InspecVision Ltd. is a UK

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

company based in Mallusk,

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

, established in 2003. It is a manufacturing company producing

computer vision Computer vision is an interdisciplinary scientific field that deals with how computers can gain high-level understanding from digital images or videos. From the perspective of engineering, it seeks to understand and automate tasks that the human ...

inspection An inspection is, most generally, an organized examination or formal evaluation exercise. In engineering activities inspection involves the measurements, tests, and gauges applied to certain characteristics in regard to an object or activity. ...

systems. The company is one of several local companies created as spinoffs or inspired by research conducted at the

Queen's University of Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

Technology

InspecVision specializes in the design and manufacture of 2D and 3D

based measurement systems for

and

reverse engineering Reverse engineering (also known as backwards engineering or back engineering) is a process or method through which one attempts to understand through deductive reasoning how a previously made device, process, system, or piece of software accompli ...

. The product range includes the Planar 2D, the SurfScan, the Opti-Scan 3D, and the Accuity. While there are many manufacturers of 3D

systems, these systems utilize either

3D scanning 3D scanning is the process of analyzing a real-world object or environment to collect data on its shape and possibly its appearance (e.g. color). The collected data can then be used to construct digital 3D modelling, 3D models. A 3D scanner can ...

technologies or a moving camera to measure an object or scene. InspecVision Ltd. produces primarily 2D or 2&1/2D as well as 3D

systems. Customers include manufacturers of 2D and 3D components such as

sheet metal Sheet metal is metal formed into thin, flat pieces, usually by an industrial process. Sheet metal is one of the fundamental forms used in metalworking, and it can be cut and bent into a variety of shapes. Thicknesses can vary significantly; ex ...

components,

O-rings An O-ring, also known as a packing or a toric joint, is a mechanical gasket in the shape of a torus; it is a loop of elastomer with a round cross-section, designed to be seated in a groove and compressed during assembly between two or more part ...

gaskets Some seals and gaskets A gasket is a mechanical seal which fills the space between two or more mating surfaces, generally to prevent leakage from or into the joined objects while under compression. It is a deformable material that is used to c ...

or plastic moldings. InspecVision has developed a technology which requires no moving parts, rather a single fixed ultra-high resolution

digital camera A digital camera is a camera that captures photographs in digital memory. Most cameras produced today are digital, largely replacing those that capture images on photographic film. Digital cameras are now widely incorporated into mobile devices ...

is used to measure the entire object with a single image. These systems perform measurement times that are usually much less than a second. A completely static system also precludes the rigorous re

calibration In measurement technology and metrology, calibration is the comparison of measurement values delivered by a device under test with those of a calibration standard of known accuracy. Such a standard could be another measurement device of kno ...

requirements of other moving camera or

systems. The InspecVision 2D inspection system Planar is the world's fastest, using only a table, lights and a PC hundreds of thousands of measurements are taken in 0.2 seconds. There are no moving components and the measurements are taken using a very high resolution camera, which scans parts placed on a backlit glass surface. It can be used for inspection and reverse engineering of flat opaque and semi-transparent parts. The Planar system has been designed specifically for speed, accuracy and ease of use. The 2D process can measure every feature completely. Planar can produce multiple report types automatically with minimal input from the operator. To inspect, the operator places the part on the measurement surface and with a single click or scan of a barcode. This

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...

ed technology has been the recipient of several international awards, including "Best Quality Control System" at th
MACH 2006
MWP Awards and
SMART Awards.
The SurfScan integrates with the Planar 2D automatic inspection software to allow inspection of both the parts 2D shape and its 2 ½D features with a single click. The high-resolution digital camera of the measurement system captures more than 20 million data points in one second with a single scan. The Opti-Scan 3D is a non-contact white light scanning system. The system consists of a projector and a high resolution camera mounted side by side. Scans are achieved by projecting a series of stripes onto the part; the projected stripes are then captured with the camera and the images analysed to produce a 3D point cloud of the scanned surface. Because the system measures every visible surface every time it scans the part; it is likely to detect minuscule and extra features. In addition, because the optical CMM produces a measurement at every pixel in the camera; it can process the highly ordered data much more easily than the disordered point clouds from laser scanners mounted on traditional CMM devices. The InspecVision Opti-Scan systems use patented technology to create both surface and edge measurements achieving unprecedented levels of accuracy. Opti-Scan 3D can offer you single click inspection, mobile large volume scanning and is also the world's only system that can measure edges in 3D. In 2017 InspecVision launched the Accuity system which is an automated, large field of view, telecentric gauging system that can scan in both 2D and 3D. In April 2021, the company was awarded the Queens's Award for Enterprise: International Trade for outstanding export performance.{{Cite web, title=Page S6 {{! Supplement 63334, 29 April 2021 {{! London Gazette {{! The Gazette, url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/63334/supplement/S6, access-date=2021-06-22, website=www.thegazette.co.uk

Technology

References

External links