In the world of manufacturing quality control is key. Parts must meet exact size, form, and position specs or risk failure during use. For plastic components like connectors, caps, fasteners, seals, and more, traditional manual measurement tools cannot keep up with modern throughput needs. This is where advanced video measuring machines come in. They offer high-speed, precision plastic part data to effortlessly pass judgment on part quality.
What are Video Measuring Machines?
Video measuring machines are optical devices that use cameras, lighting, software, and staging to instantly measure plastic part dimensions. They capture magnified images that technicians or algorithms then examine versus nominal specs. Think ultra-precise computer vision for industrial apps. These systems go by names like video coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) or optical coordinate measuring machines.
Why Plastic Parts Need Specialized Metrology Equipment
Plastic and polymer parts production brings distinct inspection challenges. Their coefficients of thermal expansion differ widely from metals. Plastics also lack rigidity and are prone to warpage and shrinkage. They exhibit cold flow under pressure over time too.
Traditional touch-probe style CMMs struggle to cope. Delicate tips of ren-deform soft plastics, producing part errors. Instead, video CMMs provide fast non-contact measurements of plastics in a production environment. Some systems even allow for full 3D scanning versus discrete single-point checks.
A Video Measuring Machine for plastic parts is a specialized optical system meticulously designed to measure the dimensional accuracy of plastic components with incredible precision. It employs high-resolution cameras, specialized lighting setups, sophisticated software, and precision staging to swiftly and accurately capture magnified images of these parts.
Key Measurement Capabilities
Today’s best plastic part video measuring machines deliver exceptional accuracy down to 1.5 μm+L/100. Thanks to advanced optics and processing, they measure edges, holes, slots, and profiles on tiny watch gears as easily as large panels.
In addition to size, they determine form tolerances like flatness, ruin, and cylindricity. They can also quantify surface roughness. Repeatability is excellent, meaning consecutive measurements on the same feature show little deviation. Even lower uncertainty is possible by averaging multiple images.
Speed is another advantage. While a manual measurement study of a complex part could take minutes, vision systems perform the same task in seconds. Some boast inspection times under 10 seconds thanks to innovations like dyschromatic lighting.
This strobes red, blue, and green light to enhance edge detection versus old monochromatic methods. Segmented LED rings also eliminate glare and shadows.
Applications Across Plastic Part Producers
Leading plastic and polymer manufacturers leverage video measurement to slash inspection times, replace outdated tools, and keep quality high. For example, medical device makers use these systems to guarantee tiny plastic labware meets stringent tolerances.
In automotive settings, technicians can measure multiple dimensions on terminals, grommets, seals, and more in seconds. The aerospace industry relies on such accuracy to validate that casing components and avionics parts are fit for purpose. Even plastic packaging plants monitor defects and form factors on containers before shipment. The applications span far and wide.
Conclusion
Plastic and polymer parts production leaves no room for metrology uncertainty. Thankfully, today’s best video measuring systems now handle this challenge. With advanced optics and processing they rapidly deliver precise measurement data to verify plastic parts meet specifications.
With the Sipcon Video Measuring Machine you can now achieve accurate measurements in a fraction of the time. This state-of-the-art technology utilizes advanced imaging and measurement algorithms to ensure precise results every single time.
By blending high speed, repeatability, accuracy, and automation video measurement finally keeps up with modern manufacturing. It not only replaces outdated tools but also streamlines workflows to avoid production bottlenecks. Part quality and profitability both prosper as a result.
