On-line system for inspection of ball-point pens for presence of the proper sized ball, amount of ball protrusion and the brass to plastic assembly for gap detection. The system inspects fourteen (14) pens per second and signals either pass or fail to the assembly PLC for activation of an air blow to remove the defective ball-point pen from the line. This assembly verification system rejects defective ball-point pens that leak in proceeding batch processes and contaminate hundreds of other ball-point pens.

This color system inspects trays of seedlings and measures the growth performance of seed samples. The system utilizes advanced color processing, and image-editing software developed for the project. Data compiled by the system is used for customer evidence of the seed lot’s growth potential.

In the bottle making industry, hot molten gobs of glass are dropped though the air into molds. Typically these gobs are made by cutting a strand that is flowing through a valve. If the weight if the gobs are not within tolerance, the bottles will not be complete, or the machinery will be overworked and glass will be wasted. It is physically impossible to weigh the gobs on line, so the operator waits for a bottle to cool and then weighs the sample. This cam make adjusting the valve system very complicated and cumbersome. We worked with a glass industry expert to develop a measurement and control system to better adjust the valves and make a more consistent product. The expert developed a control method with our consulting advice, and we developed a vision system that calculated the weight from attained images of the falling gob.

This system was designed to allow operators to calibrate and test gauges accurately and consistently. The system used a waveform generator to produce the proper waveform to excite the selected gauge. The vision portion of the system would then read the gauge, and display the needed calibration adjustment to the operator in real time. Once the reading matched acceptable tolerance, acceptance was displayed to the operator. If the tolerance could not be attained, “Failure “was displayed, and the gauge was set aside for rework.

On-line system for inspection of felt tip pens for tip presence and proper protrusion of felt. The system inspects four (4) pens per second and signals either pass or fail to the assembly PLC, for activation of an air blow to remove the defective ball-point pen from the line. This final assembly verification system rejects defective felt tip pens that leak in subsequent batch processes and contaminate hundreds of other felt pens.

On-line system for inspection of both sides of White Out bottles for proper label applications and confirmation of bottle cap presence and degree of tightness. Label position and tilt are measured with respect to the bottle orientation and for comparison to user selectable parameters. The system inspects five (5) bottles per second and signals either pass or fail to the assembly PLC for activation of an air blow to remove the defective bottle from the line. This final assembly verification system rejects defective bottles prior to packaging and shipment.

On-line system for inspection of threads and neck folds in plastic bottles. The system inspects plastic bottles at fifteen (15) per second for thread presence and examines for neck fold defects. The system incorporates part tracking and reject control software to remove flawed product from the production line.

Laboratory system for eccentricity measurement between the ball crimping edge of the pen point and the ink delivery capillary hole that resides behind the ball. The system acquires multiple images of the point and locates the inner and outer circumference of the ball crimping edge. Edges of the capillary are located and compared for the eccentricity calculation (distance off center from each other). The lighting adjusts automatically for imaging of the ink delivery capillary. The derived data is graphically and textually displayed and stored to a database. This system is repeatable and accurate to one (1) micron.

On-line system for inspection of White Out bottle brushes for bristle length, flying bristles and bristle staple protrusion. The system inspects the brushes from three perspectives, in 120 degrees increments around the brush head. The system inspects five (5) brushes per second and signals either pass or fail to the assembly PLC which activates an air blow for removal of the defective bottle from the line. This final assembly verification system rejects defective bottle brushes prior to the bottle insertion process.

The system aides the machinist in machining pen point cutting tools to microscopically fine angular and linear dimensional tolerances. The system measures the fixtured part between machining passes and displays the required measurements.

This is an online system, which inspects pump spray buttons (atomizer) for bottle dispensers. These are typically found on perfume, and hairspray bottles. The system inspected the pump buttons for presence, alignment, size, and identification of the inserted atomizer nozzle. The atomizer nozzle is also inspected for defects. The system inspects (7) seven dispensers and nozzles per second and signals either pass or fail to the assembly PLC. The system incorporates part tracking and reject control software to remove flawed product from the production line.

On-line system for inspection of spray buttons on pump bottle dispensers for presence, alignment and size identification of the inserted atomizer nozzle. The atomizer nozzle is also inspected for defects. The system inspects (7) seven dispensers and nozzles per second and signals either pass or fail to the assembly PLC. The system incorporates part tracking and reject control software to remove flawed product from the production line.

On-line measurement and identification system for television screen panels. The system measures and identifies (8) eight pre-programmed sizes ranging from 13"to 35" and is able to "learn" new sizes. The system inspects (2) two screens per second that appear at any rotational angle on the chucking mechanism. Product data is transferred to the host for post processing robotic handling, inventory control and related product management objectives.

The system is equipped with a precision movable stage and light microscope which counts from 4000 to 400,000 damage tracks on mica wafers which have been removed from neutron dosimeters. The system captures approximately 400 images of the active sections of the mica wafers and separates the damaged tracks from other imperfections in the mica wafers. The system determines if or how many tracks are partially coincident, ensures that tracks on the image boundaries are counted correctly, records the counts and develops statistical information pertaining to the process.