Case studies / Customer project
Inspecting glossy bumpers with light field and LumiScan VGR
Special-purpose machine builder Mühlbauer Technologie builds inspection systems for painted front and rear bumpers. Light-field cameras from HD Vision Systems capture the glossy parts, and LumiScan VGR measures them and guides the inspection robot – today in thirteen systems in Germany and abroad.
In use in Germany and abroad (as of 2024)
The task
Painted bumpers are glossy, flexible and come in many variants. For production and radar-capability testing, the system has to identify the part type, determine its exact pose and detect deformation – even on twisted parts.
Mühlbauer was looking for a simple, clear software solution beyond a standard bin-picking application.
The solution
HD Vision Systems built on the standard version of LumiScan VGR with two LumiScanX light-field cameras and two pattern projectors. The light field reduces reflections, glare and occlusion; for highly reflective and dark parts, several images are merged.
The cameras are mostly guided by the inspection robot. The first concept with fixed cameras was faster but less flexible across part variants. Enclosed booths keep the lighting constant, regardless of time of day or hall lighting.
LumiScan VGR measures the part, corrects the robot path to the actual inspection points and checks that the path stays in the safe range and is collision-free – in fractions of a second. The robot is connected as a PROFINET slave.
The result
New parts are taught in software only; no additional, product-specific hardware is needed.
The solution is in operation in thirteen inspection systems in Germany and abroad (as of 2024).
“Our requirement was a simple, intuitive and clear software solution that runs outside the standard bin picking application.”