As the Industry 4.0 vision automation movement continues to gain momentum, many facilities are now turning to automated vision systems and deep learning solutions to speed up complex vision inspection tasks and increase efficiency. 

However, once systems are set up and integrated by an installer, companies will often neglect the servicing of their systems resulting in the vision system working intermittently or producing inconsistent results. Most will jump to the conclusion that the system is no longer functioning for their needs, however, it may just require a slight alteration such as adjusting the focus on the camera or a software modification. 

Without key maintenance and servicing, facilities may find themselves causing unnecessary downtime whilst correcting issues which could have been avoided.

Essential maintenance and servicing for all solutions  

When investing in a vision solution, it’s essential to ensure you have a regular servicing and maintenance schedule in place. When creating a servicing and maintenance plan, it’s important to consider three key factors:

1. The environment of the vision system

The environment of your facility and equipment will dictate the frequency of maintenance and servicing required. If it’s a clean, dry and relatively sanitised environment, then one service per year may be enough. 

But if your site handles FMCGs, especially food or drink products, or you run a heavy-duty manufacturing site with a lot of dust or waste, then more frequent maintenance is probably required.

2. Maintaining accurate calibration 

For systems that require high precision and accuracy, maintenance and servicing is vital. For example, if your vision system is running a measurement application, it is critical to ensure that it is extremely accurate at all times. Regular servicing and maintenance will ensure that the calibration is correct and that all-important accuracy is maintained.

3. Keeping software up to date

When on-site, it’s important to service both hardware and software. Both need to be running at optimum levels in order to gain maximum efficiency from the vision system. 

Consulting with the servicing and maintenance engineer also provides an ideal opportunity to change or add new variants into the system. This allows the system to be regularly reviewed to keep it efficient.

Bytronic – The leading vision experts

As well as providing servicing and maintenance for its own installations, Bytronic extends its services to systems provided by other installers. This is particularly useful for sites that may have multiple vision systems from different installers – having one point of contact makes it easier to not miss any vital service visits.

If you are dealing with intermittent performance issues with your vision system or want to check if you are missing an opportunity to improve performance, contact the Bytronic team.