Within a production chain, each automatic optical inspection (AOI) system plays a different role in the quality control process by performing targeted checks as manufacturing progresses (e.g., on board assembly or soldering).
Traditional AOI systems have a high false positive rate, forcing the operator to intervene manually in distinguishing between the real defect and the false alarm.
The AOI3DSCAN project, conducted by the Institute of Systems and Applied Electronics (ISEA) and the Institute of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Technology (MEMTi) in collaboration with the company Delvitech SA, led to the development of an innovative optical inspection head that enables a single system to meet all the quality control requirements needed in a production line.
The ISEA Institute was particularly involved in developing the electronics for real-time image acquisition and processing, as well as the algorithmic part for reconstructing 3D information from 2D images.
“This project was a continuous challenge but, thanks to the efforts of a multidisciplinary team, we managed to tackle and solve all the problems effectively,” explains Daniele Allegri, ISEA Institute professor and project leader. “The result is a machine in which every single electronic, optical and mechanical element is optimized to provide the highest performance in terms of both resolution and speed of data acquisition, data transfer and image processing, as well as 3D reconstruction algorithms, and integration with the company's data analysis systems.
MEMTi Institute contributed to the mechanical design of the new optical head and the choice of materials, while the company Delvitech SA is responsible for the development of all software required for the analysis of the 3D information acquired by the new 3D vision system, prototyping, handling and integration of the vision system on its systems.
“We are extremely excited and satisfied with the completed project. SUPSI's input contributed overwhelmingly to the achievement of the goals. In particular, what gives value to the project is the performance of the complete optical head, consisting of cameras, telecentric, projectors and LED light systems. All elements designed according to specifications defined with SUPSI and synchronized by a software and hardware system totally developed by SUPSI. This head allows Delvitech to achieve inspection performance unmatched in its target market,” concludes Delvitech CEO Roberto Gatti.