Kestrel flies into Interplas

The recently launched Kestrel has proved a big hit with the plastics industry.

The recently launched Kestrel has proved a big hit with the plastics industry.

Plastic components can be quickly inspected and measured alongside the machines that manufactured them for fast, effective shop floor use.

Every aspect of our lives is shaped by plastic components.

The cars we drive, the appliances we use and the places we work all use plastics, in a vast variety of colours, shapes and finishes.

As consumers, we have become more demanding, and the look and feel of these plastics is critical.

The days of 'cheap plastic' are gone with plastics now being used in high quality applications that look and feel like metal or wood.

Because plastic components are used in safety critical applications (automotive, medical device) as well as high quality consumer products (mobile phones and home electronics), they must be manufactured to demanding tolerances and quality requirements.

To remain flexible, most moulding machines will not continuously produce the same component in the same colour 24 hours a day.

This means that any test and measurement equipment must be as flexible as the moulding machine itself.

In addition, the modern manufacturing environment requires equipment that is low cost and simple to use.

This is why the new Kestrel non-contact measuring system has proved so popular throughout the plastics industry.

Kestrel is the result of more that 40 years of industrial measurement and inspection experience.

It has been designed as a shop floor measurement tool, to be used by engineers to inspect and measure the components next to the production line.

Rather than send production to a QC lab, where specialist QC staff use a complex, high cost metrology machine, Kestrel can be rapidly used with very little training required.

The operator views the component through a large, clear viewing head which presents a clear, bright image of the inspected subject.

By moving the accurate measuring stage it is possible to carry out precise measurements on plastic components.

Camera based inspection systems can be used for some plastic measurement applications but they fall down where the component is optically difficult.

Examples are all black or all white components, where contrast between edges cannot be seen using a camera system.

Because the Kestrel uses an unbroken optical path without any digitisation, even these difficult parts can clearly be seen and measured through the display head.

Kestrel will be demonstrated at Interplas 2002 along with the full range of Vision Engineering's inspection and metrology products.

There will also be a sneak preview of the forthcoming Hawk family - a completely new range of non-contact measuring systems featuring optional fully automatic operation.

Back to top