Our Product family covers everything from vision system component supply up to fully customised machine vision systems designed, built, and installed by our expert engineers.

For surface inspection, foreign body detection and cosmetic defect analysis a number of lighting, filter and optic arrangements are normally needed.

Operator costs – Manual inspection is still an expensive due to the appointment of (multiple) trained quality inspection operators.

By employing an automated surface inspection system a number of benefits come sharply into focus. Machine vision quality control for surface inspection provides:

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By making the entire visual inspection procedure independent of any human involvement, automated visual inspection can overcome these issues. Using automated systems typically outperforms manual inspection.

Deep Learning in the context of artificial intelligence in machine vision surface inspection is a critical application for the future of manufacturing. IVS® solutions are now developing with this new technology to solve manufacturing inspection tasks which used to be too complicated, time-consuming and costly based on traditional machine vision.

Inspection modules capable of multitasking, energy-saving components and a false rejection rate of just 0.3 percent prove that it is also possible to create maximum production reliability with a low total cost of ownership.

Manual inspection necessitates the presence of a person, an inspector, who assesses the entity in question and renders a decision based on some training or prior knowledge. Except for the trained inspector’s naked eye, no equipment is required.

As manufacturing processes increase in speed and quality standards become more rigorous, the need for an automated quality control solution is ever more pressing for cosmetic, surface and foreign body detection.

The Linatronic protects your consumers against unpleasant surprises. For its inspection modules scrutinise every container and detect event the smallest defects or irregularities.

Particular care was taken when selecting the surface of the conveyor belts. It is more resilient to glass and prevents the absorption of lubricants and liquids.

Human vision assessment is untrustworthy — The human eye’s proclivity to be fooled by optical illusions demonstrates how untrustworthy it can be. This is not to say that manual inspection is completely useless, but it would be unwise to rely solely on it.

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Impurities, particulates, fibers, particles, bubbles, white marks, black inclusions, cracks, scratches, fragments, general marks, pitting, cracking, lumps, dents and material damage.

In production processes, visual inspection errors can take one of two forms: missing an existing defect or incorrectly identifying a defect that does not exist (false positive). Misses occur far more frequently than false errors. Misses can result in quality loss, while false positives can result in unnecessary production costs and overall yield reduction.

Machine vision surface inspection is used to autonomously confirm the visual and cosmetic quality of products. Machine vision has the advantage of being non-contact, which means it does not contaminate or damage the part being inspected. IVS machine vision systems can inspect for surface deviation, cosmetic changes, visual distortion and surface contamination.

For example, most web-based production are watched by operators in a patrolling fashion whilst they also attend to set up and maintenance on individual machines. As cost and performance pressures drive up the ratio of machines per operator, less time is available for quality control. This means that defects are going unnoticed, and sometimes a fault is not picked up until it reaches the customer. By employing automated surface inspection vision systems either in-line or at the end of line as part of final inspection, a customer can have the following benefits.

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Although machine vision systems can tolerate some variation in the appearance of a part due to scaling, rotation, and pose distortion, complex surface textures and image quality issues pose significant inspection challenges. This is where deep learning artificial intelligence can be applied for surface inspection.

These techniques are normally combined to allow the automated detection of a whole host of surface and cosmetic defect detection, including:

Integrated industrial automation solutions for automated non-contact inspection. Detect unanticipated defects, maximise quality and eliminate escapes. Inspection machines, benches, lines, robots, and cells – ready-to-run.

KRONES Checkmat manual PDF

For automated web inspection a number of linescan cameras are combined capturing the complete width of web to allow finite inspection of the continuous web process at speed. Surface inspection lighting techniques are combined with a single or multi-camera station, coupled with the defect map creation. For medical device inspection multi cameras are combined or the product rotated to allow the completed 360 degree inspection using machine vision for surface anomalies.

