Omron Automation Americas has developed a unique technology that can automatically detect small defects and subtle changes in color with great sensitivity. It can also simultaneously detect defects with different characteristics.

One of the key technologies in this powerful vision solution is an advanced lighting technology that changes illumination angles, directions, and colors depending on the specific characteristics of the object under inspection. Known as “Multi-Direction Multi-Color” (MDMC) Light, this innovation takes the automation of quality inspections to a whole new level.

The new vision system is designed to meet the growing demands for exceptional quality that are putting pressure on manufacturers to detect all scratches and other defects on products, no matter how small. Furthermore, today’s labor shortages are making it especially difficult to recruit enough visual inspectors to successfully complete all the necessary inspections without automating at least part of the process.

While conventional vision systems have typically been unable to match the capability of the human eye for certain defect detection tasks, the FH series has surpassed this performance threshold with the MDMC Light technology and Photometric Stereo Illumination. Manufacturers can take advantage of these solutions to see small and subtle defects and maintain a high level of inspection quality.

The illumination pattern of the MDMC Light is flexible using the “Scene Switch” functionality incorporated into the software. Even if inspection items are added or modified to meet changes in demand, there is no need to add or adjust illumination. All that is required is a simple change to the illumination pattern.

In addition to the introduction of the MDMC Light, controllers and cameras in the FH series have been upgraded to quantitatively detect and measure minute variances while managing the inspection results. The enhanced controller’s processing speeds are twice as fast as conventional models.

To help with regulatory compliance in pharmaceutical and other industries, the FH-series vision system can store all inspection results without hampering productivity thanks to its fast processing speed and high degree of synchronization with automation systems via a communications network. The results can be stored directly to a database using the machine automation controller over EtherCAT and can be output in combination with inspection image data and key inspection information.

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