manufacturing automation magazine the gift of sight
TRANSCRIPT
M A R C H / A P R I t 2 O O 5
M A C H I N E
GNRUTcAUNAM
C t B M E D I A P U B T I C A T I O N
www.automationmag.com
FEATURES
PRESCRIMON FORPRODUCTMTYPharmaceutical giantcuts production time inhalf with CAM system . . 18
DEPARTMENTS
FROM THE EDITOR . . . . . 3
LENERSTOTHE ED]IOR.. 3
AI'TOMATION UPFRONT . 3
AWARDS &ACCOLADES . 7
LOOKING AHEAD 7
DEALMAKERS.. . 8
MOVERS & SHAKERS ... 9
COLUMNS
AT'IOMATION SOFN'VAREWatch and learn: A review ofsoftware designed for VisualBasic development anddebugging . . . . . . . . 10
COLUMNBUSAfraid of fieldbus? Selectionand implementation is easiert han you t h i nk . . . . . . . . . 11
INDUSTRY WATCHRoad rules: Lessonslearned from the seatof my Nor ton . . , . 12
MACHINE VISIONA look at benefits, obstaclesand deployment . . . . . . . 14
DISTORTED REALITIESSensor mining: Sotvingprobfems with senses - . .14
NEW PRODUCTS
Sensors . . .24
Programmable control .. 26
E n c l o s u r e s . . . . - . 2 7
Electronic components . . 28
Artomation &Gdmology . 29
M a c h i n e v i s i o n . . . . . . . . 3 0
PM #40063602PAP Reglstration # 10775
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14 / March/Apil 20oG wwwlurcmationmag.com M anufacturing AUTOM ATI O N
M A C H I N E v rs toN
The gift of sight:A look at the benefits, obstactes and the deptoyment of vision technologies
8Y JOSEPH POON
7-Flh" machine vision systems malket is
I Browing, as more and more companies
I begin to use the technology to meet
their ergonomic, quality control and regulatory
needs.
Today, automatic vision inspection is being
used in the industrial automation industry to
streamline production, remove bottlenecks,
increase throughput, save on labour costs and
bolster productivity. Vision systems can work
around the clock, resulting in peak production
loads and faster order turn around. The
systems can act as a substitute for human
inspect ion when per forming s imple and
repetitive jobs. This may avoid injury and
costly mistakes that can be caused by human
fatigue and bias brought on by the
complacency of per forming tedious and
monotonous work. The technology can also
become an effective quality control and data
collection tool, since it delivers statistics, status
and trends data.
Vision systems can provide real-time images,
which enable users to monitor operations
on-screen or to record digitized images
with time stamps for later retrieval. Using
these images as a diagnostic tool can assist
ffoubleshooting, reduce downtime and
eliminate losses from spoiled products.
Compliance is also a large contributor to
the market 's growth. Most in tegrated
vision systems today provide solutions that
enable nranufacturers to meet regulatoty
requirements. Thc systems provide product
qual i ty , safety and secul i ty inspect ion in
manufacturing, as well as product tracking.
These applications are driven by global regula-
tory and enforcement policies that demand due
diligence towards 100 per cent inspection, and
thus ensure product security arrd traceability
from final packaging to delivery.
Regulatory compliance, especially for food
and drug production, implies that somewhere
along the production line a machine inspection
system is requi red, rather than us ing the
traditional human-based inspection station.
Original equipment manufacturers are also
beginning to require component and sub-com-
ponent genealogy and traceability information
from supply chain partners. Therefore,
machine v is ion systems are designed in
accordance wi th in ternat ional qual i ty
standards such as FDA guidelines, 2 t CFR Part
Despite the many benefits,
some manufacturers are
still skeptical and hesitant
to make investments
in vision systems.
I I , good manufacturing practice (GMP) and good
automated manufacturing practice (GAMP). The
systems play a critical role in enabling current and
anticipated regulatory requircments in food and
beverage. and pharmaceutical industries.
Similarly, industries such as aet'ospace and auto-
motive manulacturing face tightened require-
ments for unit level traceability lbr the sake of
product liability, wan?nty costs and regulatory
issues.
Despile the many applications and benefits,
some manufacturers are stil l skeptical and
hesitant to make investments in vision systems.
Statistical reports show that a high percentage of
new machine vision users have a hand time deploy-
parameters 'on- the- f ly , " wi thout
stopping the line, is as simple as operating a
camcorder, but flexible enough to cope with
process variations. Furthermore, multiple
recipe-driven software programs with
databasc management functions can easily
suppor t a f lex ib le automat ion l ine and
handle nrultiple product manufacturing. All
of thesc flexible features are only available
on PC-based machine vision systems.
Lastly, onc should never overlook the cost to
deploy and maintain a vision system before and
after it is installed. Total cost of ownership
(TCO) is a measure of all costs related to
technology assets throughout their lifecycle,
fronr acquisition to disposal. lt is not as
straightforward to determine some of these
costs as one might first imagine, since many of
these factors boil down to human issues, rather
than the outlook of an initial hardware cost.
The TCO puzzle is comprised of many pieces,
from a big picture perspective. The diagram
below shows a full spectrum of TCO elements
that should be considered when deploying and
maintaining a vision system in your plant.
ing the technologl, since some rcal-world manu-
facturing conditions easily upset a vision system's
ability to "see." These conditions include inconsis-
tent lighting, and variations in component shapes
and surface characteristics. In addition, a vision
system will not receive widespread acceptance as
an indispensable automation tool unless it
delivers a promising performance, no rnatter how
small a footprint it encapsulates and "smart" it
promises to be.
DEPTOYMENT GUIDELINES
Current machine archi tecture is moving
towards a more "intelligent" approach that
strikes the right balance between cost and
capabilities. One of the main thrusts of the
emerging adaptive technology is to make vision
systems easier to use, which means putting
customized high-performance solutions into
the hands of users without any development
work on their part.
Adaptive technology for vision systems is
part of an evolutionary progression that has
improved user interaction with machines. The
move to open standards and a Windows-based
common interface has made systems more
friendly and intuitive for inexperienced users.
Using point-and-click tools on-screen to adjust
As any industrial vision system depcnds on
the weakest l ink wi th in the whole
technological chain, a homogeneous turnkey
solution is the best approach to avoid failure in
v is ion deployment p lans. l t is cruc ia l that
machine v is ion exper ts are involved
throughout the entire development process so
they can react to problems that occut and help
companies anticipate unforeseen problems.
Companies that do not adopt machine
vision technology as an integral part of their
cont inuous improvement s t rategy wi l l
undoubtedly lose ground to companies whose
competing products are virtually guaranteed
by machine v is ion solut ions. Facing a
compet i t ive g lobal market , machine v is ion
can empower a company with the means to
successfu l ly overcome the ever- increasing
challenges of high labour costs, Third World
competition and a market demand for quality
products at a competitive price. I
loseph Poon, founder und president of Global
Controls, has been in the lield of machine vision
for more than l5 years. He is also a consultant to
ASM Pacilic Ltd., an assemhly equipment manu-
facturer for the global microelectronics industry.
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Info No. 19