> Car dashboard test at Johnson Controls
application story
> car component supplier
> Vision system and robotics ensure 100% quality
By Dipl.-Ing. Andreas Tarnoki, Sales Manager of Weinheim-based VMT Vision Machine Technic GmbH
Johnson Controls uses 8 cameras to test up to 70 characteristics of
car dashboards in 2 variants on the basis of 4 criteria. A VMT image
processing system delivers 100% reliability.
Most vehicle manufacturers get the parts for their vehicle interiors
from suppliers. This allows them to improve quality and reduce
costs. Johnson Controls is one of the world's leading companies in
the fields of automotive interiors, electronics and batteries, and the
company counts major car manufacturers among its most important customers.
At its production facility in Lüneburg the company manufactures a
great variety of dashboards and door trim panels for different automotive manufacturers. Johnson Controls supplies these parts directly to the manufacturer's production line. This means, of course,
that they must be tested before they leave the factory in Lüneburg
to establish that they are totally fault-free.
An ABB robot takes the dashboard assemblies and presents them in five positions to the vision system.
In order to keep one step ahead of its customers' growing expectations, Johnson Controls constantly strives to innovate in order to
improve product quality and quality assurance.
Safety and quality requirements are becoming increasingly complex, and this applies particularly to dashboards. As a result, a very
large number of quality-relevant parts that are important for subsequent production steps have to be tested before they can be delivered. These include correctly fitted rivets, particularly in the airbag
area, clips, spring holders, other add-on parts and assemblies and
screw fittings generally.
facts
Industrial sector:
Car component industry
Task:
Automatic testing of car dashboards
Hardware:
60 to 70 changing characteristics are currently tested. The fact that
there are both left- and right-hand-drive models means this number is higher than it would otherwise be. The tests establish not
just that the parts are present or fitted correctly but also that the
correct parts have been used and that they are positioned accurately. Up to now, most of the characteristics have been tested
manually by Johnson Controls staff working in three shifts.
m e m b e r o f t h e st e m m e r i m a g i n g g r o u p
Optics C5028-M, C2514-M, C1614-M,
H1214-M (Pentax)
Cameras JAI M50 (JAI)
Frame Grabber PX-610 (CyberOptics)
Software:
Distributor:
Common Vision Blox tool Minos
(STEMMER IMAGING)
VMT Bildverarbeitungssysteme, Germany
> Car dashboard test at Johnson Controls
> The nature of the task means a mechanical solution is not feasible
To automate the testing of the dashboards, a flexible and extensible
system had to be created that would ensure reliable and continuous
100% testing of the dashboards and allow a large number of tests
to be carried out and documented on all types of dashboards.
A further challenge was posed by the different colour combinations and surfaces that have to be handled by the system. It was
not possible to specify the type and colour in advance.
The system also has to allow the faulty dashboards to be transferred
to a reworking point and to indicate to operatives which faults
exist, and where, so that they can identify and repair or replace the
parts or assemblies found to be faulty as easily as possible and absolutely reliably.
Due to the high number of characteristics, some of which are difficult to access, and to the need for a high level of flexibility to allow
tests to be added quickly and simply, a mechanical, tactile solution
was not considered.
This demanding challenge was met by Weinheim-based VMT
Vision Machine Technic GmbH in close collaboration with Dieffenbacher Automation GmbH, a company located in Seevetal near
Hamburg. The project was handled by the engineers at VMT's
north German office in Garbsen. The fact that the two companies
were geographically close to the customer worked in the project's
favour, and consequently the system was successfully implemented within a short space of time.
In order to come up to the high requirements stipulated, it was
decided to put in place an automated system using a multi-camera
version of the proven VMT IS image processing system, with image
processing components from STEMMER IMAGING GmbH, in con-
A total of eight cameras and special lighting ensure the best possible images are
obtained.
junction with an ABB robot. The system is completed by two conveyors. The first of these passes the good dashboards on to the
next stage in the production process, and the second takes faulty
dashboards to the reworking point.
