Visual Quality Inspection on Production Lines

• Plant Head
• Quality Head
• Line Quality Engineer
• Manufacturing Engineering Manager

Most plants still rely on inspectors at the end of the line, checking parts under a lamp against limit samples. It works until volumes rise, shifts change or a new variant arrives, and then defects reach the customer's incoming inspection.

We build an inspection station around your part: camera, lens, lighting and trigger chosen for the defect classes that matter, and models trained on your good parts and real defects. The model scores each part against your defect library and returns pass, fail or uncertain within the station's cycle time. Clear failures go to the NG bin through a PLC signal. Uncertain parts are held for an inspector instead of being passed. Every image is stored against the part serial or batch, so quality engineers get a defect Pareto by shift and a visual record for customer complaints.

• Detects surface defects such as scratches, dents, porosity, burrs, paint runs and short shots
• Checks presence and position of features such as holes, clips, fasteners, O-rings and labels
• Reads printed date codes, batch numbers and part markings for legibility and correctness
• Anomaly model trained on good parts to catch defect types not yet in the library
• Sends reject signals to the PLC over digital I/O or OPC UA within the station cycle time
• Stores every image with its verdict, part serial, model version and shift

1. 01Trigger at the stationA photo-sensor or PLC signal fires the camera when the part is in position under controlled lighting.
2. 02Capture imagesOne or more cameras capture the part from the agreed angles, with a quick check for blur or glare.
3. 03Score against the defect libraryDetection and anomaly models score the images for each defect class agreed with the quality team.
4. 04Decide pass, fail or uncertainClear passes continue, clear fails are diverted to the NG bin, and anything in between is held.
5. 05Inspector review of held partsAn inspector checks held parts at the rework station against limit samples and records the verdict.
6. 06Log and traceThe image, verdict, part serial, model version and shift are written to the traceability store.
7. 07Analyse and improveQuality engineers review the defect Pareto, label new examples and approve model updates.

1. Capture
   • Industrial area-scan or line-scan cameras
   • Dome, ring or backlight chosen per defect type
   • PLC or photo-sensor trigger
2. Edge inference
   • Industrial PC with GPU at the line
   • Defect detection and segmentation models
   • Anomaly model trained on good parts
3. Line integration
   • Reject signal via digital I/O or OPC UA
   • Part serial or batch from MES or barcode scan
4. Review and labelling
   • Inspector review screen at the rework station
   • Labelling tool and defect library with limit samples
5. Analytics and model operations
   • Defect Pareto by shift, line and class
   • Model registry with versioning and rollback
   • Drift checks on lighting and image quality

Inspectors decide every part the model holds as uncertain, using the same limit samples they use today. Quality engineers approve each model update and any change to defect classes, and line-stop decisions stay with the shift supervisor.

• PLC via digital I/O, fieldbus gateway or OPC UA
• MES or traceability system for part serials
• SPC or quality management software
• Plant network storage or a private cloud bucket for images
• Andon or line display for alerts

• Uncertain parts are held for an inspector, never passed by default
• Shift-start check with golden and known-defect samples
• Model version recorded against every verdict, with rollback
• Alerts when lighting, focus or camera position drifts
• Camera framing limited to the part, not operators

• Inspection images and verdicts can serve as evidence for ISO 9001 and IATF 16949 traceability records; the quality system and its controls stay with you.
• Cameras are framed on parts so the system does not process images of workers.

• Manufacturing

  Supplier Quality Certificate Verification

  Check mill test certificates and certificates of conformance against your material specs, tie heat numbers to GRNs, and flag out-of-spec, missing or reused certificates for IQC.

• Manufacturing

  Engineering Drawing and Spec Sheet Extraction

  Extract title blocks, dimensions, tolerances, GD&T, materials and notes from 2D drawings and spec sheets for faster RFQ review, ballooned inspection plans and revision checks.

• Manufacturing

  PPE and Safety-Zone Compliance

  Vision models on existing CCTV spot missing helmets, shoes, vests and gloves, and people entering robot cells, press areas or forklift aisles, with clip-backed alerts to supervisors.

• Pharma & Life Sciences

  Tablet and Vial Visual Defect Detection

  Vision models that flag chipped, cracked, spotted or broken tablets and cap, crimp, glass or particle defects in vials, sending uncertain units to manual inspection and storing every reject image.