Image processing system speeds phone production

A Siemens Automation and Drives product story

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Oct 22, 2003

Auto identification specialist Computype Europe has been working with Siemens vision and PLC hardware to develop the world's fastest label application machines.

Auto identification specialist Computype Europe has been working with Siemens vision and PLC hardware to develop the world's fastest label application machines for Siemens Communications cordless phone production lines based in Bocholt Germany.

The Simatic VS 710 image processing system plays a critical role in this new high-speed product from Computype.

The labelling machine represents the beginning of the Bocholt site's auto ID system, which is central to production management and provides traceability throughout the product's lifetime.

With rising demand for the cordless phones, Computype was set the task of doubling the speed of its machine.

Once the company had perfected the process of collecting data and printing it on an 8 x 8mm label at high speed, it had to focus on integrating an image processing system that could meet the high demands of speed and accuracy.

System Integrator HG Systems of Chesterfield designed, programmed and commissioned the vision application, identifying that the Siemens Simatic VS 710 was the only product on the market to meet Computype's specifications.

Using a Siemens Simatic VS 710 Profibus camera attached to the positioning device, the x, y and Theta orientation offset of the label is obtained by progressively scanning the area.

These statistics are sent to a Siemens S7-300 PLC, over a Profibus communications link for co-ordinates to be corrected.

The component to which the label is attached will proceed to be accurately placed in the specified location on the PCB that will form the heart of the cordless phone.

In order to meet production process demands, the image of the label acquired by the camera had to be obtained at high speed.

The Simatic VS 710 has been developed with the capability to read two-dimensional (2D) code very fast.

Moving past the lens at 4m/s, Simatic VS 710 can read data from the barcode labels, communicate with the PLC and correct the position within record-breaking time.

By adding different components and perfecting the individual functions carried out by the machine, it can now print, pick, correct, place and verify, both the 2D data matrix code and presence of the label in less than 1.8s label to label.

While achieving the speed challenge, Computype and Siemens have also been able to provide a solution is that is very accurate.

Placement accuracy is typically +/-0.2mm, and with communication products being designed increasingly small allowing little space for components or misplacement, this becomes critical.

Dave Birch, Technical Manager at Computype said: "Meeting the demands set by the team at the Bocholt site was no easy task, the machine needed to have the ability to perform twice as fast as previous installations.

We therefore had to use a vision code reader that would be able to meet the speed demands, but still provide high levels of accuracy.

This was part of the reason why we chose the Simatic VS 710 over many of Siemens' competitors".

Birch added: "The fact that the Simatic VS 710 is a Profibus product, was also an important factor that helped us decided that this was the appropriate device to perform the barcode reading function.

The Siemens application also complimented much of the hardware already installed on the site, developing a production line that would provide a seamless solution".