Dimac cooperates with the major producers of washers, and special parts by fine blanking, to develop solutions for the 100% inspection and sorting of disc springs, captive safety washers, bearing preload springs with slots, load washers, retaining rings, electric terminal washers, spherical washers, snap rings and shaft retainers.
One of the latest developments on the new MCV5 glass rotary table-based series concerns the inspection of split washers. “We have introduced special new features to perform the dimensional inspection of split washers by profile analysis. We developed a high-rate special feeding system based on a conveyor belt along with a dedicated software tool, which enables the detection of any critical defects in the split region,” says Andrea Cuttica, project engineer at Dimac Srl.
The most critical defects on these kind of fasteners are the thickness of the part and the deformations in the split area. “Due to the split presence and heat treatment process, the thickness of the washer can drift out of tolerance and this could represent a problem during the automatic washer preassembling process on blanks,” continues Mr Cuttica.
Parts could jam in the feeding rails of the assembly machine, dropping down the efficiency of the assembly process. “Global thickness and flatness of the washers are controlled on the MCV5 through a high resolution laser combined with a digital side camera with telecentric lens and collimated lighting, which is an optical combination minimising the parallaxes error and ensuring the highest possible accuracy,” explains Mr Cuttica.
Deformation of the split area is controlled by profile analysis with a dedicated tool working on the top view image of the washer. “The software focuses on control anywhere around the washer image ring and in the split area, where the gap could be open. The metal bandwidth of the washer can be measured to be in tolerance within 0.01mm accuracy between the outer and inner diameter points, only in the split focused area. The width of the opening gap can be defined and measured to be in tolerance as well.”
All these controls can be performed with output rates up to 600ppm on the MCV5, combined with dedicated loaders and automatic packing systems.
Having spent a decade in the fastener industry experiencing every facet – from steel mills, fastener manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, as well as machinery builders and plating + coating companies, Claire has developed an in-depth knowledge of all things fasteners.
Alongside visiting numerous companies, exhibitions and conferences around the world, Claire has also interviewed high profile figures – focusing on key topics impacting the sector and making sure readers stay up to date with the latest developments within the industry.
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