Scandinavian porcelain manufacturer, Arabia, has significantly improved its reject rates thanks to Vision Engineering's Workshop Dynascope.
Scandinavian porcelain manufacturer, Arabia, has significantly improved its reject rates thanks to Vision Engineering's Workshop Dynascope.
Following an extensive six-month search to find a suitable inspection system and the subsequent selection of the Dynascope, Arabia's overall product quality has increased, with its whole production system now far more effective.
By cutting ceramic plates, bowls and cups clean in half prior to kiln-firing, Arabia's operators can use the Dynascope to accurately determine the thickness of the glaze - a major reason for rejects during the production process.
The instrument's six point shadow-free ring illuminator, which allows long working distances, provides bright illumination of the object, allowing the operator to look down onto the straight edge of the object and measure the depth of the glaze using the reference reticles that are superimposed on the optical image. The depth of the glaze sprayed onto the ceramic object can now be measured to an accuracy of 0.02mm, resulting in a highly consistent end product quality.
Jari Laitinen, Product Engineer at Arabia, comments: "We were previously using pocket measuring devices, but these were difficult to use and did not provide the required accuracy.
The Dynascope displays the results in a simple and easy-to-read format, and utilises a separate viewing screen to allow more than one person to the results." Scrap is something that goes hand-in-hand with the production of porcelain, simply because of the processes used and the high quality required of the end product.
However, Arabia has succeeded in reducing its reject rates to the very minimum. "The Workshop Dynascope emerged unanimously as by far the best option during extensive production trials", says Laitinen.
"It meets all of our requirements at a price that was appropriate when compared to similar kinds of measuring devices that we looked at.
It is very simple to use and, because of this, can be used by non-specialist production line workers with the minimum of training.
It is also extremely robust and functional in the dusty factory environment and, as we can use the Dynascopes on the work bench, there has been no need to change our working practices." Arabia, well known for its modern design and high quality, is part of Finnish company, Hackman Designor Oy Ab, which is the world leader in branded Scandinavian design products in the housewares and tabletop industries.
The Workshop Dynascope is a low cost inspection system that offers a high resolution eyepieceless image.
The device comes with magnification choices of 10x, 20x and 50x, and two measuring stages are available: 50mm x 50mm with L.C. micrometers, and 150mm x 150mm.
Data processing is available through a simple two axis readout, multifunction microprocessor or PC-based metrology software.
Vision Engineering's patented ergonomic optical technology uses a rotating optical disc containing in excess of 1 million precision convex mirrors with a diameter of only a few microns each.
This expands the exit pupil from 3mm, obtained using traditional microscopes, to 100mm, and has the major advantage of freedom of head and body movement for the operator.
The result is a system which has superior high-resolution image brilliance to any other machine, and which eliminates operator fatigue and reduces errors.
