Cimtec 3D Surface Inspection

For the full-length version of the video, click here.

Cimtec Engineered Products is pleased to announce the release of 'Cimtec3D' software paired with 3D laser line profile sensors and cameras.  This capability allows us and our customers to move beyond the traditional 2D image inspection to the realm of true 3 dimensional surface inspection.

The 3D laser line profile sensors and cameras provide a scan of the part or surface outputting the full x, y, and z data to Cimtec3D.  They are precalibrated sensors that house the camera imager and laser line generator together for very precise real-world readings.  Cimtec3D has the ability to view and analyze a surface profile-by-profile, or stitch them altogether to view as a 'whole part' scan in a 16-bit grayscale image.  Statistical analysis and other image preprocessing is also applied to the image for nominal surface detection.

The 3D inspection finds surface flaws and reports their location in x, y, and z along with size characteristics such as:  area, length, elongation, spread, and volume.  After inspection, you have the ability to save the 16-bit images with or without the graphical results, and the ability to save the data to csv file.

Lastly, the GUI can be customized for your application and need, including a run-time display with operator interface.

Please contact your Cimtec representative today for more information or click here.

Cimtec to Host GE-IP Innovation Showcase

Cimtec will host the Innovation Showcase stop at GE-IP Headquarters in Charlottesville, VA. on July 10th.

This will be a great chance to see  the GE-IP factory and meet the design team there.   Also be the first to demo GE-IP's new family of products including the RXi



Bernie Anger,  GM of GE-IP Controls and Communications Systems will give his vision for the future of the automation industry.



Sign up below.   http://www.ge-ip.com/showcase or call us

GE Intelligent Platforms is changing what is possible in the world of industrial automation. Our innovative new PROFINET-enabled PACSystems controller and I/O solutions, industrial PCs, HMI solutions and cloud-based collaborative automation platforms are re-defining application development, deployment and management, and eliminating the traditional confines of manufacturing and process automation to deliver:

• Improved plant performance

• Increase uptime

• Lower total cost of ownership

Whether you are developing or deploying new equipment, expanding an existing process, or modernizing your facility, these emerging technologies will transform your approach to automation and dramatically improve productivity.

Cimtec is pleased to announce integration of CDI team

Press Release below...



CIMTEC ACQUIRES INDUSTRIAL FLAT PANEL COMPUTER FIRM, COMPUTER DYNAMICS, INC (CDI),  FROM GE INTELLIGENT PLATFORMS.

CIMTEC Automation (Charlotte, NC) today announced that it has acquired Computer Dynamics, Inc. (CDI), formerly a wholly owned subsidiary of GE Intelligent Platforms(GE IP). The acquisition will combine CIMTEC's established distribution base, in-house repair capabilities, and on-line presence with the wide variety of Industrial Computer Platforms and Flat Panel Display systems from CDI

“This acquisition will give our existing customers the ability to continue to purchase most of the products in the CDI product line, will enable us to continue to support our customers through improved customer service, and will allow us to bring products to market more quickly than before,” states CDI Product Manager, Tom Behnke. “The overwhelming feedback from our existing customers has been extremely positive regarding the continuance of the product line.”

For CDI products other than the Wolverine, CIMTEC Automation will provide:

• Presales support for new product purchases
• Warranty support for the CDI installed base, excluding the Wolverine product line
• Out of warranty repair support for the installed base of CDI products
• Technical support for the CDI installed base

For the past 25 years, CIMTEC Automation has been a leading provider of factory automation products, services and engineered solutions, incorporating PLC products from GE IP, motion control products, vision products and software technology into unique solutions to meet diverse automation challenges. Headquartered in Charlotte, NC, CIMTEC also provides technical and field support services plus complete automation engineering. The company’s Qualitrol (http://www.qualitrol.com) division has provided repair services for most major PLC lines and offered remanufactured PLC parts for obsolete and discontinued products lines for the past 18 years. Combined with the expertise of our customer service and support staff, CIMTEC Automation offers today’s manufacturers a unique, one-stop automation solution.

