Automated X-Ray Inspection Robot: Enhancing Quality Control Through Computer Vision

By Fouad Sabry

What is Automated X-Ray Inspection Robot

Automated X-ray inspection (AXI) is a technology based on the same principles as automated optical inspection (AOI). It uses X-rays as its source, instead of visible light, to automatically inspect features, which are typically hidden from view.

How you will benefit

(I) Insights, and validations about the following topics:

Chapter 1: Automated X-ray inspection

Chapter 2: Automated optical inspection

Chapter 3: CT scan

Chapter 4: Industrial computed tomography

Chapter 5: X-ray microtomography

Chapter 6: Computed tomography laser mammography

Chapter 7: Tomosynthesis

Chapter 8: Computed tomography imaging spectrometer

Chapter 9: Tomography

Chapter 10: History of computed tomography

(II) Answering the public top questions about automated x-ray inspection robot.

(III) Real world examples for the usage of automated x-ray inspection robot in many fields.

Who this book is for

Professionals, undergraduate and graduate students, enthusiasts, hobbyists, and those who want to go beyond basic knowledge or information for any kind of Automated X-Ray Inspection Robot.

• Language: English
• Publisher: One Billion Knowledgeable
• Release date: May 14, 2024

Book preview

Chapter 1: Automated X-ray inspection

Similar to how automated optical inspection (AOI) works, automated X-ray inspection (AXI) does the same thing with X-rays (AOI). It uses X-rays as its light source instead of regular light so that concealed features can be inspected mechanically.

Numerous sectors and markets employ automated X-ray inspection for primarily two reasons::

Improvements to subsequent processing steps based on inspection results; this is known as process optimization., Using the inspection's findings as a basis for rejecting a component is known as anomaly detection (for scrap or re-work).

AXI has a significantly broader range of applications than AOI, which is mostly linked with electronics production (owing to its frequent use in PCB manufacture). The inspection of everything from alloy wheels to

X-ray examination, in contrast to optical inspection, records grayscale photographs of the shadows cast by the object rather than full color images of its surface. Once the image is captured, image processing software analyzes it to determine the location, size, and shape of desired features (for process optimization) or the presence or absence of unwanted objects or characteristics (for anomaly detection).

An x-ray tube is a device that emits x-rays and is often positioned above or below the thing being inspected. An x-ray image of the object is captured by a detector on the other side of the object as the rays pass through it. Either an optical camera is used to capture the x-ray images, or an x-ray sensor array is used to make the detection directly. Moving the object closer to the x-ray tube will produce a higher magnification image, while moving it farther away will provide a lower magnification image.

The image formed by the x-rays' varying absorption inside the item allows for the visualization of previously concealed internal features.

The number of fields where automated x-ray inspection can be put to use is enormous and rising rapidly thanks to developments in image processing software. Because the technology was predictably expensive at the outset, the first uses began in sectors where the safety aspect of components required a meticulous inspection of each part produced (for example, welding seams for metal parts in nuclear power stations). Partially driven again by safety considerations (for example, detection of metal, glass, or other materials in processed food) or to increase yield and optimize processing, the widespread adoption of the technology led to a significant drop in price and opened up a much wider field for automated x-ray inspection (e.g. detection of size and location of holes in cheese to optimize slicing patterns).

Early defect detection in the mass production of complicated things (for example, in electronics manufacturing) can significantly cut overall cost by preventing the use of defective parts in subsequent manufacturing phases. As a result, the final product is more likely to have defects in the field, as the flaw may not be discovered until much later in quality inspection or functional testing, and this has three major benefits: a) it provides feedback at the earliest possible state that materials are defective or process parameters got out of control; b) it prevents adding value to components that are already defective, thereby reducing the overall cost of a defect; and c) it increases the likelihood of field defects.

The three primary applications of AXI in the food sector are foreign body identification, fill level control, and process control. X-ray scanners are now commonly used in the last stages of the packaging process, especially for pre-packaged