Weidmuller cuts inspection time from 30 minutes to under 2 minutes with universal inspection station

Weidmuller, a leading provider of electrical connectivity solutions with around 33,000 products, needed to maintain a zero-defect strategy. Manual quality inspection of electronic components took 30 to 45 minutes per object. Complex testing procedures were slow and unsustainable for their product volume.

Working with Ceres Vision GmbH, Weidmuller developed the 2K11 universal inspection station using Cognex VisionPro software. The system uses two 11-megapixel cameras with telecentric optics, automatic focusing across seven positions, and 3D evaluation capability. The Ceres Vision Smart-Builder software provides an intuitive drag-and-drop interface for creating inspection procedures.

Inspection times were reduced from 30-45 minutes to 0.5-2 minutes per part, a roughly 90x improvement. Line productivity and product quality increased. The system streamlined the process of modifying testing parameters for line changes, and operators could create inspection procedures themselves without extensive prior knowledge.

• Automated vision inspection can deliver orders-of-magnitude speed improvements over manual methods
• User-friendly interfaces enable operators to create inspection procedures without deep technical expertise
• Telecentric optics with automatic focusing solve depth-of-field challenges in precision measurement