No one can deny that "high efficiency" is one of the most incentive terms for manufacturing industries. Speaking of high efficiency, people keep upgrading their production lines to reach a higher output value. Yet they might ignore advancing their inspection tools at once.

In the wire and cable industry, Pioneer Machinery tries to bring some changes in the factories. In this case, we merged the AOI technology into a cable printer, which allows the printer to inspect the printing results automatically via its grading system.

Regarding print inspection, people mainly carry out two methods today: "product inspection" and "stroboscope inspection." They exist because human eyes can't tell the text on the cable running over 10m/s.

Regarding print inspection, people mainly carry out two methods today: "Finished product visual inspection" and "stroboscope inspection." They exist because human eyes can't tell the text on the cable running over 10m/s.

In the first place, product inspection means that operators see through the print after the process finishes. Either the cables end up with a coil or a drum. With this method, we couldn't know the outcomes of calibrations immediately. A respectable waste should happen as it takes several times to get satisfying results.

Compared with the product inspection, operators use a stroboscope to know the calibration result instantly. The high frequency of flash triggers vision persistence. It freezes the image of a moving cable. Despite the capability of the stroboscope, it's still tough when dealing with the print, not on the top. A squat might be needed when the printing is on the bottom.

How does the AOI cable printer solve these problems? The AOI cable printer consists of an HMI, the AOI system, and the printer.

• The HMI allows operators to inspect the print directly through a screen. They don't need to worry about the positions of the text.

• The spirit of the AOI system is the high-speed camera as a substitute for eyes. The camera can take up to 50 pictures in one second, which allows the system to capture the print on the high-speed moving cable.

• The AOI system determines the flaws through its grading system. Once the score is below standard, the system sends a notification to the associates to deal with this situation.

Marketing research indicated that over 74% of customers prefer to have someone monitor their production line even after calibration. Thus, Applying the AOI cable printer is like gaining a quality-checking assistant. An AOI printer helps you execute quality control whole process.

To increase either capacity or profit, pursuing higher efficiency can be the most effective way for manufacturers. Outdated inspection tools are underlying factors that might restrict the maximum production speed of the production lines. Maybe it's time to embrace these changes.