Canadian automation, machine vision and robotics solutions specialist AV&R is working with the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) to develop an automated visual inspection system that uses robotics to manipulate metallic components.

Thanks to funding from the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, the AMRC’s Integrated Manufacturing Group (IMG) (www.amrc.co.uk) will be conducting trials of the AV&R system in a simulated industrial environment in the Factory 2050 facility.

Harry Burroughes, IMG senior project engineer, said: “Visual quality inspection processes are vital in industrial sectors such as aerospace and medical, where the assurance of high quality is essential for a complex component to meet expected performance levels.”

The AV&R system (www.avr-global.com) uses a robot to handle a component lit from various angles, rotating it in front of a camera so the system can acquire photometric data about the component surface.

The engineers are working to optimise the set-up so it can be used for bespoke inspection processes on multiple components in various industrial sectors.

The team will also create a ‘digital twin’ that will assist operators and aid remote assistance for preventative maintenance.

Philippe Masson, AV&R strategic partnerships manager, said: “The system focuses on the inspection of small surface defects, with our main market currently being in aerospace inspection processes.

"As a member of AMRC, we have access to their networks and industrial contacts; we will be able to work together to understand how our system can be developed to best serve the requirements of inspection processes in other industrial sectors.”