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Machine vision for steel manufacturer

A Cognex UK product story
Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Aug 23, 2002

Corus Colors has integrated Cognex's SmartView surface inspection system into a Colorcoat line at its manufacturing facility in Flintshire, Wales.

Corus Colors, a business unit of Corus Group, which is Europe's second largest steel manufacturer, has integrated Cognex's SmartView surface inspection system into a Colorcoat line at its manufacturing facility in Flintshire, Wales, UK.

Corus Colors manufactures organic-coated, prefinished steel used for building cladding and consumer products.

Organic-coated materials present a unique challenge to machine vision in that their surface texture is highly variable.

An added complexity is that Corus manufactures the steel in many different colours.

Despite such a complex and varied surface, the SmartView system has proven to be able to detect a wide variety of defects.

"SmartView has allowed us to introduce automated surface inspection into an application where it was previously considered not to be cost-effective", said Alan Morris, technical manager for Corus Colors, Shotton Works.

"We also appreciate the fact that the Cognex SmartView system is flexible and can be modified and upgraded to meet any new requirements the future may bring".

"The SmartView system enables customers like Corus to improve their productivity and quality by leveraging Cognex's wealth of real-world experience in surface inspection", said Markku Jaaskelainen, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Cognex's Surface Inspection Systems Division.

Jaaskelainen also underlined the strategic importance of this order.

"This entry into a totally new surface inspection application in the steel industry is the next step in our plan to expand surface inspection to new application areas in the metals market".

SmartView is a state-of-art web inspection system that is used to automatically detect, identify, and display defects in metals and other materials as they are being produced.

Cognex has sold over 150 SmartView systems since its introduction in February 2000, making it the most successful product launch in the history of Cognex's Surface Inspection Systems Division.

Corus manufactures, processes, and distributes steel and aluminium products.

The company also provides design, technology, and consultancy services.

Corus is based in London, with 21 business units located worldwide.

Major markets for Corus Colors include auto body, construction, domestic appliances, consumer products, and electronics.

(This was Engineeringtalk's Top Story on 22 August 2002).

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