Inspection of Bearing Shell Presence at Volvo

optoControl optical micrometers from Micro-Epsilon are being used during engine production at Volvo in Sweden. The sensors of the optoControl 1202 series measure the diameter of bearing caps and therefore automatically verify whether a bearing shell is present in the cap or not before being mounted by a robot. The bearing caps are transported on a workpiece carrier directly under the light band of the sensor. A robot picks up the bearing cap and lifts it so that the light band measures approx. 3 mm to the bottom edge of the bearing cap. The transmitter and receiver of the optoControl are mounted with a distance of 1,300 mm between them.

The optoControl 1202-100 with a light bandwidth of 100 mm is used. The emitted light band is partially covered by the bearing cap. The size of the part is measured based on the shadowed light band. The robot lifts the bearing caps into the light band one after the other. There can be up to six bearing caps on a workpiece carrier. The measurement object can be freely positioned in the light band due to the large distance between sensor and receiver. The bearing shells have a thickness of approx. 1.5 mm. This means the measured diameter is 3 mm too large if no bearing shell is present and the bearing cap is then rejected. If the bearing cap is recognised as OK, the robot transports it for further mounting.