Too often in the process of selecting machine vision components, decisions on how all the vision components are to be synchronized are left until the end. Many times this can lead to long and costly system integration time, so it is important to look at the synchronization issues before selecting the system components.

Hall Effect gages are particularly important in the blow molding industry for measurement of wall thickness in plastic bottles and similar containers, as well as many other situations involving relatively thin, nonmagnetic products such as aluminum containers, plastic and glass tubing, scientific glassware, and many small machined or molded plastic and composite parts.

New 3-D analysis capability in stereomicroscopy is available. Conventional stereomicroscopes now transform into true 3-D measurement devices with full analytical capability to generate profile, roughness, area and volumetric measurements.

Within the myriad of inspection systems and technologies available in the industry that are relatively inexpensive and can be fully automated, one inspection technology stands out-eddy current inspection. It is available to the machining industry in two forms: noncontact and contact.

Viewing and quantifying defect damage during a visual inspection has become a critical function of quality control engineers and all borescope operators. This need to quantify inspection data has driven borescope manufacturers to achieve higher levels of system performance.

Alloy identification and analysis is an essential aspect of numerous industrial applications, ranging from scrap metal recycling to the manufacture of special steels for aircraft engines. X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry is one method that can be used for alloy analysis. The advantages of XRF have established the technique as an industry standard.

The uniaxial tensile test is one of the most common material tests performed. It is employed most often to measure one or more of the following properties of a material: modulus, yield strength, ultimate tensile strength, Poisson’s ratio, elongation to failure and reduction of area. Several ASTM standards are available to provide guidance on performing tensile tests. Three of the most common standards are ASTM E8 for metallic materials, ASTM D3039 for polymer matrix composite materials and ASTM D638 for unreinforced and reinforced plastics.

As integral as machine vision has become to such industries as food and beverage packaging, printing and automotive parts, industry analysts projected its across-the-board growth in the manufacturing sector through 2006 at about 9% annually.