MU July / August 2016

52 MACHINERY UPDATE JULY/AUGUST 2016 www.machineryupdate.co.uk
Feature: Automation, robotics and vision
On the left is the meat joint and on the right is the resultant point cloud when using the 2D/3D scanning technology developed by wenglor
Sensing the right sizes
Machinery Update reports on the latest scanning technology launched
by wenglor earlier this year to provide accurate portion cuts for foodstuffs
The 2D/3D scanning technology
wenglor demonstrated on its
stand at Drives & Controls in
April proved very popular with
manufacturers and machine
builders in the food industry thanks
to its ability to help create an accurate
sliced portion.
According to James Mayo, company
director of wenglor in the UK, visitors
thought that the ability to scan up to
360 degrees of the product with
wenglor’s standard application software
makes the technology ideally suited to
volumetric measurements in the food
industry. Visitors also learnt that the
scanners are ideal for use on food because
of the blue laser option
which is perfect for accurate
and reliable scanning of
organic materials.
PIONEERING
With more than 25 years of
experience and over 15,000
installed solutions, the
company says wenglorMEL
is a pioneer in the field of
two and three-dimensional
object measurement.
These 2D/3D sensors
project a laser line onto the
object to be measured and
then record it by means of
an integrated camera. Two
and three-dimensional
surface and volume profiles can then be
calculated via software with the help of
point clouds.
The 2D/3D Profile sensors in the
weCat3D series take advantage of the
laser triangulation measuring method.
After the laser line is projected onto the
object to be measured the integrated
camera records the line via the
triangulation angle and so the sensor
is capable of generating a precise
height profile.
Stringing these 2D profiles together
along with position data via encoder on
the sensor makes it possible to generate
a 3D point cloud which can then be
analysed by software. Thanks to its
A typical four scanner system that can now be supplied by wenglor
uniform open interface, the weCat3D
series can be incorporated by means
of the DLL program library or the GigE
Vision standard without an additional
control unit. Alternatively, wenglor
offers its own software packages for
implementing a bespoke application.
These weCat3D sensors are available
with red or blue laser light in laser
classes 1, 2M, 3R and 3B.
The standard VisionApp360 software
assures full 360deg profile detection when
using several weCat3D Profile sensors.
The sensors can be synchronised and
calibrated via the convenient user
interface so they are ideally suited
for volumetric measurements.
“The application-optimised
software is part of a perfect
complete solution consisting
of sensors, control unit and
software and wenglor has the
know how to make the system
work in practice in the real world,”
Mayo tells Machinery Update.
“Possible applications for
the sensor technology are
limitless,” says Mayo, “and
within the food and packaging
sectors the current applications
include completeness checks of
various food products, volume
measurement of packages and
checking items on pallets.”
T 01536 313580
W www.wenglor.com