Premier Watchmaker Performs Precision Testing with IMAQ Vision-Based Solution

Author(s):
Ivan Meissner - Qualimatest

Industry:
Consumer Goods

Products:
Vision, LabVIEW

The Challenge:
Inspecting various minute watch parts and taking very intricate measurements in an automated system.

The Solution:
Using a computer-based visual inspection aproach with LabVIEW, IMAQ Vision, and GPIB products from National Instruments to take precision measurements at high resolution.

At a watch-making plant in the western part of Switzerland, test engineers needed an efficient way to perform severe tests on their watches, which are renowned worldwide for their superior quality. National Instruments Alliance Program member Qualimatest sa, located in Geneva, developed a solution using computer-based visual inspection technology that automated the process and made obtaining these minute measurements much easier.

Multimicro
To help the company obtain a system solution, Qualimatest sa developed an award-winning inspection solution called Multimicro. Using a microscope coupled with a Sony analog camera, customers can take advantage of high-performance precision measurements, thanks to a tight link between object positioning and the image as given by the optical microscope.

The system, which runs on Windows NT, operates with a series of step-by-step motors on a 3-axis stage that moves the sample. A GPIB board from National Instruments controls the motor and its movements. With this automated solution, the company takes a variety of measurements on countless watch parts, from the watch face, to the interior workings of the watch, to the watchband.

Specific measurements include watch part hardness and the inclusion rating (defined by morphology and color, and quantified according to the ASTM, DIN, or ISO standard). These measurements, which are quite precise by nature, are then acquired and analysed with the computer using LabVIEW and IMAQ Vision software.

For instance, Multimicro correlates the hardness measured on a specific watch area with the microscopic characteristics of the specimen, such as grain size, inclusion rate, or percentage of a phase of interest. The system then directly correlates the hardness profile with this microstructural evaluation. The positioning sequences represent a perfect example of the measurement obtained. It is therefore possible to repeat a positioning sequence with different measuring functions and to integrate them so that they have, at each position, the result of each characterization.

The system can also carry out different measurements with a single operation. The user can combine geometrical control of a gear tooth profile, for example, with the determination of coating thickness or hardness at a given distance under a surface. These enhanced possibilities result from LabVIEW and IMAQ software, which can define positions by following the specimen border using image analysis.

Software that Automates
Not only does the Multimicro system provide precision measurements, it also gives high-caliber results. Using auto focusing, the system automatically calculates the time, speed, and load of a specific application. Color and brightness, outline enhancement, and zoom and negative are other parameters that users can apply.
The system also provides custom solutions for specific test sequences. For instance, customers can run different cross sequences or customize their information with specific histograms or other graphs.

Success with Multimicro
Multimicro, which Qualimatest developed in 1991, is now used by a variety of customers in France and Switzerland. The system software is also localized into several languages, including French, English, and German. Possible future capabilities for this software product include 3D microstructures, dynamic microscopy, topography at variable magnification, and micro-marking.1

For more information, contact:

Qualimatest sa

Ivan Meissner

18 chemin des Aulx

1228 Geneva, Switzerland

Tel: 41 22/884 00 30

E-mail: meissner@qmt.ch

Web: www.qmt.ch

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