Case Studies

Medical Manufacturing and Quality Control

Medical Gaskets
Posted in Machine Vision, Manufacturing Automation and Intelligence, Medical and Pharmaceutical, Motion Control, Test & Measurement Automation

Summary

DMC provided manufacturing automation and vision quality control programming support to a molding supplier for medical devices.  DMC assisted the customer with validation consultation and documentation, production and process improvement decisions, data acquisition, and data analysis.

Solution

DMC provided production automation and validation support to a medical device manufacturer and supply company, molding rubber medical gaskets. DMC helped to improve the overall machine throughput and cycle time by modifying the PLC controls on the system to remove inefficiencies.  Part quality was improved by offering improvements to the vision inspection process for the parts.  DMC also implemented a data collection and failure logging application to allow the customer to track production trends and identify recurring issues.  The system was configured to automatically provide engineers and managers daily production reports through email.  To ensure timely initial start-up, DMC supplied manufacturing validation and process validation requirements, and to facilitate process modifications, DMC provided ongoing process improvement validation and recommendations.

Customer Benefits

  • An improved vision system, provided through DMC's vision experience, provides greater accuracy in detecting defects and eliminating false rejects
  • PLC modifications reduce overall cycle time, resulting in greater throughput
  • Advanced vision algorithm techniques allow difficult features to be measured, improve quality control on end product, and ensure patient safety
  • Validation support allows system modifications to be implemented in a timely manner on the final production system
  • Data logging of system failures and vision reject rates allow the customer to target the largest problem areas, reducing downtime and improving yields

Technologies

  • Trio Motion Control
  • AB SLC 5/05 PLC
  • RS Logix 500
  • RS View Studio
  • DVT Vision Inspection Cameras
  • Visual Basic .NET