Vision Engineering supplies inspection system

Charles Newby, Butser Rubber production director, said: 'Having been users of Vision Engineering's Mantis, low-magnification visual inspection microscopes for several years, we have been impressed by the 3D imaging they provide.

'The Mantis units' ergonomics give our operators improved freedom of head movement, while advanced optical technology allows improved hand-eye co-ordination.

'Compared to our previous systems, Mantis microscopes have considerably reduced eye strain, while also allowing our inspection operators to wear glasses if required,' he added.

When the requirement for a high-accuracy, three-axis non-contact video measuring system arose, a demonstration of Vision's recently launched Falcon was requested.

'Having recently been awarded a contract for the extremely high-volume supply of precision automotive components, we realised that, although we had the necessary expertise and manufacturing capacity, the requirement for 100 per cent inspection of these complex parts would overwhelm our already busy inspection department,' said Newby.

'Complicating our requirement, the nature of our manufactured components means that they are deformable, this factor precludes the use of conventional physical measuring techniques within our in-process and final inspection routines.

'Once the advanced features of Vision Engineering's Falcon 300 had been demonstrated, we realised that we had found the solution to our high-volume, high-accuracy measuring needs.

'The Falcon three-axis, non-contact measuring system is now allowing us to undertake the required 100 per cent inspection of our high-volume, complex automotive parts.

'The Falcon 300 is able to perform the in-depth measurement of a full batch of parts in just two hours, which compares with the two days taken previously,' he added.

The Falcon 300 is said to deliver high-accuracy measurement results within a compact footprint and is suitable for both shop floor quality control and manufacturing inspection applications.

Falcon provides fast three-axis measurement of both routine and complex precision component parts.

It can be used for anything from simple, single-feature operations, to multi-point video edge detection measurements.

Vision Engineering said that its three-axis video measuring system capabilities include, high-resolution indexed zoom optics, offering high precision and improved flexibility in a compact design.

Falcon has a large field of view for easy sample orientation and unique surface and sub-stage iris aperture control for adjusting the depth of field.

Other standard features include progressive motorised Z-axis control, controllable quadrant LED illumination and both high- and low-magnification lens options.