Contour and tolerance inspection

… using the example of a cat pill test.

Tiny cat pills are found in rechargeable batteries and are used to increase their safety. To ensure they work perfectly, the cat pills must be checked for abnormalities and sorted before use.

To perform this test, our engineers have developed a special testing system, in which the cat pills are individually transported past the measuring stations on a conveyor belt. On their way to the sorting station, they are scanned and checked. At the end, the "bad parts are removed from the conveyor belt with blow-out valves and the "good parts are collected.

Light sensor

The system components used

"Contour check" checkbox HW

Breakouts and deformations are detected on the basis of the recorded contour. The checkbox controls the blow out valves and, depending on the contour check, the pill is blown out or remains on the conveyor belt.

"Tolerance check" camera system HW 

The pills that did not reveal any abnormalities during the contour check, are now measured by an intelligent camera. The length and width of the pills can be measured to ±0.1 mm. The camera reports to the checkbox whether the pill is within the tolerance for width and length. If the measurement result is negative, the box then activates a blow-out valve. The good parts remain on the belt and the bad parts are rejected.

Technical description
  • Programming/configuration
  • Definition of the parameterisation for communication via the digital I/O interface and the Ethernet interface
  • Commissioning and start-up support on site