Whether it be material damage, contamination or the most minuscule particles of residual caustic: nothing can hide from the Linatronic. With its highly sensitive inspection modules it sees through each individual container – and only lets fault-free items pass through. Proof of its high precision sorting ability is not least apparent in its minimum false rejection rate of just 0.3 percent. How is this possible? Through the standard use of DART 4.0, the latest generation of Krones inspection software.

Our Deep Learning Artificial Intelligence solutions for surface inspection advance the more they see, improving as it learns.

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Machine vision performs well at the quantitative measurement of a highly structured scene with a consistent camera resolution, optics and lighting. Deep learning can handle defect variations that require an understanding of the tolerable deviations from the control medium; for example, where there are changes in texture, lighting, shading or distortion in the image. Our deep learning vision systems can be used in surface inspection, object recognition, component detection and part identification. AI deep learning helps in situations where traditional machine vision may struggle, such as parts with varying size, shape, contrast and brightness due to production and process constraints.

With the GRS remote service platform your machine is directly linked with the Krones service department: If you require assistance, an inspection expert from Krones simply accesses the Linatronic online and immediately performs the task in hand – without having to travel to your company, at any time of the day or night.

The automatic adjustment of conveyors and the camera position ensure that the Linatronic is adjusted to new container types within just a few minutes.

Our vision systems and machines are used in a wide range of industries. Almost any manufacturing industry sector can benefit from IVS applying machine vision for automated quality control, identification, guidance or quality verification.

Deep learning-based systems are suitable for more complex surface inspection requirements, such as patterns that vary in subtle but unacceptable ways. Deep learning is effective at learning complex surface and cosmetic defects, such as scratches and dents on turned, brushed, or shiny parts. Deep learning-based image processing, whether used to locate, read, inspect, or classify features of interest, differs from traditional machine vision in its ability to conceptualise and generalise a components overall appearance.

The Linatronic AI is the first of its kind in the world - and ushers in a new era of the empty-container inspection technology. How is that? Because it is equipped with a neural network trained with Deep Learning for maximum precision. After 40 years of experience in inspection technology, we are daring to take the plunge into a new technology, and thus open up a whole world of previously untapped possibilities!

Eyesight imperfection — The human eye is incapable of making precise measurements, particularly on a very small scale. Even when comparing two similar objects, the eye may overlook the fact that one is slightly smaller or larger than the other. This concept also applies to surface roughness, size, and any other factor that needs to be measured, especially relating to surface inspection assessments.

Smooth surfaces and a reduced number of machine supports ensure that a low amount of dirt clings to them and the machine is easy to clean.

An automated surface inspection solution often replaces an inspector who would have historically been used for surface inspection by eye. But why? Well, there are several limitations to using the old-fashioned way of inspection.

Every operator and quality audit engineer would like to think they can spot a surface defect when presented with a failed part. But what if the defect were close to the margins of what a human can see or that the product needed to be under certain lighting conditions to view the failure? This is what every manufacturer is up against. And combined with that is the fact that production lines and web produced manufacturing run at speeds which doesn’t allow human inspectors, it’s simply too fast. Operators miss failures either through poor eyesight, repetitive work, tiredness or fatigue – or simply because the defect only shows through certain lighting conditions or angles.

Defects are measured, categorised and data stored. A defect “map” provides real-world data on problem areas on parts and statistical feedback.

Our machine vision systems combine leading-edge technology and high-performance image processing to solve a wide variety of automated inspection, identification, and quality control problems. Take a look at each of the areas we cover – the chances are we have a solution for your inspection requirement.

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Faster quality checks for cosmetic defects, reducing inspection time, eliminating human-error, without marking your products.

Take your surface inspection to the next level, with automated deep learning artificial intelligence (AI) cosmetic inspection. Checks surfaces, products and components at speed with the knowledge that the more we see, the better we get!

According to research, visual inspection errors typically range between 20% and 30%. (Drury & Fox, 1975). Some flaws can be attributed to human error, while others are due to space constraints. Certain errors can be reduced but not eliminated through training and practice.