Extrusion International 2-2023

39 Extrusion International 2/2023 The company now uses the new smart inspection system from German measuring specialists PIXARGUS to make quality control of its extruded deck boards a fully automatic process. The camera-based digital inline inspection system ProfilControl 7 DX WPC from PIXARGUS comes with an OPC-UA interface that al- lows it to smoothly and seamlessly integrate with the manufacturer’s process chain and communicate with the various control units and downstream processes in real time. Automatic product grading and stacking In addition to providing 100% inspection of the deck boards in a continuous process, the measuring system’s smart software is also in - strumental in grading the products fully automatically. Boards graded as defect-free are automatically stacked ready for dispatch. Automated product switching The link between the PIXARGUS system and the manufacturer’s higher-level control systems also enables automatic switching from one product variant to another. Upon a signal received from the line control system, ProfilControl 7 DX WPC automatically adjusts to the inspection parameters of the new product – during running pro- duction. A first in quality control: 100% inspection even of critical features such as deep grooves After the deck boards have been cut to length, the eight high-resolu- tion cameras of the ProfilControl 7 DXWPC system capture the contours of the boards in an inline process, checking all radii, angles, distances, lengths, heights and widths. For the use case at the US deck board manu- facturer, PIXARGUS has positioned the cameras in such a way that also the entire grooved edges of the deck boards can be measured. These grooves will later accommodate the fasteners to install the decking. While the standard measur - ing systems the US customer had used in the past were only able to measure either the height or the depth of the groove, ProfilControl 7 DX WPC uses a specially adapted sensor head to measure both pa - rameters of the highly challeng- ing groove geometry simultane- ously with just one measurement (see screenshot below). Turnkey solution designed to cope with the most challenging production conditions ProfilControl 7 DX WPC is sup- plied calibrated ex works. The process reliability and measuring accuracy are in compliance with MSA type-1 and type-3 studies. This means the system fulfills even the most exacting internal QM re- quirements. It is designed for up to 250 mm wide products and stable operation under the most chal - lenging production environments. The sensor unit is protected by an enclosure. This makes the measur - ing equipment highly resilient to contamination. The new PIXARGUS system has already proved highly successful at the US customer’s op- erations. PIXARGUS GmbH Industriepark Aachener Kreuz, Monnetstr. 2, 52146 Würselen/Germany www.pixargus.de Thanks to its OPC-UA interface, ProfilControl 7 DX WPC can be easily and seamlessly integrated into manufacturing lines and process chains. The measuring system provides quality data for downstream processes and adapts automatically when production switches Specifically adjusted cameras can inspect even very deep and narrow grooves