Freudenberg Sealing advances defect detection with new in-house technology

Weinheim, Germany – Freudenberg Sealing Technologies (FST) is advancing efforts to zero in on defects with the installation of an advanced machine vision inspection system.

The system combines “proprietary vision control technology” with advanced automation to eliminate some process steps involved in quality inspections on small parts, the company explained in a statement 29 March.

Developed by FST engineers in Germany and the US, the machines are “smaller, more flexible & efficient and less expensive to build than commercially available inspection units.”

According to the German manufacturer, the first rotary, glass plate FVision GP 50 device was installed at the company’s facility in Morristown, Indiana in early January.

The plant has ordered additional units for installation in 2022, and other FST sites in Oehringen, Oberwihl and Weinheim, Germany and Bristol, New Hampshire, are in discussion to install the technology.

According to VP Rober Scavuzzo, developing the technology internally has enabled the FST to tailor individual inspection machines to specific production applications and defect parameters.

The automated system also minimises the need for manual inspections, which typically take more time and are less likely to detect tiny defects.

“The updated machine vision technology is the next step in the evolution, helping us to more effectively meet zero-defect mandates,” Scavuzzo said.

According to FST, the FVision GP 50 machine can be used to inspect a wide variety of components, including small automotive seals, springs and O-rings, made of different types of materials and with different production processes.

It features new image processing technology – including the ability to self-adapt to process variations – and can support as many as four cameras.

Measuring 80 cm by 80 cm, the machine is about one-third the size and cost of current glass-plated inspection machines, FST said.

The device is stationed at the end of a production line or process to measure variances in parts as they are completed.

It can inspect up to 10 parts per second, although according to FST, feeding rate limitations will likely result in some throughput variation among production applications.

The initial application is designed to conduct about 20 different surface inspections, while additional surface inspections or adherence to dimensional tolerances can be added as needed.

FST expects the inspection units to reduce the possibility of expensive customer recalls through a “more robust production inspection process.”