PMD Contour Sensor for Accurate Inspection and Quality Control

New Product! As an innovative product, the contour sensor can be reliably used in quality control for assembly automation applications. The ifm contour sensor can detect if an object is present and if the correct components have been used and installed correctly. It uses PMD technology with a laser line to scan the object’s contour and reliably detects minute differences by comparing the object’s contour with a target contour saved in the sensor.

Ready for use in a few minutes

The contour sensor uses pmd Time-of-Flight technology and does not require complex positioning like a 1D sensor. In addition, it is insensitive to extraneous light, achieving high precision without the need for shielding or external illumination like camera systems.

With the intuitive button-based guide, setup is very simple! “Teach” the contour sensor a good part, set the region of interest, then teach it a bad part and set the tolerance to differentiate the bad parts. That’s it. The sensor is ready for use in minutes without any software.

To more reliably determine differences between similar components, the ROI (Region of Interest) function can be used to narrow the contour evaluation to a relevant object area defined by two markers. There are 2 modes: Fixed mode can be set to verify the object’s position is correct. In floating mode, a contour comparison can be performed along the laser line.

Application examples

• Orientation – check if objects are misaligned by comparing height profiles.
• Part machining – accurately check for incorrectly machined objects.
• Correct assembly – check if products are assembled correctly and completely.
• Gap measurement – detect the smallest gap deviations even on very small parts.