On-line inspection system dedicated for OPC drum production

This paper describes an on-line inspection system especially dedicated for the OPC drum production line. This inspection system can be divided into three portions. The first one is the automatic robot that enables the OPC drums to enter the inspection area successively and gives an indication of the test result to the operator. The second is the image capture system that is comprised of an optical module and an A/D converter board. The A/D converter board digitizes the image and transfers the image data for further processing. The third portion is the personal computer having a dedicated algorithm that processes the image data and transmits the test result to the robot immediately. The robot also can be operated either by automatic or manual operations and has some safety designs to prevent the operator from being injured. Due to the complexity of coating surface, the inspection algorithm has been developed to adapt for various flaws of the OPC drum. Except for a few of the low contrast spots, most of the defects can be identified effectively by this inspection system. This inspection system is available not only for OPC drum but has potential for the other industrial applications as well.