In-line quality inspection in the
Pressing shop from Smart Press Shop
Despite the use of high-quality production techniques, pressing plants are still faced with the challenge of ensuring the perfect quality of their production parts. However, it is virtually impossible to completely avoid typical defects - including cracks, constrictions, breaks, etc. - during the manufacturing process. They not only lead to expensive returns or rejects in production, but also to rising personnel costs and delivery bottlenecks.
The body parts manufacturer Smart Press Shop GmbH & Co. KG from Halle (Saale) has set itself the task of building the most efficient and innovative pressing plant possible, which avoids the above problems by using the smartest and most innovative technologies on the market. The focus of the joint venture between Porsche AG and Schuler AG is on the production of outer skin parts made of aluminum or steel as well as the production of small batch sizes.
Quality assurance in Industry 4.0 meets artificial intelligence
In order to sustainably optimize end-of-line inspection, elunic AG was commissioned by Smart Press Shop to install AI.SEE™ inspection cells on the outfeed conveyor. AI.SEE™ is an AI-based, visual quality control and defect detection system for press shops that can be easily integrated into both new and existing outfeed conveyors thanks to its modular mounting technology. AI.SEE™ consists of the software, the so-called AI.SEE™ Core, which enables the central collection and management of all AI.SEE™ inspection cells, and the hardware, the AI.SEE™ Line Inspector. This consists of standardized cameras that are attached to the outfeed conveyor inside the inspection cell.
After the inspection cell was installed on the Smart Press Shop quality inspection outfeed conveyor, the neural network of the AI was trained using live inspection images of components with typical defects. Up to 1,800 defect variants could be derived from a single defect image. The cameras in the inspection cell scan the production part, whereupon the system assesses its status as "IO" (OK) or "NOK" (not OK) on the line and triggers appropriate follow-up processes after the inspection. Thanks to AI.SEE™'s ability to learn continuously, the precision of the detected defects increases continuously with the inspected and annotated production parts.
In order to achieve the fastest possible results, elunic drew on its extensive industry and technical knowledge, which enabled the inspection cells to be successfully installed in the press shop at Smart Press Shop. This enabled a 360-degree component inspection to be carried out, in which the various complex component geometries do not play a role.
"Ultimately, in my view, it makes sense not to integrate a stand-alone solution into your process. From my point of view, this has never proved to be a sustainable solution at any press shop I have visited. And accordingly, I can only recommend fully integrating AI.SEE™ into the existing IT infrastructure and developing your own IT processes accordingly with your colleagues."
Mike Ehrhardt
Added value and functions
Further references
More about the reference project.
