Machine vision, in simple words, is a system that makes use of a camera to collect information about the surroundings. The picture or the image captured by the camera is processed using definite algorithms to extract useful information about a given environment. Machine vision brings in a lot of efficiency in an industrial unit.
How Does Machine Vision Work
Before you understand why machine vision can be a boon for a manufacturing unit, you should understand how a machine vision world works. Like all cameras, it needs a source of light for proper illumination of the object whose photograph it has to capture.
Apart from that, it needs lenses, a processor, and a sensor. The sensors used for machine vision are photodiode sensors. These photodiode sensors get excited by light.
Moreover, photodiode sensors have a diode which is a semiconductor.
What Are The Advantages Of Having Machine Vision For Inspection And Monitoring At A Manufacturing Unit
Increased Productivity
The end goal of every manufacturing unit is to increase productivity. Machine vision has the ability to reduce human intervention in the inspection and monitoring stages of the manufacturing process. When a human is replaced by a machine, then the time taken to get a job done and the efficiency with which the work gets done is reduced significantly.
Humans are prone to errors; moreover, if they are made to work long hours, the chances of committing an error increase manifolds. However, if you use machine vision instead of a human at a manufacturing unit, the chances of error do not increase significantly, even if the machine vision camera is made to work for a long time.
So the manufacturing unit can function for a longer period if machine vision and inspection systems replace human inspection and monitoring.
More Comprehensive Information
Machine vision and inspection systems give you a comprehensive view of what is happening at a manufacturing unit. So if there is a machine that is not working optimally and if there is a minor accident simultaneously, a machine vision and inspection system can keep an eye on both events at once.
However, a human inspector would not be able to monitor large areas of operation at once.
So if you install a machine vision and inspection system in your manufacturing unit, you will be able to monitor all the work with much fewer personnel at the site of manufacturing.
Useful For Manufacturing Units That Need Sanitised Working Conditions
Some manufacturing units need sanitized conditions. This means that they have to be maintained without any bacterial or fungal contamination. Whenever there is human intervention, the chances of bacterial and fungal contamination are present. However, if you install a machine vision and inspection system, the chances of contamination are reduced to a minimum.
Conclusion
A machine vision system that uses photodiode sensors, lenses, and algorithms to monitor a manufacturing unit brings efficiency. Moreover, the chances of errors are reduced, and if there is a need for sanitized working conditions, that too can be fulfilled by machine vision.