Two former CDI employees who have joined CIMTEC will be the points of contact for product and repair inquiries. For Repair and RMA support, contact Tom Behnke (tbehnke@cimtec.com), and for Product inquiries, contact Ryan Nelson (rnelson@cimtec.com). Tom and Ryan can be reached toll-free (US and Canada) at 1-866-599-6512, or at 704-227-4600.

LMI Technologies Announces Gocator Firmware Release 3.3

LMI Technologies has announced the release of Gocator Firmware Version 3.3.  This firmware release is for all series of Gocators, the 2000 series family and the 2300 series family.  The release includes these highlights:

• EtherNet/IP:  Gocator is now officially certified for EtherNet/IP use in controlling and communicating with a PLC.  This ensures that the Gocator can be easily integrated with a wide range of PLCs, including Allan-Bradley and Omron, using this industry standard protocol.  No software programming is required!


• Gap and Flush Measurement Tool:  Measures the distance and flatness between two surfaces. The surface edges can be curved or sharp. The tool is well suited for inspecting panel assemblies in automotive manufacturing plants. Limits can be set to establish pass and fail conditions for inspection decisions.


• Groove Measurement Tool: Measures the width and bottom of multiple V-shape and U-shape grooves. It can be used to find the vertex for welding applications or inspecting the dimensions of tunnels on a surface, such as the bottom of plastic containers or the treads of rubber tires. Limits can be set to establish pass and fail conditions for inspection decisions.


• Rotated Box Measurement Tool: Expands Whole Part's bounding box tools to measure the width and height of a rotated object. This can be used to measure the orientation angle, width and height of boxes in packaging applications.


• Persistent Variables in Script Measurement Tools: Expands the script measurement tool to carry intermediate results from the current frame to the next frame. Users can calculate statistics (e.g. averages) or accumulate results. For example, users can calculate the volume of an object by adding up the area from each cross section.


• Occlusion Prevention with Two Sensors: Eliminate occlusions by merging data from a main and buddy sensors. Regions that are shadowed by step changes in the surface in both X and Y directions can now be seen, greatly enhancing the accuracy of 3D measurements.


• Measurement Repeatability Statistics: The number of invalid results and standard deviations are now calculated for each measurement. These statistics provide users immediate feedback on measurement repeatability, greatly simplifying the process of fine-tuning a setup to achieve the most reliable results.


• Frame Loss Health Indicators: New counters report the amount of data loss due to jitter in external signals when using fixturing or tracking window. Reduces integration effort by alerting users of potential setup problems earlier to reduce the time needed for troubleshooting setup issues.


• Multiple Control Connections using SDK: The Gocator sensor now supports multiple simultaneous connections from the client computer running the Gocator SDK. This allows one application to be used for changing the sensors’ configuration or the state of the sensor, while at the same time supporting multiple applications for receiving data and health information. Clients can optionally use exclusive connections (i.e. behavior of the previous releases) by using the Go2System_Login command.

Contact us today to learn more about LMI Technologies' Gocator 3D Smart Sensor!

Notes from the Cognex Training Session

CIMTEC held a successful training session on Cognex In-Sight Machine Vision Sensors.  The four day session included hands on lab exercises based on both the EasyBuilder and Spreadsheet programming interface.  Thanks to all the students and if you missed this session, join us in Greenville on July 24.

Training Schedule

Cimtec is Hiring!

Do you know of anybody that would be a good fit for our team?

Please have them contact Kelly:     h r @cimtec.com

Job listings here:
http://www.cimtec.com/careers/

Sick IVC 3D Demo setup

3D machine vision proof of concept demo of the Sick IVC-3D.   We inspect a metal bracket with a small 0.5mm imperfection and show the rendered model after the laser scanning.

NOTE:  the screen capture is full screen,  for best results,  right click the "video" link and save the target file, then view the video in quicktime

Setup video

Screen Session video

Final images of the intensity image and the 3D image