BeadMonitor inspects glazing sealing bead during application

Oxford Sensor Technology reports that its has developed a BeadMonitor for the automotive industry. This system monitors the quality of the polyurethane (PU) bead as it is applied to vehicle glass prior to assembly.

At the heart of the sensor head is a Micro-Epsilon's scanCONTROL 2700 laser profile sensor, and the head is mounted directly behind the applicator nozzles to measure the width and height of the bead as it is applied. [Read more about how the sealing bead inspection system relies on the laser profile sensor - Ed.]

A simple user interface shows a depiction of the vehicle glass, with the bead path marked in green, orange or red, depending its width and height compared to preset tolerances. Two separate bar X and R charts show the consistency of the bead width and height.

Oxford Sensor Technology, which develops, installs and commissions machine vision systems for a wide range of industrial applications, says the BeadMonitor is a cost-effective means of inspecting PU beads during the application process, enabling tighter control to be maintained over safety-critical procedures.