Machine vision speeds auto-parts inspection

摘要

Cold extrusion is a process used in the manufacture of many automotive parts. Before the parts can be assembled, however, they must undergo rigorous inspection to determine whether any surface defects or geometric deviations exist. While conventional approaches may use machine-vision systems programmed to analyze specific defects, these systems are inefficient when small batches of very different parts must be examined. To address the task of geometric deviations, the Fraunhofer IPA (Stuttgart, Germany; www.ipa.fraunhofer.de) has developed a system that uses known good models of parts and compares them with image data from parts under test. In this way, the system can rapidly learn the surface profile of new parts. A defect-surface map of the part under test can then be displayed.