Case Studies
Member Since 2014
Founded as Machine Vision Company (MVC) in 2002 and headquartered just outside Boston MA and with offices in Austin TX, VAIA Technologies is a full service machine vision, automation and robotics systems integrator providing turnkey vision solutions, custom machine builds, vision consulting in support of manufacturing and OEMs across a wide range of industries. The company was rebranded and renamed to VAIA Technologies in 2017 to better reflect our full range of offerings and capabilities: Vision, Automation, Integration, Analytics. Differentiated by an extensive in-house software development and engineering expertise, VAIAs systems have been successfully deployed nationwide and internationally to over 300 clients including many Fortune 500 clients. VAIA specializes in conceptualizing, designing installing and maintaining solutions that address most difficult of issues. Our engineers are highly skilled at identifying and deploying the correct technology for each project. As well as being a leading US based Cognex Partner System Integrator (PSI), we also have years of experience integrating technology from Keyence, Halcon, Allen Bradley, Fanuc, Opto Engineering and others.
Content Filed Under:
Industry:
Medical Devices
Medical Devices
Application:
Component Verification
, In Process Verification
, and Process Control
Component Verification
, In Process Verification
, Process Control
, Quality Assurance
, and Visual Inspection & Testing
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Inspection of Medical Products for Assembly Verification
POSTED 11/29/2017
| By: Joe Gugliotti, Business Development Manager
Problem Statement:
The component being inspected is a medical device. Automated inspection is of primary importance to the client. Prior to using VAIA’s more advanced integrated inspection system, each medical device was already being inspected using machine vision, but the system:
1) Used a lower resolution monochrome inspection image that made it difficult to inspect small components
2) Did not take advantage of the fact that certain components were best imaged and inspected in color
3) Suffered from uneven lighting and reflection problems off the front of the part
4) Was not tightly integrated into the overall PLC-based process control configuration of the production line
With new production lines being built, the client wished to develop a next-generation version of the inspection system.
VAIA Solution Description:
VAIA developed a more advanced color imaging system with much higher image resolution to overcome many of the limitations of the original system. This was integrated directly into 2 next-generation in-line enclosures developed specifically for the new production lines being built.
The integrated medical device inspection solution provided by VAIA:
- Improves image resolution, provides color inspection tools, and improves the lighting configuration
- Permits the selection of the inspection recipe configuration for the medical device model to be inspected via an HMI (there are 13 models)
- Accepts setup information, communicating via Ethernet to and from the machine PLC to configure the entire machine to test the desired part number
- Automates the medical device inspection, providing 100% inspection and verification of the internal components
- Generates a Pass or Fail signal communicated to the machine PLC
- Generates a Failure error code communicated to the machine PLC
- Displays process information to the operator
- Stores associated date, time, product type, and failure code for each failed product
- Stores the image of each failed product
- Monitors all system faults
- Provides an audit trail, critical for medical product manufacture
Technologies Integrated:
- Detailed inspection result graphics and mapping to display the inspection results
- Tight integration of vision inspection, machine setup, and results communication for improved process control
Benefits:
Using this system, the client improved the quality and comprehensiveness of the inspection process for each medical device model, implemented improved process control, and is receiving improved inspection system feedback about assembly failures, thus improving root cause analysis.