Damage happens after the machine
A part can leave the machine clean and arrive at shipping damaged. Bins, carts, deburring and wash steps all add risk. Nobody sees it happen, and the part goes into the box anyway. Bins, carts, deburring and wash steps all add risk, and nobody sees it happen.
A check at the end of the chain finds the damage regardless of where it came from. It does not tell you which step caused it. The records can help you look for a pattern. The station sees the part as it will ship, which is the state your customer cares about.
Where the station fits
Put the station right before painting, plating, packing or shipping. Each part goes through the fixture, gets a photo, and returns PASS or FAIL. Flagged parts go to a HOLD bin for a person to review. Parts that pass go on to the next step.
That last look is quick for the operator, because the heatmap points at the spot. It also catches the part that was fine at the machine and picked up a ding later. It also catches the part that was fine at the machine and picked up a ding later in the shop, which is the case no in-process check can see.
Why paint matters
Once a part is painted or coated, damage is hard to see and expensive to fix. Some marks show through the coating. Others show up later, at the customer. Checking before the coating step costs a few seconds and saves rework.
VZSOR checks the bare surface in front of the camera. It does not inspect painted or coated surfaces unless a pilot shows it works on them. Checking before the coating step costs a few seconds per part. Fixing damage after coating can mean stripping, reworking and recoating, so the timing matters.
What has been tested
The validated case is a 2 inch by 2 inch aluminum bracket in mill finish, with dents, scratches and nicks on visible faces. Those are the same marks handling causes, so the fit is natural. A bench check at the end is where that damage would show up. It catches it while the part is still in your hands.
Your parts may be larger, softer or more varied than the bracket. A pilot would train on your part and test with real handling damage from your own bins and carts. We do not claim results on your parts before then, and the pilot terms say how success is measured.
How a shop sets it up
- Place the station at the last bench before paint, pack or ship.
- Use a fixture that holds the part the same way each time.
- Photograph about 60 good parts and run the wizard, about 30 minutes.
- Collect a few handled-and-dinged parts for the pilot test set.
Limits, stated plainly
- Validated on one bare aluminum bracket only.
- Only the faces in the camera view are checked.
- Large parts do not fit in a field of view of roughly 100 to 120 mm.
- Painted, coated or anodized surfaces are not validated.