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Quality control systems
Foreign Object Detection System

Foreign object detection for simple and challenging surfaces

Your Benefits

  • Detects very small foreign objects of various shapes, e.g. screws, nuts and tools
  • Reliable and accurate testing, even for challenging surfaces with different colors, structures and textures. Suitable for light, dark, smooth, ribbed, calotted, glossy, matte and other surfaces
  • No additional illumination required
  • Visualization of results
  • Additional detection tasks can be integrated, e.g. screw detection
  • Quick and easy change of test objects

Overview

Foreign object detection for simple and challenging surfaces

The Foreign Object Detection System is a quality control system for detecting foreign objects on simple surfaces, but also on demanding surfaces such as high-voltage batteries. The scalable system makes it possible to test a wide range of surfaces, regardless of their structure, texture and color. 3D cameras and the laser triangulation method ensure consistently high inspection quality. It maps surfaces three-dimensionally, thus detecting even the smallest foreign objects of the most varied shapes. In addition, customer-specific requirements can be integrated into the system, such as the detection of missing or incorrectly positioned screws.

At a glance
  • Optical testing system for foreign object detection based on the laser triangulation method
  • Scalable system setup with Ranger 3D vision cameras from SICK for 3D imaging
  • SICK AppSpace environment for customer-specific applications
  • Recipe management
  • Display for data visualization

Advantages

Three-dimensional object recognition for demanding detection requirements

The system works using the laser triangulation principle, which enables precise detection of foreign objects based on 3D images of the test object. It allows for reliable inspection of simple and challenging surfaces and is not sensitive to changes in texture and color. A typical inspection period lasts about 25 seconds*.

*(BEV 2,200 mm long × 1,700 mm wide)

The detection tasks of the Foreign Object Detection System can optionally be extending by functionality for recognizing screws and detecting adhesive and sealant beads. Both of these contribute to a reduction in the false positive rate and can be integrated without any additional hardware.

Optional: Missing or incorrectly positioned screws are detected without the need for additional hardware.

Imprecisely applied adhesive and sealing beads, which can lead to false alarms, can be reliably detected, as can foreign objects directly on adhesive and sealing beads.

Detection of foreign bodies in the millimeter range

The system inspects surfaces with different colors, structures and textures. This means it is suitable for light, dark, smooth, ribbed, calotted, glossy, matte and other surfaces.

Detection of wrinkles on calotted or foil-wrapped surfaces prevents false errors. Inaccuracies due to skewed or uneven test object structures can be avoided using the plane transformation function.

Even very small foreign objects of various shapes, colors and sizes, such as screws, nuts or tools, are reliably detected. Typical detection size: 4 mm x 4 mm x 2 mm (L/W/H).

Three-dimensional object detection enables reliable inspection of simple and complex surfaces and therefore the precise detection of a wide range of foreign objects.

Optimal system performance

The system delivers reliable inspection results by flexibly adapting the optics to different requirements, for example using different laser colors and focal lengths. Individual test criteria and test regions can be stored and called up depending on the production processes to quickly and easily change test objects. It does not matter whether the test objects are transported with automated guided vehicle systems or other common conveyor technologies.

High-performance system components customized to the application

The system head consists of Ranger3 3D vision cameras from SICK as well as a laser. The individual setting of the fields of view as well as the factory pre-calibration, complete alignment and commissioning processes are carried out by SICK, thereby ensuring a high degree of planning certainty.

Individually adjustable test regions enable targeted inspection, especially for test objects with large and complex surfaces. The control panel supports quick identification of foreign objects by visualizing the respective test regions.

Test objects of all sizes can be tested with the scalable system head. At the same time, shading on complex surfaces is reliably minimized.

The integrated SICK Sensor Integration Machine records, evaluates and archives camera and sensor data. This can be used for quality control and process analysis for vertical integration in Industry 4.0.

The powerful system components can be individually aligned to the application, delivering optimum performance for reliable test results.

Applications

Technical overview

 
  • Technical data overview

    Technical data overview

    Applications

    Cushion superstructure

    Occlusion compensation (in scan direction)

    Small superstructures

    Layer compensation

    Center tunnel

    Calotted surface

    Functional principleLaser triangulation
    Minimum object size4 mm x 4 mm x 2 mm (Foreign object to be detected, depending on application)
All technical data can be found accompanying the individual product

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