All BMW vehicles produced in Bavaria are subjected to numerous, individual quality control measures and whilst cost and time efficient automated testing is the common goal, identifying the optimum procedure for each inspection task is a priority.
A prime example is testing exhaust flaps as not all models with dual exhaust systems operate the same. So the inspection method has to be flexible to allow the specific characteristics of each model to be checked so thermal imaging is therefore an ideal choice.
Recently, an ageing and high maintenance twin camera system on each dynamometer test rig has been replaced by a neat FLIR Systems’
solution. Instead of two cameras inspecting the dual exhaust systems from the left and right, single FLIR A-Series cameras are employed.
Centrally positioned in the rig, the FLIR A-Series camera with wide field of view, images the entire end of the vehicle from a distance of approximately two metres. This model has a frame rate of 30Hz, ideal for recording exhaust flow and supports both GigE Vision and GeniCam protocols – data is transmitted via TCP IP or Ethernet.
The FLIR solution not only halved the cost of the new camera hardware but also improved system reliability significantly.
FLIR Systems www.flir.com
T: 01732 220 011
