Sony and Tordivel collaborate to deliver integrated robot inspection systems

Citation

(2006), "Sony and Tordivel collaborate to deliver integrated robot inspection systems", Industrial Robot, Vol. 33 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/ir.2006.04933bad.003

Sony and Tordivel collaborate to deliver integrated robot inspection systems

Sony and Tordivel collaborate to deliver integrated robot inspection systems

Keywords: Image sensors, Robotics, Inspection

Universal system proven in automotive applications

Sony Manufacturing Systems Europe and Tordivel have announced new integrated solutions for robot inspection that combine Sony's high- performance camera and desktop robot hardware, with Tordivel's leading-edge Scorpion Vision Software (Plate 2).

The new products will allow users to quickly and cost-effectively tailor robot inspection systems, via a high-level interface designed for production engineers, rather than vision system experts. The systems are expected to find applications in a variety of industries that require 100 per cent inspection for zero-defect production, and have already been proven in the automotive industry, where they have been used to inspect tyre pressure sensors. They will also ease integration and cut costs in general-purpose dispensing and pick-and-place applications.

Plate 2 The new products have been designed for production engineers

An initial starter kit combines Tordivel's Scorpion Enterprise software with a Sony CAST robot, XCD710-CR camera plus lens, all of the necessary interface cables, and a two-day training course to help users get up to speed quickly and easily. The Scorpion Enterprise software allows the engineer to undertake any inspection task, from the very complex to the very simple: it can be used to measure dimensions and angles, check for presence of objects and inspect colours, if necessary in a multi-camera environment. It also includes calibration and control facilities required to set up an application.

The system has already been in use since early spring 2005, and is outputting 100 per cent inspection of a tray of 180 tyre pressure sensors in six minutes. The Sony/Scorpion system logs measurement data and images for each tray of sensors, and is used to spot defects such as sensors out of position or glue incorrectly dispensed. The system uses four Sony XCD710-CR cameras: operator intervention (for instance for manual re-inspection) is possible via a point- and-click interface, whilst set-up and configuration is easily performed using Scorpion's robust image processing and powerful control features.

By basing the starter kit on Sony's CAST range of robots, Sony and Tordivel are able to cater for a large variety of applications, including those which require simultaneous control over movement in up to four-axes. With positioning accuracy of ±0.01 mm, up to 2,500 points per operation programme, and speed of up to 800 mm/s, the CAST range saves production floor space via compact design, and is already in use in applications from soldering, dispensing and screw fastening to marking and de- panelling.

As well as the CAST-based system, the companies are offering an option based on Sony's ROBOKiD super- compact desktop robot, putting robotic inspection within the reach of most production engineers.