Quality boosted and zero rejects with vision from Cognex

Mayer & Co., a global leader in its field has found the solution to their production problems in Cognex vision systems. While it’s something we all do possibly several times a day - opening or tilting a balcony door or window, most of us are unaware of the technology behind it. Mayer & Co., known to experts worldwide as MACO, is one of the three market leaders in the manufacture of rotary and tilting hinges for windows and doors. Using cameras from Cognex and support from Buxbaum Automation, they were able to find the perfect solution to optimising their production process. Rejects have been reduced to practically zero. Motivated by their success with the Cognex DVT 510 series, the MACO engineers will be relying on Cognex quality for other production areas and lines in the future especially considering they were the first company in the industry to be certified to DIN ISO 9001 by the AGQS.

The components are manufactured exclusively at the company’s main plants in Salzburg and in Trieben. MACO distributes its products through an extensive network throughout the world, although Europe is its dominant market. Both plant I in Salzburg – which houses the product development centre as well as the company’s headquarters – and plant II in Trieben have state of the art tool making facilities. Special machines such as assembly equipment are designed and produced in-house. MACO’s success has always been based on the quality of its products. Reflecting their assumed responsibility to the customer, all products undergo stringent monitoring and improvement processes, from development to production to delivery.

The right vision system for the task at hand

The company faced a particular challenge in that they required the vision system in place to detect whether the work piece has been inserted with the correct side facing upwards. If not, the camera immediately sends an error message to the machine controller. A separate mechanism then rotates the gear to the correct position and it can then be processed as normal. All kinds of vision systems had previously been tested underlines how difficult the problem was for MACO to resolve. Satisfactory results could not be achieved for a period of two years.

In order to solve the problem, DVT 510 camera sensor from Cognex was recently fitted on the machine. A recess in the gears allows the camera to detect immediately whether the piece is facing the right way up. “With the camera sensors from Cognex and support from Buxbaum Automation, we were finally able to find a perfect solution to our problem. Rejects have been reduced to practically zero. This has ultimately convinced our process

managers to make further investments in this technology”, confirm the visibly satisfied automation engineers from MACO. “The technical capabilities of the Cognex DVT 510 – such as the Ethernet port, compatibility with standard bus systems, remote operation in real time, CMOS image chip, 32 MB DRAM data memory, 8 MB Flash memory and the Intellect camera software – were crucial in overcoming the issues we faced. The software is easy to operate yet provides optimum scope for adjustment. At the end of the day it was not the price that mattered most to us; it was quality and expert advice”, they continued.

Motivated by the success with the Cognex DVT 510 series, the MACO engineers will be relying on Cognex quality for other production areas and lines in the future.

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