Lasor develops precision vision technology for high quality thin glass

Citation

(2003), "Lasor develops precision vision technology for high quality thin glass", Sensor Review, Vol. 23 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/sr.2003.08723daf.006

Lasor develops precision vision technology for high quality thin glass

Lasor develops precision vision technology for high quality thin glass

Keywords: Inspection, Machine vision, Glass

Patented vision inspection technology has made possible the automated detection of tiny defects in glass sheet that is less than 1 mm thick. It was developed by Lasor, a company that specialises in vision and measurement solutions. The patent concerns the illumination of the glass for the vision inspection process. It uses a pulsed LED system to create a stereoscopic effect, according to Heiko Fastenau, Senior Sales Manager. "We are using the technology to inspect glass that has to be of very high quality due to its use for LCDs and flat panel displays. It is a very demanding application for vision inspection. The process has to be done in a cleanroom," he explains, claiming that the technology is capable of revealing defects as small as 10 microns. Lasor developed special algorithms to evaluate the images created by the vision system.

The first application of the new Lasor technology started operating earlier this year. The system inspects the glass as it reaches the end of the production process. The vision technology is integrated with the customer's production system in such a way that it can transmit the location and type of any defects to the cutting machine at the end of the production line. The cutting machine then automatically considers the presence of defects in its cutting cycle. The glass inspection process was previously a manual operation, says Heiko Fastenau.

Lasor employs 70 people in Germany and Atlanta, USA. It develops vision and measurement systems for plastics, metals, non-woven materials and paper, as well as for glass.

For further information, please contact: Heiko Fastenau, Lasor, Rudolf-Diesel Str. 24, 33813 Oerlinghausen, Germany. Tel: +49 5202 708 105; Fax +49 5202 708 130; E-mail: heiko.fastenau@lasor.com