APRIL 19--The Invensys Vision & Robotics Group (Montreal, Canada; www.invensys.com) has received a C1.1 million order from Aluminerie Alouette Inc., an aluminum company based in Quebec. Aluminerie Alouette will install two vision inspection stations to examine baked anodes before use in production and anode stems after refurbishment. The inspection stations are part of the Alouette Phase II plant-expansion project at the Sept-Iles, Quebec, plant. The new equipment will assist the company to reach its objective to more than double plant output.
The anode-inspection station automatically captures a full image of anodes conveyed from the baking furnace and analyzes them for defects, including cracks, missing parts, burn traces, and rod hole symmetry. The station performs inspection at line speeds and prevents defective anodes from moving into production.
The rod-inspection station is used to examine stem-rod assemblies that have been refurbished after production to ensure quality. After an anode has been consumed during production, the resulting butt is removed and the stem-rod assembly is refurbished and recycled back into production. Each stem has six rods and rod-ends, or stubs, which are bonded with the anode. The inspection station will check the stubs for several defects including bent or missing stubs and improper length to assure the assembly is properly refurbished and is suitable for production.
