The Institute of Research in Design and Manufacturing (IDF) is a research institute affiliated with the Universitat Politécnica de Valencia. It carries out research and development projects in the areas of design, manufacturing, and automation, focusing its activity on the automotive industry. It combines the inherent potential and competitiveness of business associations with the university sector, which is strongly committed to research and development (RD) projects, to create an entity capable of undertaking a wide range of activities.
In this regard, Álava Ingenieros collaborated with the Institute of Research in Design and Manufacturing to create a system based on artificial vision techniques to improve the detection and monitoring of defects in car bodies. This system is currently used by renowned and competitive automotive manufacturers such as Mercedes Benz at its Vitoria factory and Volkswagen at its Pamplona factory (both in Spain).
To achieve this, Álava Ingenieros designed and supplied an automated inspection system (inspection tunnel) for the accurate and effective detection and monitoring of defects in car bodies. This system comprises: a vision subsystem based on cameras capable of classifying and detecting defects thanks to the development of sophisticated algorithms; a Cartesian robot mechanical structure that supports the acquisition devices (cameras) and moves the lighting elements; and a set of screens that serve as an interface for operators, where defects are highlighted for manual repair.
Likewise, the image acquisition subsystem consists of 32 high-resolution BASLER CMOS digital cameras with an acquisition capacity of 20 images per second, assembled with high-quality, variable focal length optics. Each camera views a part of the car body, with sufficient safety margins to ensure no defects are missed. The cameras are fast enough to acquire images within the available production line time. They are connected to acquisition cards running on a MATROX industrial PC.
The lighting subsystem uses high-frequency fluorescent tubes mounted on 11 arches that move at a constant speed over the car body. The Cartesian robot supports the cameras, which are fixed, while moving the luminous arch structure.
Along with the supply and installation, Álava Ingenieros also provided consultancy on the most suitable hardware architecture and supplied both hardware (cameras, lenses, Industrial PC) and software (image processing libraries). This system has also met the objectives of the end customers and will be installed in other Mercedes and Volkswagen plants in Germany in the coming years.
