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Detection of Holes

Detecting holes can be a major challenge. Perforated surfaces and objects with holes cause many sensors problems that can lead to damage or material jams. Here, you will find sensor solutions for reliable hole detection.

Challenges

Areas of Use

Overview of Solutions

Hole Detection with Sensors

Hole Detection with Machine Vision

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What Are the Advantages of wenglor Products?

Diverse Usage Options

Broad portfolio for diverse applications

Precise Hole Detection

Detection of different hole sizes and deviations in hole diameter

Avoidance of Quality Problems

Early identification of deviations and errors

Optimization of Material Use

Reduction of material waste in production

Challenges in Hole Detection

Hole Detection

In the production of paper, films and even sheet metal strips, the quality of the endless materials must be continuously checked. Failure to detect holes or cracks in time can lead to serious consequences, such as impaired product quality, damage to the machine, but also safety risks.

Solution

Retro-reflex sensors for transparent objects
Ultrasonic distance sensors
2D/3D profile sensors

Quality Control of Objects in Holes

The quality control of objects in holes ensures that, for example, a thread is present inside a sleeve to ensure the quality standard in further process steps.

Solution

Reflex sensors with background suppression
Triangulation laser distance sensors

Detection of Objects with Holes

The detection of perforated objects, such as perforated sheets, grid boxes or printed circuit boards, poses a particular challenge for sensors. Sensors with an inadequately sized detection area could perceive the non-continuous surface of the object as interruptions or errors and thus generate erroneous signals.

Solution

Retro-reflex sensors with light band
Ultrasonic distance sensors

Measurement of Holes

When industrially manufacturing components or other objects, such as body parts, holes must be drilled. Before the parts can be joined together, it must be ensured that the holes have the exact dimensions so that the screws fit perfectly into the holes.

Solution

Vision systems
Smart cameras

Look Through a Hole

A major challenge in industrial production environments is the limited space for installing sensors. In conveyor lines, for example, the sensors look at the conveyor belt through holes in the side walls to detect passing objects.

Solution

universal retro-reflex sensors
Fiber-optic sensors
Energetic reflex sensors

Application Areas of Hole Detection

Presence Check for Screws and Nuts

Challenge:
After the robot-controlled screwing process of body parts, it must be ensured that all screws and nuts are correctly installed in order to ensure the quality of the assembled body parts and to immediately detect faulty screws.

Solution:

Measuring the Indentation Diameter

Challenge:
To ensure the quality of the punching process in the automotive industry, it is necessary to precisely measure the diameter of the resulting indentations. Incorrect or inaccurate measurement can lead to quality issues and increased waste.

Solution:

Hole Inspection of Battery Covers

Challenge:
When manufacturing battery covers, one challenge is precisely monitoring the punched holes. Fiber-optic sensors enable reliable and fast identification, ensuring quality for further processing.

Solution:

Detection of Perforated Objects

Challenge:
In logistics, perforated boxes or cartons pose a particular challenge. To reliably detect objects with a non-continuous surface on the conveyor belt, a sensor with an enlarged detection area must be used. Sensors with a point light spot can misinterpret the hole as an interruption or error.

Solution:

Hole Detection for Precise Compartment Positioning

Challenge:
When it comes to precise compartment positioning in high-bay warehouses, the exact positioning of the shuttle in front of the compartment is crucial for error-free storage and retrieval of goods. This requires sensors that detect holes of different sizes at single and double depth and are insensitive to external light and temperature fluctuations.

Solution:

Presence Check of Storage Containers

Challenge:
In modern storage systems, the continuous checking of the load handling attachment assignment and the matching of the target and actual assignment is a challenge. The sensors installed on the shuttle must be able to reliably detect perforated boxes and containers at short distances.

Solution:

Detection of Containers with Drain Holes

Challenge:
In logistics, special containers made of metal or plastic are used, which have a drain hole to allow any condensate created in the containers can drain off. The challenge is to reliably detect the containers to enable a frictionless flow of material.

Solution:

Distance Measurement for Forklift

Challenge:
In large warehouses and distribution centers, the challenge is to ensure that forklifts pick up pallets with all kinds of goods correctly. For this purpose, the sensor used must reliably measure the distance of the autonomously moving forklift truck to the pallet foot, even in the event of uneven surfaces, holes or cracks.

Solution:

Open-End Wrench Ejection Control

Challenge:
When checking the ejection of open-end wrenches on sliding devices, it is particularly important to detect material jams in good time. To reliably detect the flat shiny objects, a sensor must be positioned just above the conveyor belt.

Solution:

Hole Inspection of Flanges

Challenge:
Hole inspection of metal flanges in CNC machining portals is an important quality control measure. Due to the harsh ambient conditions prevailing there, the sensors used must be robust and resistant in order to reliably detect the drilled holes in the shiny components.

Solution:

Quality inspection of components

Challenge:
When manufacturing components in special machine construction, holes must be drilled in one work step. Before the components can be further processed, they must be checked for the presence of the holes to be drilled. This requires a sensor that reliably detects the holes in the reflective surfaces.

Solution:

Detection of Holes in Rotor Components

Challenge:
In mechanical engineering, it is necessary to check rotor components for the presence of holes for a smooth processing process. This requires the use of sensors that accurately detect holes both from a long distance and on glossy surfaces.

Solution:

Overview of Solutions

Retro-Reflex Sensors with Light Band

Retro-reflex sensors with light band detect objects with variable edges, shapes and sizes. Thanks to the continuous, homogeneous laser light band, the sensor monitors a much larger area than a light barrier with a dot-shaped light spot. The light band can also detect small or translucent parts.

B60 Smart Camera

The high-performance B60 smart camera carries out a wide range of industrial image processing tasks. The highly modular hardware platforms in combination with powerful machine vision software offer the computing power of a vision system in the housing of a smart camera.

Ultrasonic Distance Sensors

Distance sensors are suitable for the detection, differentiation and measurement of objects using ultrasound. Different operating modes, such as synchronous, multiplex or through-beam mode, can be set via the display or centrally via IO-Link, and different output variants and formats enable a wide range of possible applications.

B50 Vision Sensors

Vision sensors from the B50 series include numerous image processing functions for the automation industry. From simple presence checks to color and shape recognition, the counting and sorting of objects, these sensors are used for quality assurance – even in real time via Industrial Ethernet.

Vision Systems

Vision systems solve complex image processing applications. They consist of up to 16 machine vision cameras with C mount lenses, external illumination and a machine vision controller. The right software offers numerous evaluation options and a wide range of interfaces make connectivity easier.

Triangulation Laser Distance Sensors

The contactless laser triangulation sensors work according to the angle measurement principle, which enables reliable and highly precise measurement in the close range up to 1,000 mm. The triangulation sensors deliver stable measured values regardless of color, shape, rough and textured surfaces.

Time-of-Flight Laser Distance Sensors

Time-of-flight laser distance sensors (ToF) work according to the principle of transit time measurement, which means that they cover large working ranges up to 10,000 mm, so that objects can be reliably detected even at great distances. The ToF sensors are extremely robust against interfering ambient light, which ensures reliable operation.

Fiber-Optic Sensors

Fiber-optic sensors use plastic or glass fiber-optic cables, which can also be used in hard-to-reach places due to their high flexibility. Plastic or glass fiber-optic cables are connected to fiber-optic sensors for use in applications with limited space or high temperatures.

Reflex Sensors with Background Suppression

Reflex sensors with background suppression detect and measure objects contactlessly and detect them in front of any defined background. They work with red light, infrared light, blue light or laser light. Thanks to the principle of angle measurement, the color, shape and object surface have no influence on the switching behavior of the sensors.