This is an Editorial from my previous place of employment, partner & friend. He offers some insightful advice and neutral evaluation concepts.

1. MARCH/APRIt2OO5 M A N U A c T U R N G
C t B M E D I AP U B T I C A T I O N MACHINE Y
www.automationmag.com
FEATURES
PRESCRIMON FOR
PRODUCTMTY
giant
Pharmaceutical
cutsproduction in
time
halfwith CAMsystem. . 18
DEPARTMENTS
F ROM E DI T O.R. . . 3
TH E .
LENERSTOTHEED]IOR..3
.
UPFRONT3
AI'TOMATION
.
&ACCOLADES7
AWARDS
LOOKING
AHEAD 7
DEAL MA K E RS . . . 8
MOVERSSHAKERS 9
& ...
COLUMNS
AT'IOMATION
SOFN'VARE
Watchand learn:A review of
software designedfor Visual
Basicdevelopment and
debugging ... .. ... 10
COLUMNBUS
Afraid of fieldbus?Selection
and implementation easier is
t h a ny o ut h i n k. . . . . . . . . 1 1
INDUSTRY WATCH
Roadrules:Lessons
learnedfrom the seat
of myNorton .. ,. 12
MACHINE VISION
A look at benefits,obstacles
a n dd e p l o y m e n.t. . . . . . 1 4
DISTORTED REALITIES
Sensormining:Sotving
probfemswith senses . .14
-
NEW PRODUCTS
Sensors . . .24
control .. 26
Programmable
Enclosures ....-.27
Electronic components. . 28
Artomation &Gdmology . 29
M a c h i n e v i s i . .n . . . . . 3 0
o.
PM#40063602
PAPReglstration 10775
#

2. 14 / March/Apil 20oG wwwlurcmationmag.com ManufacturingAUTOMATION
MACHINE vrstoN
Thegift of sight:
A look at the benefits,obstactesand the deptoymentof vision technologies
which enable users to monitor operations
Despite the many benefits, parameters
'on-the-fly,"
without
8Y JOSEPH
POON
on-screen or to record digitized
with time stamps for later retrieval. Using
images
some manufacturers are stopping the line, is as simple as operating a
camcorder, but flexible enough to cope with
these images as a diagnostic tool can assist
ffoubleshooting, reduce downtime and
still skepticaland hesitant process variations.
recipe-driven software
Furthermore,
programs
multiple
with
eliminate losses from spoiled products.
Compliance is also a large contributor to
to make investments databasc management
support a flexible
functions
automation
can easily
line and
7-Flh" machine vision systems malket is the market's growth. Most
vision systems today provide solutions that
integrated
in vision systems. handle nrultiple product manufacturing.
of thesc flexible features are only available
All
I Browing, as more and more companies
I begin to use the technology to meet enable nranufacturers to meet regulatoty on PC-based machine vision systems.
their ergonomic, quality control and regulatory requirements. Thc systems provide product I I , good manufacturing practice (GMP) and good Lastly, onc should never overlook the cost to
needs. quality, safety and seculity inspection in automated manufacturing practice (GAMP). The deploy and maintain a vision system before and
Today, automatic vision inspection is being manufacturing, as well as product tracking. systems play a critical role in enabling current and after it is installed. Total cost of ownership
used in the industrial automation industry to These applications are driven by global regula- anticipated regulatory requircments in food and (TCO) is a measure of all costs related to
streamline production, remove bottlenecks, tory and enforcement policies that demand due beverage. and pharmaceutical industries. technology assets throughout their lifecycle,
increase throughput, save on labour costs and diligence towards 100 per cent inspection, and Similarly, industries such as aet'ospace and auto- fronr acquisition to disposal. lt is not as
bolster productivity. Vision systems can work thus ensure product security arrd traceability motive manulacturing face tightened require- straightforward to determine some of these
around the clock, resulting in peak production from final packaging to delivery. ments for unit level traceability lbr the sake of costs as one might first imagine, since many of
loads and faster order turn around. The Regulatory compliance, especially for food product liability, wan?nty costs and regulatory these factors boil down to human issues, rather
systems can act as a substitute for human and drug production, implies that somewhere issues. than the outlook of an initial hardware cost.
inspection when performing simple and along the production line a machine inspection Despile the many applications and benefits, The TCO puzzle is comprised of many pieces,
repetitive jobs. This may avoid injury and system is required, rather than using the some manufacturers are still skeptical and from a big picture perspective. The diagram
costly mistakes that can be caused by human traditional human-based inspection station. hesitant to make investments in vision systems. below shows a full spectrum of TCO elements
fatigue and bias brought on by the Original equipment manufacturers are also Statistical reports show that a high percentage of that should be considered when deploying and
complacency of performing tedious and beginning to require component and sub-com- new machine vision users have a hand time deploy- maintaining a vision system in your plant.
monotonous work. The technology can also ponent genealogy and traceability information
become an effective quality control and data from supply chain partners. Therefore,
collection tool, since it delivers statistics, status machine vision systems are designed in
and trends data. accordance with international quality
Vision systems can provide real-time images, standards such as FDA guidelines, 2 t CFR Part
MORE
THAN
JUST
THERMAL
IMIGING
ing the technologl, since some rcal-world manu- As any industrial vision system depcnds on
facturing conditions easily upset a vision system's the weakest link within the whole
ability to "see." These conditions include inconsis- technological chain, a homogeneous turnkey
tent lighting, and variations in component shapes solution is the best approach to avoid failure in
and surface characteristics. In addition, a vision vision deployment plans. lt is crucial that
system will not receive widespread acceptance as machine vision experts are involved
an indispensable automation tool unless it throughout the entire development process so
delivers a promising performance, no rnatter how they can react to problems that occut and help
With the Fluke Ti3O,you get PLUS small a footprint it encapsulates and "smart" it companies anticipate unforeseen problems.
a complete thermal imaging . Fast and easy inspection routing promises to be. Companies that do not adopt machine
solution for preventative with on-camera instructions vision technology as an integral part of their
maintenance and troubleshooting, . Unlimited use reporting DEPTOYMENT GUIDELINES continuous improvement strategy will
The Ti30 comes with all required and analysis software Current machine architecture is moving undoubtedly lose ground to companies whose
accessories, InsidelRrt'tsoftvvare " Free periodic upgrades towards a more "intelligent" approach that competing products are virtually guaranteed
and two days of professional " Affordable service and calibration strikes the right balance between cost and by machine vision solutions. Facing a
thermography training. . Lowest ownershio cost capabilities. One of the main thrusts of the competitive global market, machine vision
emerging adaptive technology is to make vision can empower a company with the means to
systems easier to use, which means putting successfully overcome the ever-increasing
1..-r.:i1s-l'r IJ'jr-)l-;.ri. i,,"tr-; I -)ii.,ti-i::r
customized high-performance solutions into challenges of high labour costs, Third World
www. m oretha nj u st .calta the hands of users without any development competition and a market demand for quality
1-800-36-FLUKE work on their part. products at a competitive price. I
Adaptive technology for vision systems is
part of an evolutionary progression that has
improved user interaction with machines. The loseph Poon, founder und president of Global
move to open standards and a Windows-based Controls, has been in the lield of machine vision
common interface has made systems more for more than l5 years. He is also a consultant to
friendly and intuitive for inexperienced users. ASM Pacilic Ltd., an assemhly equipment manu-
Using point-and-click tools on-screen to adjust facturer for the global microelectronics industry.
Info No. 19