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Quality Control 4.0: Defect Detection in Industry 4.0 with Computer Vision

Running products through quality checks is a crucial step in any manufacturing facility. Factors ranging from customer satisfaction to the safety of customers’ lives all depend on the level of quality control in factories for defect detection in the industry.

Strict production quality protocols require manufacturers to re-work entire batches or waste them all together, resulting in hefty losses.

The biggest challenge in quality control is that it comes at the end of each manufacturing cycle. This means the entire effort put into manufacturing is on the line when products are handed over for quality control.

Manufacturers can gain a number of significant advantages when computer vision is involved in product defect detection. Computer vision algorithms use environmental, product-specific as well as surface-level data inputs to analyze and report defects.

This results in three major upgrades in the quality control process which we will share in this article.

Speedy Defect Detection

Manual quality checks require manufacturers to intervene in the assembly line which considerably slows down production. Previously, this act was unavoidable and part of a rigorous quality check.

Visual inspection via computer vision allows real-time monitoring of the products as they move along the assembly line at a dynamic pace.

The benefit is an undisturbed and smooth production process, which contributes to higher productivity due to less intervention. Defect detection via computer vision services on a moving assembly line can be at least 94% accurate.

This level of accuracy is unprecedented when you consider that each unit on the assembly line is checked for defects rather than sampling a few from each batch.

Reducing Human Error

An incontestable benefit of adopting computer programs in repetitive tasks is the low margin of error as compared to the human alternative. The accuracy of human inspection is often inconsistent because the level of experience and ability can vary significantly between individual inspectors.

Whereas, manufacturers can expect a uniform and reliable performance from computer vision in defect detection.

In manual quality controls, the risk of human error could mean life or death for consumers. When defect detection is carried out through computer vision services, the risk is minimized substantially and manufacturers can aspire for higher levels of perfection in terms of product quality.

Eliminating Product Wastage

A bitter pill in the quality control procedure is selecting samples and testing them extensively which makes those samples unfit for sale. For years, the practice of quality maintenance has been accompanied with a constant cost in terms of wasted material.

Computer vision enables manufacturers to scan for defects without compromising product integrity, resulting in zero wastage.

Manufacturers have been seeking ways to eliminate the cost of wasted material and computer vision makes that a reality through visual inspection services.

Conclusion

Visual inspection has the capability to be molded as per the specification of the product. Alternatively, manufacturers can choose to run basic inspection based on pre-built algorithms designed for fault detection.

Computer vision enables manufacturers to inspect any kind of product in real-time with a low margin of error, making the application of visual inspection services limitless in quality control.

The emergence of Defect Detection in Industry 4.0 has inspired manufacturers to revamp costly, time taking practices with efficient and productive ones. Computer vision services realize the goal of transforming processes to reach new heights.

Xavor Corporation has an extensive history of providing AI-based services for manufacturers. Xavor’s all-in-one industrial monitoring services provide innovative applications of computer vision using our proprietary algorithms including visual inspection. 

Reach out to us to learn how your organization can benefit from Xavor’s computer vision services.

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