Investigation on automated inspection of highly reflective automotive parts

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This project investigates the development of an automated non-contact inspection station for quality control ofhighly reflective plastic and chrome-based parts. The developed system is going to be based on machine visionsystems using Ultra Violet light. The inspected parts are used in various sections of the vehicle and are requiredto be clear of any defects.The defects are surface faults, rather small in size, and are hard to detect. The current procedure in place isbased on the manual inspection of each part, which is performed in specific lighting stations on themanufacturing floor. Inspected parts are packaged carefully and shipped to their destination. These parts gointo a second round of manual inspection, and there are always faulty parts within the packages., which arerejected. These rejects require the Canadian manufacturer to pay fines and increases their productions costs.The size of the faults, shape of the parts, and the fact that their surface is highly reflective, results in mistakesduring the inspection. Moreover, despite the operator's experience, since the method is based on the judgmentof the operator at that instance, a change of operator results in different decisions regarding the pass/fail of apart. Therefore, a reliable and automated method of inspection can not only increase the efficiency of thesystem, but also by reducing human error it can result in cost saving in shipping and secondary complaintsfrom the overseas assembly plants.The typical faults are scratch marks, cracks, and surface imperfections, which are highly irregular. Using anautomated, machine vision system, allows the manufacturer to quantify and classify the degree of the defects.