Full Automation of a Manual Inspection Unit for Industrial Borescopy

Abstract

The digitization of processes in the context of Smart Manufacturing enables the control and monitoring of production processes. Visual inspection of parts is a process where the surface finish of machined parts is evaluated. For this purpose, manual inspection units have been traditionally used to evaluate the validity of the parts. This manual inspection process requires the operator to position the lens to obtain the images, which supposes an inefficient and non-repeatable process producing a considerable waste of production time. In order to design a more competitive process in the context of Smart Manufacturing, we fully automate in this paper an industrial borescopy unit by implementing closed-loop stepper motors, sensors, and microcontrollers. In addition, a web server has been programmed where operators monitor and upload ISO codes depending on the inspected part. This web server is connected to the microcontroller and the borescope positioning camera for automatic imaging. Therefore, the visual part inspection unit has been digitized and provided with connectivity and intelligence as the cyber physical system of the Smart Manufacturing.