Automated Inspection System

Inspection has become a necessary part of any manufacturing system. This is the means of rejecting nonconformities & assuring good quality products. The advent of technologically updated inspection equipment helped to overcome the problems connected with traditional approaches. Traditional approach utilized labour-intensive methods that resulted in enhance of manufacturing lead time & production cost. Moreover, there is an important delay in detecting an out of control limit. Therefore the products that are not conforming to the specified standards accrue to the additional cost of scrap and rework.

New approach to quality control laid down conditions under which inspection must be carried out. The new approach includes:

1. Manual inspection method surrogated by 100% automated inspection.

2. Offline inspection performed later is replaced with online sensor systems to accomplish inspection during or immediately after the manufacturing process.

3. Feedback control of the manufacturing operation in which process variable that determines product quality are monitored rather than the product itself.

4. Statistical process control is ensured using software tools to track and analyze the sensor measurement over time.

5. Advanced inspection and sensor technologies, interfaced with computer based systems to automate the operations of the sensor systems.

Objectives

After studying this unit, you should be able to

• Describe the fundamentals of inspection procedures and inspection accuracy,
• Explain the modern approaches to inspection with an emphasis on automating the inspection function,
• Reject the product if it fails to meet the specified standards, and
• Assess the quality of the workmanship and materials used during production.