Vision of the future

Leading drug delivery device manufacturer Bespak has been using machine vision systems for more than seven years, but the constant drive to both maintain a strong market position and sustain continuous improvements in quality led to a review during 2004.

The team approached FirstSight Vision, a specialist supplier, which recommended installing a DVT 540c MV system with a polarising filter on the lens and an additional polarising filter on the light source. 'By tuning the two filters to the right position, it gave us an image that made the gear stand out from the background, helped by the different types of plastic involved,' said Paul Ashby, part of Bespak's devices manufacturing engineering team with Adrian Caley.

'The DVT system is compact so we can site it in difficult locations on the line,' added Caley. 'Connecting the system and using the software is simple, and it meets a lot of our regulatory needs, which is vital. Overall it's a cost effective way of introducing vision systems into our moulding and assembly equipment.'

Bespak has further developed its use of machine vision and now uses 50 DVT systems in a wide variety of roles throughout its UK facilities.

'Having bought an open system, we can configure each unit as we like,' said Ashby. 'If a line changes or a task becomes redundant, we can use it elsewhere; it's not dead product.' Machine Vision also identifies systemic trouble, resultin in a drop in waste levels: 'On the first line, we had just 26 bad parts out of 15,000,' he added.