Automated Vision System for Car Parts Inspection

Liberty Spring is a world leader in the production and distribution of precision high-tech springs for the auto, aerospace, and recreational products industries. Liberty Spring produces close to 100 million springs annually for many of the biggest names in the auto industry, clients always on the lookout for the most effective technologies on the market.

Liberty Spring had implemented automated inspection systems for several parts on its own. The company had been generally successful on this front, managing to boost production speed and lower labor costs while cutting the number of complaints for nonconformities.

However, alternator pulleys automated inspection presented huge challenges. We designed, in collaboration with Liberty Spring, an alternator pulleys inspection system. The manually loaded conveyor moves pulleys through an inspection tunnel where they are inspected from every angle. At the end of the conveyor belt, a robot gathers the pulleys, completes the inspection, and sorts them based on nonconformities. Since the alternator pulley inspection system was implemented in June 2013, it has been used to ensure conformity for parts used by major Japanese car manufacturers.

Over the past few years, they have seen a significant gain in terms of product quality and therefore, a reduction in customer complaints. They have also taken advantage of a reduction in false discards and labour costs, as well as a recording of production characteristics in a database accessible through statistical analysis tools.