Pirelli develop surface inspection for tyres
Thursday 31st January, 2019
Tyre manufacturer Pirelli have developed a surface inspection prototype to improve the production quality of their tyres.
Tyres are made up of different layers and compounds, making the surface area difficult to inspect.
The investment in automated technology was a worthwhile investment as it helps to retain their integrity as a global leader in the automotive field. Pirelli has approximately 30,000 employees and 20 production plants globally.
The Automatic Visual Control (CVA) project adds automated inspection and digitisation to Pirelli’s tyre manufacturing processes.
The automated inspection system also collects vital data which helps inform future decisions and avoids defects during future production runs. Each defect found can help Pirelli understand how to improve their production process.
Automated inspection also reduces the amount of manual inspection required which means staff can be used in other areas of the business.
The machine vision system is equipped with 2D and 3D cameras. The tyre is rotated on its axis on a rotating table and is inspected with the cameras. A vision system is used to automatically centre the tyre during the inspection.
Data collected includes a 3D profile of the tyre made by laser line imaging. Three different lighting techniques are used to illuminate the tyre: diffuse lighting, left and right grazing light. A line scan camera then collects three images for each of the lighting conditions. The images are detailed enough to identify and capture the smallest of defects.
Machine vision is used in a number of ways throughout the automotive supply chain and is largely responsible for the quality of the end product. Get in touch with Shelton Vision if you would like to discuss how surface inspection technology could help your automotive business.
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