The procedure at a glance
This is the procedure we follow to commission a vision inspection station. It applies to a single smart camera as much as to a multi-camera station; the steps stay the same, only their size changes. Each step ends with a record, so the next step starts from something agreed.
| Step | What happens | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Requirement | Defect list, limits, line data, samples | Signed requirement and sample set |
| 2. Devices and optics | Camera or smart camera, lens, light, controller, trigger, reject | Bill of materials and layout |
| 3. Camera and lighting | Mounting, focus, exposure, gain, light, trigger | Saved camera settings and reference images |
| 4. Algorithm | Locate, then measure, read or classify; limits from samples | Recipe per product, with limits recorded |
| 5. PLC and reject | Signals, tracking, reject, confirmation, faults | Tested I/O list and fault responses |
| 6. FAT | Agreed samples at agreed speed, before shipping | Signed FAT record |
| 7. SAT | Real production, all products, reject and fault tests | Signed SAT report |
| 8. Handover | Training, backups, documents, spares list | Signed handover and support plan |
1. Fix the requirement
- List every defect to catch, with good and defective samples of each, including borderline cases judged by your quality team.
- Write down the limits: what size of scratch, how much skew, which codes and texts must match what.
- Record the line: products and variants, speed, product spacing and orientation, space for the station, PLC make and model, existing reject, air supply, cleaning regime.
- Agree how acceptance is measured: the false reject rate and the missed defect rate, on which samples, at which speed.
2. Select devices and optics
Processing. A vision sensor for one simple check from one view; a smart camera for one or two checks with a wider tool set; separate cameras with a vision controller or PC for several views, heavy processing or many products. HIKROBOT’s smart camera selection guide works the same way: camera type and lens, focus adjustment, the algorithm capability of each series, algorithm performance against cycle time, and hardware limits such as the number of modules and solutions (HIKROBOT catalogue 2025 Q4). See choosing a HIKROBOT smart camera.
Camera and lens. From the field of view and the smallest defect, which must cover several pixels; area scan for separate products, line scan for continuous material; global shutter for moving products. See camera and lens selection.
Lighting. Chosen on the samples for the defect: backlight for outlines and fill, dark-field for scratches, dome for shiny curved packs, coaxial for flat glossy faces. See the lighting techniques guide.
Code readers. Where the task is only reading codes, a fixed code reader chosen by code size, field of view, material and marking process is often simpler than a camera. See choosing a HIKROBOT code reader.
Trigger and reject. A photoelectric sensor or an encoder for the trigger; an air jet, pusher, diverter or line stop for the reject, with a confirmation sensor. See PLC integration.
3. Set up the camera and lighting
- Mount camera and light rigidly at the agreed working distance, square to the surface unless the lighting needs an angle; shroud the station from daylight.
- Connect and configure the camera with the manufacturer’s tool, for example HIKROBOT MVS for its cameras (IP address, firmware, image check) (HIKROBOT camera manual), or SCMVS for its smart cameras (HIKROBOT catalogue 2025 Q4).
- Set focus and aperture on real products, then lock them.
- On measurement stations, carry out the machine vision calibration: image a calibration target of known dimensions to convert pixels to millimetres and correct lens distortion, and record the result.
- Set the exposure short enough to freeze the moving product, then the light intensity or strobing to match; keep gain low.
- Check the trigger: one image per product, the product in the same place every time, at full line speed.
- Save the camera settings and a set of reference images of good and defective products.
4. Build the algorithm
- Locate the product or feature first, usually with template matching or edge and shape search, so every other tool follows the product when it shifts.
- Inspect in regions tied to that position: measure edges and distances, read codes and text (OCR/OCV), check presence, count, or look for surface defects.
- Add deep learning only where rules cannot separate good from bad, for example variable surface defects; train it on labelled images and check it on a separate validation set of images not used for training.
- Combine the results in logic into one pass or fail, and decide what data goes to the PLC and the records.
- Set the limits on the sample set, including borderline samples, not on a single good part; record each limit and why it was chosen.
- Build one recipe per product and name it so the PLC can select it.
On HIKROBOT VisionMaster this means a graphical solution of locating, measurement, identification and defect-detection tools, with deep-learning and registration-learning modules where needed (HIKROBOT catalogue 2025 Q4). See VisionMaster algorithm tools and rule-based or deep learning.
5. Connect the PLC and reject
- Wire or configure the signals: trigger, ready, result valid, pass/fail, alarm, recipe number; confirm NPN/PNP or the network protocol against the PLC.
- Set up tracking to the reject by time delay or encoder, and test it at the slowest and fastest line speeds.
- Test the reject and its confirmation on every failed test product.
- Test every agreed fault response, including restart after a power interruption.
6. Test at FAT
At the factory acceptance test (FAT), before the station leaves the workshop, it runs the agreed samples at the agreed speed. The tests below are the minimum; the proposal sets the numbers and the pass criteria.
| Test | How | Pass when |
|---|---|---|
| Detection | Each defect type on marked defect samples, fed at known positions at line speed | Missed defect rate as agreed |
| False rejects | A known number of good products, including normal variation, at line speed | False reject rate as agreed |
| Changeover | Every product: recipe selected from the PLC or HMI, first product checked | Correct recipe every time |
| Reject | Failed products removed at the right position; confirmation sensor sees each one | Every failed test product confirmed |
| Codes | No-read and wrong-content test packs | Treated as fails, alarm raised |
| Faults | Camera offline, no result, air pressure low, bin full, confirmation failed, power loss | Agreed response each time |
| Records | Counts, results and images stored and retrievable per batch | Records complete |
7. Install and test at SAT
- Install in the agreed shutdown window; re-check mounting, focus and lighting on the line, since site light and vibration differ from the workshop.
- Run real production for every product, repeat the detection, false reject, changeover, reject and fault tests, and fine-tune limits with the quality team, recording each change.
- Run a challenge test with marked test packs, the way the site will do it in future.
8. Hand over
- Train operators (daily use, cleaning, reference checks, alarms) and technicians (new products, backups, first-line fault finding).
- Hand over recipe and configuration backups, the I/O list, the PLC interface description, operating instructions and the recommended spares list.
- Agree the support plan: who to call, what is covered, response times.
Commissioning records
Keep an audit trail of every change to limits and recipes after handover: who changed what, when and why. Keep the signed requirement, the bill of materials, camera settings and reference images, each recipe with its limits and reasons, the tested I/O list, the FAT record, the SAT report and the handover set. When something changes later, these records are what a technician works from. Printable record sheets, including a challenge test record, are in the inspection checklists.