Custom Manufacturing Inspection System

Challenge

Our client had an old manufacturing inspection system (really two systems: one inspection system and an assembly/inspection system) that would no longer be supported by IT and was going to be removed from the network. They needed the operating system updated, so they decided to take this as an opportunity to port the old code from VB to C#.NET, as well as update some hardware.

As migration projects often do, this effort began by working with the client to solidify requirements, followed by a reverse engineering effort to understand the old system to try to make it match the new system as much as possible.

Solution

The updated manufacturing inspection system (one inspection system and an assembly/inspection system) included a new operating system, ported code, new motion control software, new machine vision software, and a new GUI.

Benefits

• OS Update – Updated operating system that is supported by the IT department and is less of a security risk
• Software Porting – Ported software to more maintainable language
• Measurement Accuracy – Increased inspection measurement accuracy for sub-set of measurements
• New GUI – improved operator user experience by improving readability, reducing # of required button clicks, and adding auto scroll functionality
• Report Generation – maintained existing format to interface with customer database

System Overview

The device under inspection is essentially an image sensor array used for scanning images in high end commercial-grade scanning printers.  The inspection system utilizes machine vision and precision motion control to verify the location & orientation of several parts, with measurement accuracy measured in microns.