How Machine Vision Inspection Machines Help Revolutionize The Manufacturing Industry
The human eye has amazing characteristics and incredible features. Each eye is equipped with 107 million photosensitive cells that allow it to see nearly 3 million different colours, distinguish around 500 shades of grey, and focus on over 50 objects per second.
Yet, with such incredible capabilities, the human eye cannot provide the speed, precision, and repetition that are needed in 21st-century manufacturing. In this regard, machine vision inspection technology can ensure both precision and efficiency at the same time.
This post will focus on what machine vision inspection technology is all about and how it can help revolutionize the manufacturing industry.
What Is Machine Vision Inspection Technology
Machine vision is a 21st-century technology that is deployed by manufacturers across every industry.
Also known as automated vision inspection, machine vision inspection technology combines high-quality cameras with image processing software programmed to inspect tasks, identify faults, detect flaws, and confirm quality in milliseconds.
When it comes to speed, efficiency, and accuracy, even the human eyes cannot outperform the capabilities of visual inspection machines.
What Do Vision Inspection Machines Do?
Machine visual inspection systems can automate both simple and complex visual inspection tasks. Not just that, it can also precisely guide handling equipment during product assembly. A machine vision inspection system can process ample information within split seconds.
These machines will work tirelessly performing 100% online inspection, resulting in high quality, higher yields, and lower production costs, which in turn, improve customer experience and ultimately market share.
How Machine Vision Improves Manufacturing Quality
1. Re-skilling Opportunities for Employees
There is a misconception that the inception of machine vision will eliminate the need for human workers. On the contrary, employees get thought on how to operate machine vision systems. This increases their value and even their paychecks.
Research shows that machine vision may help inspection experts grow their skill set other than losing their jobs.
2. Eliminates employee fatigue, enhances safety and consistency
Since the manual inspection process is difficult and exhausting, the adoption of machine vision inspection can help reduce or eliminate employee fatigue.
Workers do not need to strain their eyes or physical strength. Machine vision inspection not only eliminates employee fatigue but also enhances the safety of workers while ensuring a higher level of consistency.
3. Enables continuous operation
Visual inspection machines are a form of automation that can carry out daily operations efficiently regardless of the weather condition.
The nighttime “machine shift” helps to save demanding work for employees while increasing productivity and preventing health crises among employees.
4. Ongoing cost savings
Deploying an autonomous machine vision inspection system can save costs over the long run. With nearly zero defect rates and high productivity, automated vision inspection can be delivered and implemented for 1/10th of the cost of a “traditional solution.”
5. Facilitates data-gathering
Data is a crucial tool for any manufacturer. Vision inspection machines use sophisticated cameras and automated inspections to identify a variety of defects.
Attributes such as colour, position, size, and conditions can be collected in the form of data, which can be used for machine calibration, staffing & training, maintenance intervals, and other variables within the employer’s control.
The Bottom Line
As automated vision inspection continues to advance, the global market for machine vision inspection technology is predicted to reach $15.5 billion by 2026.
These real-world applications can aid the manufacturing industry in achieving higher quality, increased speed, and reduced costs in their production—saving both time and money.
Machine vision can perform a wide variety of tasks at high speed, including:
- Testing and calibration
- Measuring, sorting, and counting parts
- Capturing data to help improve efficiency, streamline processes, and identify problems with the manufacturing process
- Making quality control decisions such as fail/pass and triggering alarms or rejections
- Checking for missing parts
- Identifying and sorting parts by recognizing shape, colour, and size
- 3D imaging
- Reading barcodes and printed characters
- Enabling robot or machine guidance
- Verifying the correct positioning of parts
- Real-time process control
Cortex Robotics has the machine vision technology to help the manufacturers solve their pain points. The solutions we provide are based on the accumulative real-world problems we observed and learned from our customers and continuous effort on R&D over the years.
We have a strong track record of providing cost-effective solutions to customers at the lowest cost possible to ensure the best results.
For further details, please feel free to get in touch with our specialists for a full consultation.