MachineInspection and measurement

LINKO - machine for automated optical inspection of metal parts

A machine that uses vibratory feeders to supply metal parts to the camera position and automatically separates good parts from bad ones based on the PLC decision on part conformity.

SolidWorks CAD render of the LINKO machine

Actuators

2x bowl feeder (AFAG) + linear feeder, dual track

Sensors

Sensopart smart cameras (Profinet)

Control

Siemens PLC

Pneumatics

SMC

Cycle rate

90 parts/min

Units built

How it works

Dual vibratory feeding, optical inspection and automatic sorting

Bulk metal parts are fed by two bowl feeders with AFAG drives, arranged in parallel to increase the cycle rate. Both bowl feeders orient the parts and hand them over to a shared two-track linear feeder.

At the end of the linear feeder, the parts are picked up by a wheel whose design went through several development iterations until reliable pickup of every part was achieved. When a sensor triggers, a Sensopart smart camera on Profinet captures the part and sends the measured lengths to the Siemens PLC.

The PLC compares the measured values with the tolerances and decides whether the part is good. Good parts are blown pneumatically into the box for good parts, while defective ones simply drop into the reject box.

Control

Interface and control logic

The control cabinet with a Siemens PLC and the HMI operator interface make up the standard control station of the LINKO machine.

Physical control station

Control cabinet with Siemens PLC
Start/stop buttons and emergency stop
Status signal light

Functionality

OPC UA logging of production data to CSV files
Display of feeding, inspection and sorting status
Configuration of optical inspection tolerances
Alarm and error display

Installed equipment and features

Technical details

Dual bowl feeding

Two bowl feeders with AFAG drives feed parts in parallel onto a shared two-track linear feeder, achieving a cycle rate of 90 parts per minute.

Wheel

Parts from the linear feeder are picked up by a special wheel, developed through several design iterations until reliable and repeatable pickup of every part was achieved.

Sensopart cameras on Profinet

When the sensor triggers, the camera captures the part and sends the measured lengths to the PLC, which compares them with the tolerances and decides whether the part is good.

OPC UA production logging

The PLC software logs the production run to CSV files via the OPC UA protocol, available for further analysis.

Central monitoring PC

All three machines built are connected to a shared PC running a backend application that collects and logs data through an OPC UA server.

Camera tool setup

Tolerances are set in the PLC, while the PC is used to display image processing and set up the camera tools.

Gallery

Machine in operation

LINKO machines for optical inspection of metal parts in the production hall of ESCO Fofonjka in Bjelovar

Siemens PLC in the control cabinet of the LINKO machine for optical inspection of metal parts

Siemens SIMATIC HMI panel of the LINKO machine with part height measurement and good-part counters per track

The completed LINKO machine in operation

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