Optical surface inspection of profiles for the rubber industry: On-site calibration saves time and ensures reliable production along the entire process chain.
Pixargus, leading manufacturer of inspection systems for profiles and tubings, is now offering on-site calibration services for Pixargus systems by means of a newly developed mobile calibration unit. The advantage for the customer is that the inspection system does not have to be removed from the production line and shipped to Pixargus but will be immediately ready for use after the calibration has been done.
More and more end customers insist on the implementation of automatic optical surface inspection in the production processes. Therefore, high precision and long-term reliability of the inspection systems have become increasingly important aspects for tubing and profile manufacturers, since these systems have meanwhile become an integral element of quality control in many works. This makes regular checks and calibration of these systems indispensible.
With the Pixargus inspection badge and the MSA certification, profile manufacturers can attest to their customers that the inline quality control systems in place work flawlessly and reliably.
The mobile calibration unit contains a certified calibration specimen with several boreholes, the distances and diameters of which have been precisely measured. As the surface inspection is based on line scan cameras, the specimen must be constantly in motion while being measured. Pixargus solved this requirement by means of a motorized traversing unit which constantly moves the specimen back and forth. Inspection systems may be equipped with up to eight cameras. In order to allow each individual camera to be tested, the specimen can be rotated while being clamped in the calibration unit.
During each test, the system captures 600 measurements per camera. Pixargus evaluates the data and makes them available to the operator. After completion of the evaluation process, the system will receive the new parameters, which can also be fed to the system via remote access from the Pixargus head office. The calibration guarantees the customer that surface defects of the profiles, if any, are detected at the correct positions and that their sizes are correctly measured.
Michael Frohn, Service Manager at Pixargus, has already successfully accomplished numerous onsite calibrations: „Pixargus is the first company in our industry to offer a mobile calibration service. It is no longer necessary to remove the systems from the production lines. The calibration is a matter of just a few hours and does not require any major preparations. Our customers particularly appreciate that they can call on us, for example, in case of a plant downtime scheduled at short notice.“
Dirk Broichhausen, Vice President Sales & Marketing at Pixargus, sees the mobile calibration service as part of the overall performance of the Pixargus inspection systems: „The quality requirements to be coped with along the entire process chain are becoming ever more exacting. Fewer and fewer operators are responsible for more and more plants and have to safeguard the plants“ process capability and the repeatability and stability of the processes. For us this means that it is no longer sufficient to react quickly and competently but that we must also be able to act preemptively. By „competently“ I understand that we do not have a run-of-the-mill call center but a hotline operated by a team of technicians and engineers who have direct access to the product management system and are capable of providing qualified answers to our customers“ questions – in real time.“
Pixargus at DKT 2015 (Nürnberg, 29.6.-2.7.):
hall 12, stand 286
About Pixargus
Pixargus develops and produces systems for optical inline measurement and inspection of continuously produced long products such as profiles, tubing, tubes, webs and cables made of a great variety of materials. Established in 1999 as a spin-off of the Institute of Plastics Processing (Institut für Kunststoffverarbeitung IKV) of the Technical University RWTH of Aachen/Germany, Pixargus has specialized in optical quality control of extruded products made of plastics and rubber.
Pixargus systems inspect sealing profiles – for example, for the automotive industry – and tubing, catheters, cables or window seals as well as raw material (compounds) made of thermoplastic elastomers (TPE) and rubber. Additionally, Pixargus offers systems for the inspection of – textured, woven or non-woven – web material.
The company is one of the world“s technology leaders in the field of optical inline quality control. Worldwide almost all major manufacturers of automotive rubber profiles use Pixargus systems for surface inspection and profile measurements. Also in medical engineering Pixargus has set new standards with its inline surface inspection systems for medical tubing.
The underlying image processing technology is also the basis of the recently founded GoalControl GmbH and the goal-line technology of the same name, which proved itself in practice during the FIFA World Cup 2014 in Brazil.
Pixargus is based in Würselen near Aachen/Germany. The company is active worldwide through its US branch and various international technical agencies.
Firmenkontakt
Pixargus GmbH
Dirk Broichhausen
Monnetstraße 2
52146 Würselen / Germany
+49.2405.47908-0
+49.2405.47908-11
info@pixargus.de
http://www.pixargus.de
Pressekontakt
VIP-Kommunikation
Regina Reinhardt
Suesterfeldstr. 83
52072 Aachen / Germany
+49.241.89468-24
reinhardt@vip-kommunikation.de
http://www.vip-kommunikation.de
