Researchers from the laboratory for machine tools and production engineering at Aachen University (Aachen, Germany) have developed a prototype machine vision system that can be used to automatically inspect the wear of cutting tools used in manufacturing environments.
After the system acquires an image of the tool using a monochrome CCD-camera, its edges are detected and the regions of wear highlighted. Feature extraction is then performed on the image from which the type of wear and its extent can be determined.
Since tool wear has a direct influence on the final quality of products, measuring tool wear using such a system could have numerous benefits in the manufacturing industry.
A technical paper "Machine vision system for inspecting flank wear on cutting tools," that describes the system in detail was published in the ACEEE International Journal on Control System and Instrumentation earlier in the year. It can be found here.
Related items from Vision Systems Design on manufacturing technologies that you might also be interested in reading.
1. Thermography system inspects composites during production
Engineers at the Mistras Group (Princeton Junction, NJ, USA) are determining the feasibility of using Line Scanning Thermography (LST) for the non-destructive inspection of pultruded composite structures during manufacturing.
2. Robots team with 3-D scanners for fast part profiling
AV&R Vision & Robotics (Montreal, QC, Canada) has developed a system that combines visual inspection, robotics, and 3-D profiling techniques.
3. Smart cameras monitor the quality of particle board in Thailand
Engineers at Siam Riso Wood Products (Sarattani, Thailand) have developed an automated vision system that can monitor the quality of particle board using smart cameras from National Instruments Thailand (Bangkok, Thailand).
-- Dave Wilson, Senior Editor, Vision Systems Design