Image-Based Versus Signal-Based Sensors for Machine Fault Detection and Isolation

This paper presents the results of a comparative study that investigated the use of image-based and signal-based sensors for fault detection and fault isolation of visually-cued faults on an automated assembly machine. The machine assembles 8 mm circular parts, from a bulk-supply, onto continuously moving carriers at a rate of over 100 assemblies per minute. Common faults on the machine include part jams and ejected parts that occur at different locations on the machine. Two sensor systems are installed on the machine for detecting and isolating these faults: an image-based system consisting of a single camera and a signal-based sensor system consisting of multiple greyscale sensors and limit switches. The requirements and performance of both systems are compared for detecting six faults on the assembly machine. It is found that both methods are able to effectively detect the faults but they differ greatly in terms of cost, ease of implementation, detection time and fault isolation capability. The conventional signal-based sensors are low in cost, simple to implement and require little computing power, but the installation is intrusive to the machine and readings from multiple sensors are required for faster fault detection and isolation. The more sophisticated image-based system requires an expensive, high-resolution, high-speed camera and significantly more processing power to detect the same faults; however, the system is not intrusive to the machine, fault isolation becomes a simpler problem with video data, and the single camera is able to detect multiple faults in its field of view.