High speed cameras monitor processes
August 2016
Sensors & Transducers
Companies are pushing high speed manufacturing and packaging processes in an effort to maximise manufacturing output. Equipment is often pushed up to or past designed operational speeds in an effort to meet production goals. In addition line operators are often faced with high speed manufacturing lines that are down or producing faulty products, often at great expense to their company. In order to see what the problem is, the operator typically slows the high speed line down to observe manufacturing processes that are too fast for the eye to see. This changes the mechanical phenomenon (bounce, vibration, alignment, dwell time, material variability induced by velocity changes) and the problem goes away. When the line is returned to the normal high speed run rate, the problems return. A lot of time and money can be spent trying to solve these unseen problems.
High speed digital camera systems provide an easy, cost-effective way to observe high speed mechanical processes under real production situations. The high speed videos with recording rates up to 1000 frames per second can be instantly played back on a frame-by-frame basis to see, measure and understand the fast mechanical motions that are causing the manufacturing problems. The camera can be positioned to record the manufacturing process of interest. An operator can periodically play back sequences of the process and take action before a problem occurs.
The Fastec Troubleshooter TS5 range of handheld, point-and-shoot high speed cameras is ideal for this application. They are rugged, portable, have a built-in display and feature outstanding image quality.
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