Automated optical measurement of automotive filter dimensions

In automotive filter production, faultless assembly is essential for the proper functioning of the filter. In addition, the specified height of the filter is also critical in order to prevent any damage occurring to the periphery of the filter during assembly. In co-operation with special-purpose machine builder Limberger GmbH and image processing specialists Signum, Micro-Epsilon's scanCONTROL laser profile scanners have been integrated within an automotive filter testing machine.

The scanCONTROL 2610-100 (SMART) sensor inspects the filter height and the angle of the top, with a repeatability of +/-0.05mm. At the start of the inspection procedure, the filter is moved to the correct measuring point using a conveyor mechanism. A magnet located directly below this mechanism ensures that the filter stays in the correct position without movement or delay. The measurement is then triggered via an HTL trigger, whereupon the sensor outputs, via the integrated evaluation, the height values of both domes (elevations) on the upper side of the filter, as well as the offset and the angle of a reference height for an equation.

Data transmission to the Siemens PLC is carried out via the UDP protocol. The converted measurement values are transmitted from the controller to evaluation software from Signum, which determines the height value of the filter using a projection onto the reference line. If a filter does not meet the specified tolerance, it is removed during the next stage.

Users can select different parameter sets to enable various types of filter to be inspected with the same automated equipment.

Follow the link for more information about Micro-Epsilon scanCONTROL laser profile scanners.