Challenge
Ensure every product ships complete, with no missing pieces.
Solution
A custom conveyor with reject station, print and apply labeling, and machine vision with AI.
Story
A packaging company needed to upgrade its quality inspections. The company packages gasket kits for a large automotive end user, and there are several gaskets in each pack. Some gaskets get missed from time to time, or worse, the end user claims gaskets were missing when they were actually there. Before AI this would have been almost impossible to solve, but with the newer machine vision tools available, the team at EMP put together not just a solution but an entire production line. The line includes a custom conveyor with a reject station, a print and apply system with a desktop label printer, and a machine vision camera with built-in AI that detects missing pieces in the final assembly.
Assembled gasket kits are placed on the conveyor and labeled by the automated print and apply system before entering the vision tunnel. The label ensures the image saved from each inspection includes the kit’s serial number. After inspection, failed kits are rejected and passing kits drop onto a packaging table. Each kit is checked for every piece, and the saved image proves all pieces were present when it left the factory. When a case quantity of good kits is complete, a case label prints and the operator is notified to pack the shipping case, continuing until the order is finished. All images are then stored in the cloud with the customer order number for later retrieval.
The system ensures the customer ships only good kits, and it has become a showcase for attracting new business. For a small assembly shop, investing in this kind of inspection automation is a real advantage over competitors.
Contact the EMP Tech Group today to see how we can make your manufacturing operations better.
