMOS sensor at a speed of max. 10,000 images/sec. The CMOS chip converts the recorded laser line directly into height value 3D measured values. These are forwarded to an industrial PC over an HSSI bus. In the industrial PC the evaluation of the seam geometry takes place in real-time according to parameter-settable quality characteristics.

At the end of a measuring cycle the result (IO = In Order/NIO = Not in Order), type of defect and location of defect are shown on the monitor and forwarded to the system PLC via a digital output or a bus system.

The software can be configured accordingly for the analysis of the measurement data and for the control of the measuring sequence.

With the plasmo profileobserver with the same measuring speed not only the height profile is recorded, but also a grayscale image. In the industrial PC the gray value information is evaluated in addition to the 3D information and additional quality characteristics are detected.
The plasmo profileobserver series functions according to the principle of laser triangulation. The image is acquired by means of a High-Speed CMOS sensor at a speed of max. 10,000 images/sec. The CMOS chip converts the recorded laser line directly into height value 3D measured values. These are forwarded to an industrial PC over an HSSI bus. In the industrial PC the evaluation of the seam geometry takes place in real-time according to parameter-settable quality characteristics.

At the end of a measuring cycle the result (IO = In Order/NIO = Not in Order), type of defect and location of defect are shown on the monitor and forwarded to the system PLC via a digital output or a bus system.

The software can be configured accordingly for the analysis of the measurement data and for the control of the measuring sequence.

With the plasmo profileobserver with the same measuring speed not only the height profile is recorded, but also a grayscale image. In the industrial PC the gray value information is evaluated in addition to the 3D information and additional quality characteristics are detected.

Control of mirror surfaces

• Detects cosmetic defects such as minute scratches and inclusions
• Checks the degree of reflection and controls inhomogeneous reflection
• Control of mirror surfaces
• Acceptance of the necessary measuring tasks for the part handling (automation)

Practice Report:
"Mirror, mirror on the wall…" - Quality control of reflecting, shining surfaces

Surface inspection of shining, polished or reflecting surfaces places high demands on the lighting equipment and the innovative power of companies. Mostly it is necessary to design specific lighting to realise quality inspection. For Magna in Ireland and in USA, plasmo developed an innovative solution for measuring and quality inspection of electrochromatic interior vehicle mirrors. Beyond the mirror inspection, this solution offers numerous possible applications for quality control and measuring of reflecting, shining surfaces in general such as in production processes of engine blocks and cylinders, chromium steel kitchen appliances, glass surfaces, solar panels, coils, etc. Details regarding this application example can be found on our homepage under products/industrial image processing/mirror observer.

Brief report plasmo for Magna: Plus 40 per cent productivity

In the development of a solution for the measuring and quality inspection of electrochromatic interior vehicle mirrors at Magna in Ireland and in USA the plasmo "engineered solution" project approach proven over many years was employed. Plasmo assumes all tasks from the definition of the inspection task to operating the solution:

The first step was the Definition of the individual inspection or detection tasks with an idea of what defect sizes have to be detected and which cycle times have to be maintained - a process that took several months and was conducted jointly with the customer.

A challenge that cannot be underestimated: In the vehicle mirror production, 16 different mirror geometries with different glass thicknesses, clip and sizes and band lengths are used. Production amounts to 2.5 million units per year in 3-shift operation with a cycle time of 7 seconds. The solution for quality assurance should not cost any additional time in the production process.

The solution
Integrated in the production processes are now several intelligent camera systems on two image processing stations with the customised plasmo software solution which checks the self-dimming mirrors of various automobiles for cosmetic defects among others.
In other words, surface defects on the mirrors such as scratches, inclusions, etc. or the installation of the clips are checked. Since some defects can only be checked during the dimming and/or brightening operation, quality inspection also takes place here and during the fastening of the clips through gluing (tightness of the glue bead and the closure). In addition, the application of the absorber pads and the quality of the packaging are also checked. Finally the laser engraving of the serial number is also checked to guarantee complete component traceability.

The result
The plasmo solution allows Magna 40 per cent more productivity. Defective components are directly separated during the production process. Through the stored quality documentation the traceability of individual production parts can be guaranteed even after years which for example brings huge cost savings in the event of possible complaints, call-back campaigns.

Image processing system for robot workspaces

• Provides 3D laser measurement for robot workspaces of several cubic meters
• Measures highly precisely those parts that the robot grips or singles out and determines the gripping point
• Takes component tolerances into account
• Based on laser triangulation and is adjusted extremely accurately or calibrated precisely to a camera pixel
• Is particularly temperature stable due to carbon fiber elements
• Due to a very high scanning rate achieves shortest possible cycle times and therefore greatest possible
• integration into the automation process
• Enables the positioning of the camera several meters above the measuring area and thus avoids possible collisions with the robot
• Offers high flexibility as regards the interface solutions to CAD data
• Has a freely scalable system, which enables an optimal adaptation of the measuring space and working distance to the customer system
• Achieves - depending on the working range - absolute accuracies of less than 0.5 mm

How the plasmo 3D observer works ...

From a comparison with the associated CAD data, the camera system detects which parts are at which position. The data of the parts to be processed are transferred via XML files (component geometry description). The image processing system determines the gripping points based on the measured 3D coordination. The transmission of the coordinates of the individual parts then takes place (x-, y-, z-coordinates as well as rotating angle +/- 1 mm). The camera is positioned 1.5 m above the measuring surface and achieves an absolute accuracy of less than +/- 1 mm.
 

Efficient weld seam position finding and reliable measurement

• Efficient weld seam position finding
• Gap dimension measurement
• Finds joint gap with great precision and high speed
• Accuracy in the 1/100 mm range
• Regulates the Actual-position of the welding tool

The plasmo positioncontroller functions like this ...
As an integrated system based on intelligent camera technology, the plasmo positioncontroller requires the possibility to inspect the welded seam after welding. Further measurements can be integrated into this system, such as e.g. edge offset, gap dimension or the position of the welded seam after welding.