Simpler Systems Make Clearer Vision

Two other producers’ ease-of-use tactic was to develop adaptive software that learns what end-users want in order to provide simple answers.

Needham, Mass.-based Cognex Corp. (www.cognex.com) added Checker 101 to its family of vision devices because manufacturers who were already using high-end vision systems said there was a need for a simpler device, explains John Keating, product manager of the Checker family. “Customers were saying, ‘There are a lot of jobs out here that we would like to do with vision, but we can’t justify the money to buy other systems.’ ”

Pass or fail?

The new device, which comes preset with a range of parameters, looks and feels like a photoelectric device, but there are no quantitative values generated, Keating says, only a qualitative threshold—the pass/fail measure. This sensor detects presence or absence of something, for example, a straw attached to a juice box. “It shows up as output, as well as in real time, with a graphical update,” says Keating. The output answers two questions: Did the device see a part? If so, is that part good or bad?

This technology currently finds use in automotive and packaging sectors, including consumer goods, and food and beverage. Keating notes that the goal is to have the device installed and operating within an hour. He also notes that end-users don’t need help from his company in setting up the device.

To provide an ease-of-use technology, Tokyo-headquartered Omron (www.omron.com) introduced ZFV, a miniature vision system. “The controls are very intuitive,” says Sensor Product Manager Reno Suffi, with Omron Management Center of America, located in Schaumburg, Ill. Setting up the device takes approximately five minutes, he says, adding that the camera is designed to look at only one criterion. “You teach the system based on one unit, and then you run it. If you want to do two inspections, you just add an additional device.”

Generally, ZFV is used for presence/absence or quality inspections, he notes. It is currently being used by a national dairy company to detect printed date coding on milk cartons. “The sensor will say, ‘Yes, the date code is there,’ and ‘It’s X percent legible,’ ” Suffi notes.

Just released at the end of February was Version 1.1 of the Intellect software from Duluth, Ga.-based DVT Corp. (www.dvtsensors.com). It’s the evolution of the company’s longstanding Framework technology. “We developed Intellect with the power to learn,” says Robert Blenis, DVT’s research-and-development manager. “The users can easily draw the tools and set parameters for their inspections, and Intellect does the rest.”

The new product’s tools are organized to make sense even to users who don’t have vision technology experience, with categories such as counting, positioning and measurement. That organization makes it easier for end-users to select the right tool. Blenis adds that with Intellect, applications that could have taken hours in the past can now be solved in a few minutes.

It’s Automated

One such application is in pharmaceuticals, for example, in the manufacture of medication blister packs. “With Intellect, you could draw the region of interest; it automatically learns the size and shape of the pills and automatically counts them. The user only has to tell Intellect how many pills to expect and to record a failure if the correct number of pills isn’t present.”

Overall, the vision-products market now experiences a very high degree of acceptance, says Omron’s Suffi. Demand is increasing from the food-and-beverage sector, he says. One reason, he believes, is that technology has evolved, with set-up times decreasing and functionality greatly improving.

C. Kenna Amos, [email protected], is an Automation World contributing editor.