"We get all the image processing components, such as the cameras,
lenses and frame grabber cards, from STEMMER IMAGING. In addition to our own proven software tools, it was particularly helpful to
be able to use the Common Vision Blox software platform," reports
VMT chief executive Harald Mikeska. STEMMER IMAGING GmbH,
which is based in Puchheim near Munich, supplies all the components required for image processing and develops the Common
Vision Blox image processing software platform and associated
tools.
our partner vmt
The Weinheim-based company VMT Bildverarbeitungssysteme GmbH provides individual turnkey image processing systems and compact
cameras working in fields such as recognition of part types and workpiece positions, assembly monitoring, completeness checking, plain-text
and barcode scanning, 2D and 3D robot vision guidance, automatic testing units and assembly machines, inline measurement and checking of
packaging, also for the pharmaceutical industry, validable according to 21 CFR Part 11.
More information: www.vmt-gmbh.com
www.stemmer-imaging-group.com
A company of the Pepperl+Fuchs Group
> Car dashboard test at Johnson Controls
> Automatic operation starts
The new work sequence begins when the operative places the
dashboards at the starting point. The robot then takes the dashboard and presents it in five different positions to a total of eight
cameras fitted to a steel structure in the cubicle. It would not be
possible to carry out all 65 tests within the very short cycle time
available without so many cameras.
On the basis of all the measurements taken, the dashboard is
transferred to the reworking point conveyor if any faults are found.
At the reworking point the operative sees the positions of the
faults on a "digital" dashboard displayed on a large screen. Once
reworking is completed, the dashboard is tested again. The image
processing system remains available for automatic measurements
throughout the reworking process.
According to Mr Winkenwerder, Johnson Controls' project manager, the image processing system is so easy to use that his staff
After up to 70 characteristics have been evaluated, the positions of the defects
are displayed on a "digital" dashboard assembly on a large screen.
was able to create new characteristics and optimise the system
during production after only two days' training. "The offline teaching function, in particular, has accelerated the optimisation of
the system. This is made possible by the fact that all tests are recorded and the associated images saved," continues Winkenwerder.
"Since going into operation the image processing system has
proved to be highly reliable," says Winkenwerder, who is thoroughly
satisfied with the solution, particularly in view of the fact that the
expected cost savings have been realised.
> The VMT image processing system
The real centrepiece of the system is the VMT IS software, which
has been developed together with customers from the automotive
and automotive supply industry over several years in over 500 projects. The development of a simple and intuitive user interface was
a very high priority, and this enables the user to carry out tests
independently after only a few days.
The system is set up and operated using the graphical user interface, without the need for any programming at all. You work with
the graphical user interface in exactly the same way, regardless of
whether you are using the system for robot vision guidance, completeness checking or plain-text reading, for example. The user
languages (German and English as standard) can be switched over
at any time online, and other languages can be added.
www.stemmer-imaging-group.com
Gutenbergstr. 9 – 11 . 82178 Puchheim, Germany . Phone +49 89 80902-0 . Fax +49 89 80902-116
Rietbrunnen 48 . 8808 Pfäffikon SZ, Switzerland . Phone +41 55 4159090 . Fax +41 55 4159091
PP-VMT2e-12/2006 . Subject to technical change without notice. No liability is accepted for errors which may be contained in this document.
In the first step the dashboard type is identified by the image processing system, and the correct test for this type is started automatically. All the characteristics are then tested in a total of five robot
positions. On reaching one of the positions, the robot starts a measurement via the Profibus interface. After only a few hundredths of
a second it receives the signal to continue. In each position the
VMT image processing system records and evaluates multiple characteristics simultaneously. The characteristics themselves are
located on all sides of the dashboard. After carrying out the tests in
the last position, the image processing system transfers all the
measurements to the robot control unit. It takes approximately
8 seconds to evaluate the entire dashboard, and that includes all
the robot's measurements.