Optical quality control from AUTFORCE Vision Systems
We implemented a fully automated vision inspection solution for the optical quality control
of pharmaceutical glassware for Stölzle Oberglas.
We were able to implement a fully automated vision inspection solution for our customer Stölzle Oberglas. The established Austrian manufacturer of packaging glass has commissioned us to automate the packaging control of pharmaceutical jars. Absolutely necessary, because with the changeover from manual palletising to palletising by robot, a solution also had to be found for automated quality assurance of the packed jars. Up to 250 jars per packaging unit are sealed in a transparent plastic film and are to be checked for possible defects or damage before delivery.
Up to 8 packaging units are checked every minute. The packages have a maximum size of 620 x 480 mm and can contain up to 250 bottles. The particular challenge here is the complex variety of types. The height of the packages varies from 20 to 200 mm and the glass colour can also vary. In addition, the print on the transparent film must not be confused with material inclusions.
Die Verpackungseinheiten werden mit Hilfe einer Schiebevorrichtung von der Förderanlage in den Kameraturm transportiert. There, the packages are illuminated from below with a 650 x 650 mm LED surface lamp. To ensure optimal shooting conditions for each colour (clear, brown, green), the lighting was implemented in RGB Full Colour. The illumination changes colour during the test process.
Four digital GigE cameras are pointed vertically at the bottle packs from above. The four cameras are mounted on an automatic Z-axis. This makes it possible to detect the different bottle heights without any problems.
The results of the testing process are displayed live on a touch monitor. Without interrupting the production flow, the employees can also recall the stored images of defective parts via this.
Following the camera inspection, the packed glasses are either transported to a handling robot (pass parts) or to a manual inspection station (fail parts), depending on the failure of the inspection. Thanks to the bypass function, the packs are not only pushed through the camera inspection system, but a visual inspection by employees can also be guaranteed in the event of possible faults.
The machine vision software, which works on the basis of real pattern recognition, is based on Datalogic’s standard software. However, we have adapted this to make the product as user-friendly as possible. Each base product has its own test programme. This is selected automatically via the line’s control system, depending on which bottles are currently being produced or packed. The software is designed in such a way that the employees of Stölzle Oberglas can independently carry out simple extensions or parameter changes after a short training session. This means that the customer does not have to rely on our help every time there are changes, such as the introduction of a new product.
Thanks to the well thought-out design of the test programmes, our customer can expand or change the test sequences himself with little training effort.
Compared to manual inspection by employees, 100% quality assurance can be guaranteed thanks to the vision inspection solution.
Thanks to the bypass function of the system, visual checks can still be carried out by the staff in the event of a malfunction.
At AUTFORCE, we specialize in test systems & test bench software. Get in touch with us. Together we will find the best solution for your project!
Markus Piffer
Expert in industrial image processing
+43 (664) 966 36 38
markus.piffer@autforce.com