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Volkswagen AG - Reliable Systems Guarantee Operational and Process Stability

FULLY AUTOMATED INDUSTRIAL IMAGE PROCESSING WITH 2D AND 3D CAMERAS

Until recently, the Power & Free conveyor systems of two final assembly lines for "Golf" vehicle models were visually inspected by the staff of Volkswagen AG in Wolfsburg, Germany, resulting in administrative overhead and larger than desired error rates. As a result, Volkswagen installed the Inline Control System from PSI Technics, a new trolley wheel inspection system based on fully automatic industrial image processing which now prevents costly production downtimes. This new system now reliably and proactively detects material fatigue, which results in lower failure rates and improved safety.

(PSI Technics, 07/03/2012)

A new trolley wheel inspection system based on industrial image processing prevents costly production downtimes.

Project Description
Power & Free systems consist of two tracks: An overhead ("Power") track that holds a conveyor or carrier chain and a lower "Free" track. The overhead track transports the chain-driven trolleys.

Initial Situation
At Volkswagen AG in Wolfsburg the final assembly work is done while the vehicle bodies are hanging from the Power & Free conveyor system before the cars roll off to the next production stage.

The high throughput considerably affects the assembly line components.
Wear and abrasion leads to:

• Slack in the chain link increases
• The trolley bolts can be deformed or even break
• Wheel breakage and damaged ball bearings

The Challange
"A product that was quick to install and would provide a reliable trolley wheel inspection was important to us. We wanted to proactively detect material fatigue to avoid corrective measures", says Jürgen Bastek, Manager of Maintenance at Volkswagen AG.

(Image Source: Volkswagen AG)

The Solution
Fully automated industrial image processing with 2D and 3D cameras:

1. 3D cameras monitor the trolley wheels on both sides of the overhead tracks of the Power & Free system.
2. The images are analyzed directly inside the cameras.
3. If certain trolley wheels exceed the predefined tolerance limits, the corresponding data is saved in a database.
4. The trolley IDs are read by a 2D camera and stored in the database as well.
5. When tolerance limits are exceeded, a command is transmitted to the PLC and the corresponding trolley is removed from current production for servicing.
6. The maintenance technicians can then perform a detailed inspection or repairs, if necessary.

Project Duration
Volkswagen has been successfully using the Inline Control System since June 2011.
It was installed within a couple of hours during planned production-free maintenance periods.

Contact:
PSI Technics
Karl-Heinz Förderer
President and CEO
Phone: +49 (0) 2630 91590-0
E-Mail: info@psi-technics.com

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