Sony and Tordivel AS collaborate to deliver integrated robot inspection systems

Weybridge, 20 September, 2005

 

The new products will allow users to quickly and cost-effectively tailor robot inspection systems, via a high-level interface designed for production engineers, rather than vision system experts. The systems are expected to find applications in a variety of industries that require 100% inspection for zero-defect production, and have already been proven in the automotive industry, where they have been used to inspect tire pressure sensors. They will also ease integration and cut costs in general-purpose dispensing and pick-and-place applications.

 

An initial starter kit combines Tordivel's Scorpion Enterprise software with a Sony CAST robot, XCD710-CR camera plus lens, all of the necessary interface cables, and a two-day training course to help users get up to speed quickly and easily. The Scorpion Enterprise software allows the engineer to undertake any inspection task, from the very complex to the very simple: it can be used to measure dimensions and angles, check for presence of objects and inspect colours, if necessary in a multi-camera environment. It also includes calibration and control facilities required to set up an application.

 

We are delighted to be working with Tordivel, said Christelle Ogarek, Business Development Manager of Sony Manufacturing Systems Europe. We believe that Sony's competitively-priced, high-speed, accurate hardware, Firewire camera and Tordivel's intuitive, production-oriented software are a winning combination. We already have a positive response from manufacturing engineers who don't want to rely on a vision systems expert, simply to add robot vision to their process.

 

This positive response is reflected in the fact that the system has already been in use since early spring 2005, and is outputting 100inspection of a tray of 180 tyre pressure sensors in six minutes. The Sony / Scorpion system logs measurement data and images for each tray of sensors, and is used to spot defects such as sensors out of position or glue incorrectly dispensed. The system uses four Sony XCD710-CR cameras: operator intervention (for instance for manual re-inspection) is possible via a point-and-click interface, whilst set-up and configuration is easily performed using Scorpion's robust image processing and powerful control features.

 

By basing the starter kit on Sony's CAST range of robots, Sony and Tordivel are able to cater for a large variety of applications, including those which require simultaneous control over movement in up to four-axes. With positioning accuracy of ±0.01mm, up to 2500 points per operation program, and speed of up to 800mm/s, the CAST range saves production floor space via compact design, and is already in use in applications from soldering, dispensing and screw fastening to marking and de-paneling.

 

As well as the CAST-based system, the companies are offering an option based on Sony's ROBOKiD super-compact desktop robot, putting robotic inspection within the reach of most production engineers. The systems will be exhibited at the Sony stand at Forum de l'Electronique (Paris, 27-29 September 2005), Productronica (Munich, 15-18 November 2005) and the VISION Show (Stuttgart, 8-10 November 2005).

 

ENDS

 

For more information, please contact:

Oliver Davies, Publitek Tel. 44 (0) 1225 470000 / fax 44 (0) 1225 470047 / email: oliver.davies@publitek.com

Clemens Schuette, Sony Corporate Communications Europe Tel. 44 (0) 1932 817402 / fax 44 (0) 1932 816649 / email: clemens.schuette@eu.sony.com

 

About Sony:

Sony manufactures audio, video, communications and information technology products for the global consumer and professional markets. With its music, pictures, game and online businesses, Sony is uniquely positioned to be one of the World's Leading Consumer Brands. Sony recorded consolidated annual sales of EUR 53.43 billion (yen 7,160 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2005 and it employs approximately 151,400 people worldwide.

In Europe, Sony recorded consolidated annual sales of EUR 12.03 billion (yen 1,613 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2005, based on an average market exchange rate for the same period of yen 134 to the EUR. Sony Europe, headquartered at the Sony Center am Potsdamer Platz in Berlin, is responsible for the company's European electronics business and registered consolidated sales of EUR 8.87 billion for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2005.

 

About Sony Manufacturing Systems:

Drawing on a wealth of Sony experience and expertise in manufacturing, Sony Manufacturing Systems Europe (SMSE) provides manufacturing equipment and devices to aid technology development, design and quality assurance for a broad spectrum of industries. These include automotive, aerospace, medical, systems manufacturing, consumer electronics and surface mount technology (SMT).

The SMSE product portfolio includes SMT equipment, measuring systems for motion and quality control, factory automation equipment and data recorders, as well as DUV lasers and optical disc analysers.

With its headquarters at Weybridge, UK, SMSE is the European arm of Sony Manufacturing Corporation, Japan. It operates as a division of Semiconductor and Electronic Solutions (SES), a division of Sony United Kingdom Ltd.