Industrial Machine Vision and AOI Solutions by Industry
Customized inspection solutions with US-based support
OCTUM develops and integrates customized machine vision and automated optical inspection systems for quality control in industrial production. Our solutions inspect products, components, surfaces, packaging, labels, printed information and codes directly within machines and production lines.
OCTUM has particular expertise in pharmaceuticals and life sciences, medical device manufacturing, packaging and label inspection, automotive production and other industrial manufacturing applications.
Through OCTUM USA in Charlotte, North Carolina, manufacturers across the United States, Mexico and South America have access to regional project coordination, service, training and technical support. OCTUM USA combines local availability with more than 30 years of machine vision experience from OCTUM GmbH in Germany.
Cameras, optics, lighting, inspection software, interfaces and machine integration are considered as one coordinated system. This results in inspection solutions tailored to the product, relevant quality characteristics, cycle time and actual production conditions.
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Pharmaceuticals & Life Sciences
Pharmaceutical primary packaging and drug-delivery systems must be inspected reliably and reproducibly, often at high production speeds and under regulated manufacturing conditions.
OCTUM develops machine vision systems for vials, ampoules, prefilled syringes, cartridges and other pharmaceutical products. The inspection solutions can be integrated into filling, closing, assembly, labeling and packaging equipment.
Typical inspection tasks include:
- Presence and completeness inspection
- Vial mouth and closure inspection
- Stopper and crimp cap inspection
- Surface and cosmetic inspection
- Dimensional inspection
- Label and print inspection
- OCR and OCV
- 1D and 2D code verification
- Product, batch and process-related traceability
Depending on the application, the inspection system can support requirements relating to user management, audit trails, data integrity, traceability and validation-supporting documentation.
Medical Device Manufacturing
Medical devices, components and laboratory consumables must be reliably inspected for quality-critical characteristics, often at high production volumes and within regulated manufacturing environments.
OCTUM develops customized inspection solutions for medical device manufacturing, diagnostics, laboratory automation and life sciences. Typical products include syringes, pipette tips and racks, wells, cups, microtiter plates, trays, wound dressings and transdermal patches.
Typical inspection tasks include:
- Geometry and dimensional inspection
- Presence and completeness inspection
- Assembly verification
- Surface and cosmetic inspection
- Contamination and foreign-particle inspection
- Product position and orientation
- Label and print inspection
- Plain-text and code verification
- Inspection of fully populated racks and trays
For regulated production environments, inspection systems can be designed to support documented inspection results, user management, audit trails, recipe management and traceability.
>> Explore inspection solutions for medical device manufacturing
Packaging & Label Inspection
Packaging must protect the product, contain all required components, carry the correct information and be processed reliably. Missing components, incorrect variants, defective print or unreadable codes can result in production disruptions, scrap and customer complaints.
OCTUM develops machine vision systems for the automated inspection of primary and secondary packaging. Typical applications include tubes, labels, printed information, variable text, codes, folding cartons, closures and other packaging components.
Typical inspection tasks include:
- Presence and completeness inspection
- Label presence and position inspection
- Print quality inspection
- OCR and OCV
- Barcode and Data Matrix code verification
- Product and packaging variant control
- Position and orientation detection
- Closure and seal inspection
- Product-to-packaging verification
The inspection systems can be integrated directly into printing, labeling and packaging machines or retrofitted into existing production lines.
Automotive & Industrial Manufacturing
Short cycle times, numerous product variants and demanding quality requirements characterize automotive and industrial manufacturing. Quality deviations must be identified before defective components proceed to the next production or assembly step.
OCTUM develops machine vision systems for automated component and assembly inspection – from component manufacturing and assembly through final inspection.
Typical inspection tasks include:
- Assembly and completeness inspection
- Presence and position inspection
- Surface inspection
- Dimensional and geometry inspection
- Variant verification
- OCR and OCV
- Reading and verification of 1D and 2D codes
- Verification of direct part markings
- Position detection for automated handling
The inspection solution is tailored to the component geometry, relevant defect characteristics, product variants, machine cycle time and available interfaces.
>> Explore machine vision solutions for automotive production
Other Industries
Many inspection concepts developed for OCTUM’s focus industries can be transferred to other products, materials and manufacturing processes.
OCTUM has implemented machine vision systems for metal and plastics processing, electronics, cosmetics, food and beverage manufacturing and other industrial applications.
Potential applications include:
- Surface inspection of metal and plastic components
- Dimensional inspection in 2D and 3D
- Assembly and completeness inspection
- Code and plain-text verification
- Product type and variant identification
- Print and marking inspection
- Position and orientation detection
- Robot guidance and automated handling
- Inspection of electronic components and assemblies
The decisive factor is not the industry alone, but the specific inspection task. OCTUM evaluates the product, defect pattern, material, cycle time, installation conditions and quality requirements as one complete application.
From the inspection task to the integrated inspection system
A reliable machine vision solution is not created by selecting individual components alone. Cameras, optics and lighting must make the relevant inspection characteristics reproducibly visible. The inspection software must reliably evaluate the images within the available cycle time.
At the same time, interfaces, operation, data flow, machine communication and reject handling must be coordinated with the production process.
OCTUM supports projects from the initial assessment of the inspection task and feasibility study through system design, integration and commissioning to long-term service and application support.
Related topics:
Machine vision for regulated production environments
In pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturing, inspection systems must do more than reliably identify defective products. Depending on the application, inspection results, system changes, user actions and relevant production data must also be documented and traceable.
OCTUM develops inspection solutions that can support project-specific requirements relating to 21 CFR Part 11, FDA cGMP, GAMP 5 and, where internationally relevant, EU GMP Annex 11.
Depending on the project, system functions can include:
- User and role management
- Access control
- Audit trails
- Recipe and format management
- Version and change documentation
- Storage of inspection and event data
- Product, batch and order assignment
- Interfaces to higher-level systems
- Traceable inspection results
- Validation-supporting system documentation
The specific system design and documentation scope are defined according to the intended use, production process and validation strategy.
>> Learn more about inspection systems for regulated applications
Why OCTUM USA?
OCTUM GmbH has been developing industrial machine vision and AOI systems since 1996. OCTUM USA brings this engineering and application expertise closer to manufacturers across the Americas.
- Local contact in Charlotte, North Carolina
- Support for customers in the United States, Mexico and South America
- More than 30 years of machine vision experience within the OCTUM Group
- More than 6,000 inspection systems installed worldwide
- Direct access to OCTUM engineering, software and application expertise in Germany
- In-house software solutions such as OCVis, OCTUMISEr and CV-Inspect
- Integration into new machines and existing production lines
- Support from feasibility studies through commissioning, training and service
- Faster communication across American time zones
- Remote and on-site technical support
Is your inspection task not listed?
Many proven inspection concepts can be transferred to new products, materials and manufacturing processes.
Tell us about your product, relevant quality characteristics, typical defects, required cycle time and planned installation conditions. Information about product variants, existing equipment, interfaces and documentation requirements also helps us assess the application.
OCTUM USA will coordinate an initial review of your inspection task and help determine which machine vision or AOI approach is technically appropriate, economically viable and suitable for reliable integration into your production process.
OCTUM USA Inc.
14045 South Lakes Drive
Charlotte, NC 28273
USA
+1 (980) 431-9540
info@octum-usa.com