Process and quality control
Many industrial processes require measurement and analysis of thermal patterns for control and continuous improvement. A thermographic system integrated in a production process can perform automated control actions and provide abundant and valuable information to the technicians responsible for decision making.
From APLITER we put at your disposal IRTIMfactorya complete turnkey solution that allows you to automatically measure, record and evaluate thermal information in real time and send signals to existing control systems and PLC.
Control of
processes
OK/NOK
Continuous process monitoring
TIM system configuration
OK/NOK process control
In OK/NOK applications, thermal patterns from one or more chambers are analyzed to ensure that they meet the process validation criteria. After each inspection, the IRTIMfactory sends the result signal to the control system or PLC to execute the corresponding action: stop the process, reject the product, save log files, among others.
Examples of applications
Metal processing
Working with metallic materials involves the application of heat treatments to modify the physical and chemical properties of the processed metals. With the IRTIMfactory system, heating and cooling cycles are controlled, optimizing the quality of the final product.
Food processing
In the food industry, it is essential to meticulously control the temperature of perishable products during their manufacture, transport, storage and sale. The thermographic system IRTIMfactory IR thermographic system allows product temperature to be monitored by automatic measurements throughout the entire cycle.
Glass container manufacturing
The glass container manufacturing process involves the application of several thermal processes, from raw material processing to cooling after the annealing tunnel. The system with thermographic cameras IRTIMfactory IR thermographic camera system allows the temperature of the glass to be monitored at different stages of the manufacturing process.
Adhesives
Some types of adhesives are difficult to see with conventional vision cameras. However, the automatic thermal IRTIMfactory can easily "see" if the glue bead has been applied evenly, if there is a glue-free area and also check the temperature at which it has been applied.
Plastic injection molding
The correct temperature distribution in plastic injection molds is essential for product quality. The thermographic system IRTIMfactory automatically analyzes thermal data from the process to detect operating problems in injection molding machines.
IR welding
In infrared (IR) heater welding, the material is heated by radiation until it reaches the joining temperature. Thermal imaging cameras and the IR SYSTEMTIMfactory IR cameras and the TIMfactory IR system make it possible to monitor the temperature of components in order to avoid deformations and non-conformities in parts due to excessive or insufficient heating.
Foam injection
In industry, for proper thermal and acoustic insulation, technical foams are injected into many assemblies and parts. These foams have an exothermic curing process. By applying thermography using the IRTIMfactorysystem, it is possible to check that the part has been completely filled and cured.
Sealing of
containers
Automatically checking container sealing can be a difficult task for conventional cameras and vision techniques. On occasions where sealing is done by material melt, thermography can automatically detect unsealed or poorly sealed areas using the IRTIM factory.
Continuous process monitoring
Temperature is an important variable, directly or indirectly, in many continuous manufacturing processes, such as in the manufacture of steel, paper, synthetic fibers, electrical cables, foams, etc. The IRTIMfactory thermographic system thermographic system thermally monitors and analyzes continuous processes and sends control signals to the control PC or PLC in case of any event: stopping the process, regulating process temperature or saving log files, among others.
Examples of applications
Extrusion processes
In extrusion, the detection of temperature anomalies at the die exit is a key factor for the quality of the product and the subsequent heat treatments to be applied to the aluminum. By means of the thermographic system IRTIMfactory it is possible to monitor these temperatures in real time and control the feed rate.
Industry chemical
In the chemical industry, stable and homogeneous process temperatures are important for optimal productivity and product quality. One or more thermal imaging cameras coupled with the thermal imaging system IR SYSTEMTIMfactory IR thermographic system allows to monitor the thermal stability of the whole and to have all the information in real time.
Pharmaceutical industry
In the pharmaceutical industry, one of the main applications of thermography and the IRTIMfactory system is closure and package integrity inspection. Using thermal imaging cameras and the appropriate control system, it is possible to inspect 100% of the packaged products during the packaging process itself.
Rotary kilns
In large rotary kilns, temperature control in the refractory is a necessary investment, both for better product quality and to reduce operating and maintenance costs. Thermal imaging cameras and the IR SYSTEMTIMfactory IR system allow this control in real time and detect the detachment of refractory material.
Request more information about Process and quality control projects.
Thermography and machine vision
Temperature is an important variable directly or indirectly in many continuous manufacturing processes, such as in the manufacture of steel, paper, synthetic fibers, electrical cables, foams, etc. The thermographic system IRTIMfactory thermographic system thermally monitors and analyzes continuous processes and sends control signals to the control PC or PLC in case of any event: stopping the process, regulating process temperature, saving log files, and so on.
Examples of applications
Pattern recognition
Pattern recognition allows the system to IRTIMfactory system to detect thermal anomalies that might go unnoticed at first. Even if the temperature does not deviate much from the reference, certain temperature patterns or trends are always indicative of an anomaly that the IRTIM system is able to recognize.
False Positive Detection Algorithm
An industrial thermographic detection system with integration of artificial vision techniques and false positive control allows the installation to operate automatically, controlling a process or alarm center without the need for supervision. IRTIM systems incorporate these algorithms compatible with self-learning techniques.
Integrated image processing
The system IRTIMfactory system controls image capture and analysis and communicates with production equipment. In this way, it can synchronize thermographic image acquisition and pattern recognition with input and output signals from the PLC and apply different algorithms or criteria depending on the monitored reference.
Classification of parts or objects
By means of artificial vision techniques, the IRTIMfactory system can classify parts or objects according to their thermal patterns. The capture, storage, processing and interpretation of the images allows an operational guidance of the devices in the execution of the functions of the production cycle.
IRTIM system configuration
Temperature is an important variable, directly or indirectly, in many continuous manufacturing processes, such as in the manufacture of steel, paper, synthetic fibers, electrical cables, foams, etc. The thermographic system IRTIMfactory thermographic system thermally monitors and analyzes continuous processes and sends control signals to the control PC or PLC in case of any event: stopping the process, regulating process temperature, saving log files, etc.
Examples of applications
Connectivity
The IRTIMfactory detects any thermal anomaly that deviates from the standard pattern. The system has different ways to manage incidents, either on-site through digital control outputs to PLC, audible or visual alarms, or remotely through the IRTIM Cloud App and sending SMS or email.
Scalable system
The system IRTIMfactory system is flexible and scalable, allowing you to expand the number of thermal imaging cameras and inspection points at any time. In addition, you can use the equipment in any environment thanks to multiple housing options including stainless steel, IP67 protection, ATEX environments, heating, cooling and/or self-cleaning of the optics.
IRTIM Cloud App
The IRTIMfactory Cloud collects real-time information from all work centers so that through an easy and intuitive interface and a permissions system you can monitor the operation or provide technical support to operations. With the IRTIM Cloud you can control the system from the workstation or from anywhere with your computer, tablet or smartphone.
Maximum precision
Gracias al protocolo GigE Vision, el sistema IRTIMfactory puede funcionar con una amplia gama de cámaras termográficas de FLIR Systems®. En función del equipo elegido, es posible llegar a medir temperaturas entre los -40ºC y los 2.000ºC, trabajar con sensibilidades mejores que <0,05ºC, con una precisión de ±2º/±2% y una resolución de hasta 640×512 (327.680px).