Car makers are securing higher levels of customisation and precision at a lower cost with 3D and AI solutions
Zebra Technologies Corporation, a global leader in digitising and automating workflows to deliver intelligent operations, today announced that Sentinel’s automotive customers are leveraging the Poka Yoke (Japanese for mistake proofing/error prevention) inspection solution which is delivering a 10-15% defect rate reduction and helping simplify production lines and reduce maintenance costs and system complexity.
The solution is built on Zebra’s AltiZ Series High-Fidelity 3D Profile Sensor[DB2] with a GigE Vision® interface that seamlessly integrates with Sentinel’s Vision Core AI software and KAI Maker platform, making the implementation and user experience easier and simpler.
Machine commissioning time has been reduced from three months to three weeks, enabling faster deployment and project turnaround.
“The system is delivering lasting value across various visual inspection projects with its scalability and adaptability, allowing Sentinel’s manufacturing clients to quickly reconfigure the inspection process for different automotive brands and components,” said Joel Alves, Chief Commercial Officer, Sentinel.
Based in Portugal, Sentinel specialises in machine vision solutions, with many clients manufacturing components for automotive brands, including car door assembly which is particularly challenging. Modern car doors can include over 80 components per panel with lots of variations in size, layout and design. Many of Sentinel’s previous customer solutions relied on traditional mechanical sensor inspection methods which were inflexible and required costly, custom configurations per project.
“To offer our customers the best quality, we collaborated with Zebra and Clearview, a Zebra Industrial Automation Distributor, to transform the mechanical sensor inspection approach with more flexible, scalable and precise cutting-edge vision technology,” said Alves.
The new approach can replace the up to 500 mechanical sensors traditionally needed, enabling Sentinel to provide its customers with the levels of customisation and precision they require at a lower cost. The dual-camera, single laser 3D sensor provides more accurate and detailed door panel renderings compared to traditional single-camera systems.
“Zebra and its partners are providing frontline workers with solutions that improve asset and workflow visibility and deliver intelligent automation,” said Luca Gallo, Machine Vision Manager, Zebra Technologies. “We’re enabling them to make work better today, so they are prepared to capitalise on tomorrow’s opportunities.”
The success of the Poka Yoke inspection system has allowed Sentinel to expand further into other industrial areas such as pharmaceutical and food and beverage, demonstrating the versatile nature of the Poka Yoke solution and its broad application for quality control and intelligent automation across multiple sectors.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Sentinel’s automotive manufacturing customers needed high levels of accuracy for complex car door panel inspections, so it turned to Zebra and Clearview for help.
- The Poka Yoke system is built on Zebra’s AltiZ 3D Sensor and Sentinel’s Vision Core AI software and KAI Maker platform, making implementation faster and the user experience easier.
- With the new solution, automotive customers are simplifying production lines, reducing maintenance costs and system complexity, and can secure a 10-15% defect rate reduction.
- Read the full case study here.
