Make it Real
In a year of turmoil in global markets-with financial institutions struggling over the consequences of relying on dubious financial instruments-machine-vision professionals know that automated manufacturing systems, especially, lie at the core of future economic success. To accomplish these goals, engineers must leverage the development of novel technologies, production processes, and the experiences of their peers.
Many of these novel machine-vision components and systems that ensure this success can be found at VISION 2008, in Stuttgart, Germany, from November 4-6. The tradeshow also promises a number of tutorials and exhibits that show how these products are used in machine-vision applications. Organized by Messe Stuttgart, the show is the world’s largest trade fair dedicated to machine vision and will attract approximately 300 exhibitors and more than 6000 visitors.
When compared to massive, end-user-oriented shows such as PackExpo or InterSolar, shows such as VISION 2008 may appear small. However, the technologies, products, and innovative techniques involved are very often found embedded in the equipment on display at these larger shows, as demonstrated in our cover story about the production of silicon wafers for solar cell modules. At a plant in Massachusetts, smart cameras, lighting, and image-processing software guide robots in handling and sorting solar cell wafers to increase both throughput and yield.
While the trend toward energy saving may provide a light at the end of the troubles plaguing the financial markets, other more concrete processes are also underway. At an automotive parts manufacturing plant in Connecticut, for example, GigE cameras, a vision computer, and LED lighting ensure the safety of screw seals built into airbags, as you will read about in one of our features. And in a warehouse in the German state of Hesse, a customized OCR system is being used to image and track cartons with printed or handwritten labels from more than 400 worldwide suppliers.
Engineers at a steel plant in Duisburg, Germany, are also leveraging machine-vision technology to ensure that failures that in the past led to tons of molten steel spilling onto the plant floor are not repeated. To guard against a recurrence, two Ethernet-based infrared camera systems now monitor the vessels and railcars transporting the molten metal.
Many other examples of manufacturing excellence enhanced by machine vision are documented in this issue ofVision Systems Design. These include packaging systems deployed by system integrators in China, which you can read about in an article from our contributing editor in Shanghai, and how Ignazio Piacentini at ImagingLab in Italy is deploying vision-guided robotics.
While current financial turmoil will inevitably have some effect on the manufacturing sector and the machine-vision industry, one thing is for certain. Future directions in machine vision and image processing will be leveraged and capitalized upon by innovators and integrators who deploy these systems to increase the productivity and lower the costs of automated manufacturing systems.
W. Conard Holton, Editor in Chief
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