Earlier in 2013, Optima Control Solutions announced the addition of machine vision to its services. Michael Hill, Managing Director of Optima, explained:

Broadening our portfolio to include vision is an exciting strategic step for Optima. We forecast strong growth in the adoption of vision technologies as the leading manufacturers continue to introduce new products to the market and meet wider and more demanding applications.

Vision technology offers the obvious advantage of reliability in repetitive manual inspection tasks; the applications skills for vision are complex and highly specialist. By possessing the skills to apply the technology expertly coupled with our acknowledged control system engineering ability means Optima can offer clients a single-source solution provider with an impressive breadth of application knowledge.”

Machine vision utilises high-quality imaging methods and has a broad scope of applications for manufacturers:

  • Defect elimination – vision is used to detect and eliminate production defects before further processing is applied. This ensures high product quality and reduces production costs.

  • Assembly verification – Machine vision is a very accurate measurement tool. It determines object dimensions precisely to the millimetre, again reducing the number of defect or wasted products.

  • Process Automation – guiding industrial robots becomes easier with vision technologies. “Teaching” a robot to perform a particular task is a time-consuming job. Vision allows for real-time adjustments of a robot’s position, making the production process more efficient.

  • Tracking and identification of parts – Efficiency improvements depend on the ability to track parts and products. Tracking is also becoming part of legislation rules such as the FDA validation of processes.

Optima offers the following machine vision services:

  • Initial survey to determine environment for installation and to obtain samples.

  • Specification document – clarification of pass/fail criteria.

  • Technical evaluation to determine if the project is feasible.

  • Design of the vision system, using the correct hardware/software/lighting etc.

  • Installation and commissioning – a turnkey approach

  • Service and support – ongoing.

Mr. Hill commented:

As Optima continues to grow vision will play an integral part in our business development. By opening up new markets with new applications we will strengthen our position in the field of systems integration.”

www.optimacs.com           Phone No: 01254 272829