Customer Name: Lumileds
This article refers to the address: http://
Industry: Electronics
Application: Micro 2D Direct Component Mark (DPM) code reading
Cognex products: Dataman reader
Overview
challenge
Verify that all finished components have completed each production process step without fail and passed the necessary tests to ensure full traceability.
solution
Lumileds deployed a traceability system that uses a DataMan reader to read the laser-marked QR code on all LED strips at each stage of production.
benefit
The DataMan code reader is used to increase the overall performance of the read operation from 90% to 100%.
“I am very pleased that Cognex has been able to support us all the time. Even in the face of great difficulties, they will help us find viable solutions. They will persevere to overcome problems and develop solutions that meet our specific needs. I was deeply impressed."
--Lennard Lim, Project Manager, Lumileds
A light-emitting diode (LED) manufacturing facility headquartered in Penang, Malaysia, produces 800 million products a year. These components are exported worldwide and are used primarily for LED televisions and automotive lighting.
Many production steps are done on the production line, such as oven processes and circuit and integrity testing. In order to verify that all finished components have completed each production process stage and passed the necessary tests, the manufacturer has chosen a reliable traceability system that uses DataMan® readers in each production. The stage reads the laser marking QR code on all LED strips.
Root cause of the problem
The raw materials used in LED production come from different suppliers in many countries. Each supplier uses different grades of laser marking machines to etch the QR code, resulting in uneven print quality. In addition, the types of ceramics they use may also be different, which complicates the problem. Due to the very small component size, each QR code is usually less than two millimeters in size.
In addition, the LEDs need to be passed through an oven process to connect the electrical component leads to the various pads on the surface of the board. The high temperatures (about 300 ° C) used to dry the solder joints can cause code distortion.
Due to these challenges, the manufacturer's existing barcode scanning system is unable to achieve a 100% successful read rate. Part of the problem can be attributed to the fact that the original handheld readers were not able to accommodate high-speed bar code reading on fast-moving production lines.
Whenever an "unreadable" condition occurs, the operator must manually record the information, which can cause the entire manufacturing process to be interrupted. In addition, as production continues to increase over time, manufacturers are increasingly demanding a reliable solution that can read large numbers of bar codes at high speeds. “After implementing these systems, our production has been significantly improved and waste has been greatly reduced.â€
--Lennard Lim
solution
The manufacturer's initial deployment of the DataMan® reader achieved a 100% successful read rate. After the initial deployment, the LED manufacturer deployed 15 DataMan readers to achieve full traceability of components. The DataMan reader enables the manufacturer to achieve full traceability of the production process, so when a component misses a test or a human error occurs, the system rejects the component when it is read in the next process step. Or an error message is displayed. From a quality assurance perspective, after installing this traceability system, the manufacturer will be able to ensure that all components coming out of the production line have passed all necessary testing stages.
Reading technology
The main features of the DataMan readers that Cognex considers to be the manufacturer's choice include higher resolution (1.3 megapixels) and flexible light source options, which are very helpful in solving this application. The bar code in this application environment is very small, so you need to get a high-resolution image to successfully read. In addition, the app uses a blue light source to ensure optimal read rates. The DataMan 300 reader allows the user to control the light intensity and is equipped with a set of light sources that can be configured for bidirectional, unidirectional or omnidirectional illumination.
After fine-tuning, the resulting image is of better quality and has the high contrast required. This increases the overall performance of the read operation from 90% to 100%. Another requirement is that there must be a certain "safe" distance between the deployed reader and the scanned product. The main reason is that if the reader is placed too close, the static electricity generated by the reader may damage the LED's circuitry. Another reason is that the operator may accidentally touch the reader when manually removing the LED from the production line.
Taking these two factors into consideration, the manufacturer placed the code reader at a position about eight centimeters from the product to be scanned. Since the resolution of the DataMan reader is high, even if this distance is maintained, a sufficiently sharp enlarged image can be generated, so that this configuration can be realized.
“Because of the need to deploy readers at different stages of production, the implementation team needs to work closely with the relevant equipment and technology vendors,†said project manager Lennard Lim. “DataMan readers must be installed on machines supplied by manufacturers such as Siemens. In addition, the team also needs to schedule installation time and make a bracket for the fixed reader."
Optimization function
In order to tailor solutions to the various application needs on the production line, the implementation team must experiment with different levels of amplification. The adjustable lens on the reader makes these tests possible. In addition, the software code needs to be "trained" to read small-sized QR codes so that the system can remember the attributes of the code, such as the module and pixel size, to effectively optimize overall readability.
Other challenges that need to be addressed include how to trigger each read and how to transfer the read data to the appropriate machine or computer. For optimal performance, a large investment is required to test different configurations. Light intensity, exposure value, and lens distance are just a few of the factors that need to be considered. A wide range of product samples from different suppliers are also being investigated to understand their impact on read performance.
“I am very pleased that Cognex has been able to support us all the time. Even in the face of great difficulties, they will help us find viable solutions. They will persevere to overcome problems and develop solutions that meet our specific needs. I was very impressed," emphasized Mr. Lim.
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