The production of car tires often takes place in very large quantities. Optical tire inspection plays a critical role in the quality control process of tire production. With the ever-growing demand for precise and efficient inspection processes, the use of industrial cameras has become a common tool in the industry. This is where computer vision steps in, revolutionizing automotive tire inspection with automation and precision.
We have therefore made it our mission to provide you with the best possible support for your application and to work with you to find the right hardware and software.
Industrial cameras offer high accuracy and reliability when capturing high-resolution images. In tire inspection, they enable detailed detection of surface defects such as cracks, dents or irregularities in the tread. Our cameras are designed for a long service life. This is why the 3-year warranty is a matter of course for us. Long-term availability of our cameras is also very important to us. This is why you can purchase a specific model from us even years later.
In contrast to manual inspection methods, the use of industrial cameras enables fast and systematic detection of tire surfaces. Automatic image processing and analysis significantly reduces the time required for inspection and increases production speed. In addition, it is possible to recognize the labels of the tires and save product specific results into a database.
For a production batch, it is possible to determine exactly which tires were faulty and which inspection processes took place during production.
This means that several steps can be carried out simultaneously using a machine vision system: On the one hand, detailed fault detection can be carried out and, on the other hand, the results can be stored in the system, thereby greatly simplifying and accelerating intralogistics processes, for example.
The use of industrial cameras in optical tire inspection makes it possible to fully automate the inspection process. Advanced image processing algorithms enable the automatic detection and classification of defects without human intervention. This reduces the risk of human error. Production is often also semi-automated. A single operator can monitor multiple machine vision systems and control several production lines at once.
Through numerous industrial automation processes in recent years, we have managed to save many costs together with our customers. Camera-supported systems allow you to automate production steps and quality checks. This simplifies various production steps. You can also counteract the shortage of skilled workers and, for example, inspect several production lines in one place on monitors. The system could automatically detect and log errors. This saves many customers working time and drastically reduces the time the system is at a standstill when faults occur. The investment costs of the automated systems have therefore quickly paid for themselves.
We recently supported a customer with a similar application. Optical error detection and barcode recognition were very important to them. We discussed the application in an online meeting and came to the following solution.
We quickly decided to use several cameras to capture different perspectives. In order to be able to photograph all tire sizes, we chose the largest possible field of view. The usual tire sizes go up to 22 inches, which corresponds to about 55 cm.
With a little margin around the edges, we set the field of view to 70x70cm. Due to various standard regulations, our customer wanted a system resolution of 0.1mm/pixel. This resulted in a required resolution of 49 megapixels. Our MARS-5000-24GTC is the perfect choice in this case. The camera has a sensor format of 1:1, which is ideal for tire inspection. This camera model delivers up to 24 FPS, allowing the conveyor belt to run during production as quick as before.
When choosing the industrial lens, it was important for us to get as close to the tires as possible. We didn’t want to increase the size of the system drastically. We therefore chose the smallest focal length available for an F-mount lens. With a focal length of 25mm and the desired field of view of 700x700mm, the final working distance was calculated to 800mm.
For the machine vision lighting, we opted for our classic bar lights. We integrated a total of 4 bar lights into the machine. When building the prototype, the angle and position of the lights could easily be changed to find the best setting. Our lighting experts helped us a lot in this case.
One camera inspected the tread of the tires. A very precise defect detection was carried out here. For example, cracks and colour defects were detected. Another camera carried out optical fault detection. The machine's conveyor belt used a tilting mechanism to rotate the tire so that the other side could also be inspected. In addition, the barcode was recognized and the tire was entered into the system. Due to the different positioning of the codes and the structure of the tires, it is often suitable to use several cameras, as otherwise a full view is not possible.
We chose the same camera model because it simplified software integration with Zebra Aurora. With this software, our customer was able to customize the software to their needs using a drop-down menu. The software was also able to communicate with their internal databases. The intralogistics processes could be integrated into the software.
We supported the customer during the design of the prototype and gave advice on several necessary changes during the evaluation phase. We were always able to send the machine vision components to the customer quickly. This meant that the test phase was not unnecessarily prolonged.
Even after the test phase, we were able to provide the machine vision cameras and lenses as well as the software quickly. Now, many of the customer’s sites in Europe are supplied with machine vision system for tire inspection. Fast delivery and good support are very important to us.
In summary, it can be said that the use of industrial cameras in production pays off. In tire production in particular, an image-supported automation system is ideal for further developing your production. In this case, barcodes need to be read, defects to be detected and the labelling on the tires to be recognized. This means that there are many possible causes for error, but they can all be checked in one place with the use of computer vision. This reduces the working time in your production and the errors are logged precisely. This allows you to increase your efficiency despite a high production volume.
