Small sensor solves big production line problem

A company that had been using a semi-automated process for its product assembly wanted to move towards a fully automated process to speed up production, eliminate errors and reduce the amount of human inspection.

The problem? On its production line, each medical cartridge in the nest must contain only one bead of blood. Often times, however, a cartridge would go by with no bead in it, or more than one. All of these beads are forced down a tube by air.

Due to the speed at which the bead was moving, it was often missed. In some cases, a sensor would detect a bead, but not recognize that there was more than one in the slot. In order to help prevent this from happening, several operators would have to inspect 100-plus stations to catch these errors. This was a very costly procedure, and due to human error, improper cartridges often got by.

The company needed a new solution. 

The Keyence FS-V30 series solved the problem. By using this in high-speed mode, the customer was able to detect almost 100 per cent of the beads coming by. The speed was no longer an issue in detecting the bead.

Secondly, the company was able to utilize the dual output model to detect double-fed beads. Writing a simple PLC program allowed them to detect the bead, and determine if it was double-fed.

Thanks to the FS-V30 series, the company now has a fully automated process. Production speed has increased with the sensor's ability to detect the air-forced bead. Operators are now able to spend their time on other areas of the process. 

Since the first system has been completed, a second system is in the process of being built. In addition, other old stations have been retrofitted to run on this new setup.

For more information on this product, contact Keyence. 

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