Machine Vision

TKH cameras inspect door panels of cars

The options that a customer can choose from when buying a car seem unlimited. However, because of these different options, the production of car parts cannot be standardized, and each part must be configured separately. TKH’s vision technology plays an important role in the end-of-line systems for inspection automation and quality control of door panels for cars.

Before the door panels are sent to the factory for final assembly, their working and exactitude must be verified. This means checking the colour of fabrics, leather or seams, the decor finish, the sound system, and the function buttons. Visual inspection plays an important role in this. Up to 17 cameras can be integrated into the end-of-line system for inspection purposes.

Specific cameras for varied inspection tasks

Five-megapixel Manta cameras from TKH are used to perform the colour recognition inspection - for example, the colour of the leather, the seam and the seam contour. In complex and compact systems, ultra-compact Mako cameras (Mako G-125) are used because of their minimalist housing, which is as small as a sugar cube. Several high-resolution, 29-megapixel Prosilica GT6600 cameras check the course and intensity of the line illumination, in addition to inspecting surfaces. While covering a large field of view, the cameras deliver the resolution of 0.1 mm/pixel that the car manufacturer needs. Fast data transfer and efficient drivers for Windows applications allow a short test time. The complete inspection of all components takes just 23 seconds, thanks to delayed work-flow steps. The cameras capture images of the door panels from different angles. As a result, inspection images are suitable for many fields of interest.