With over 25 years of experience, STT Systems helps industrial companies enhance their processes through advanced machine vision and automated inspection technologies. From our headquarters in Donostia-San Sebastián, we design and implement cutting-edge technologies for sectors such as automotive, advanced manufacturing and inline quality control.
Thanks to a collaboration with LMI Technologies and Stemmer Imaging, we took part in the implementation of an automatic bolt inspection system at SEAT (Volkswagen Group), one of the most prominent automotive production facilities in Europe.
The Challenge
SEAT needed to ensure that the metal blanks (later transformed into vehicle components) had all bolts correctly welded after the welding process. The absence of even a single bolt can cause unplanned line stoppages, costly rework and delays in production.
The key objectives were:
- Detect missing bolts as early as possible on the production line.
- Automate the inspection process to reduce manual intervention.
- Ensure full traceability for quality assurance and data analysis purposes.
The Solution
Our Visio division, specialised in industrial machine vision, designed and implemented a fully automated 100% inspection system based on Gocator 3D sensors and radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology.
Main system components:
- Gocator 3D sensors: Gocator 2490 and 2380 models were integrated at various angles to capture high-resolution 3D point clouds. This enabled real-time analysis of the presence or absence of each welded bolt on the blank with maximum accuracy.
- RFID-based traceability: Each blank was fitted with an RFID tag. Antennas installed along the production line automatically read these tags, linking every inspection result to a specific part. This guarantees full traceability throughout the entire process.
- Automation and PLC integration: The inspection system was connected to the line’s PLC, allowing real-time decision-making: defective parts could be diverted for manual inspection, while compliant ones continued along the production line.
- Centralised database: All inspection data was stored in an industrial-grade database, enabling the generation of statistical reports, trend analysis and continuous monitoring of system performance.
The Results
Thanks to this 3D machine vision solution with RFID traceability, SEAT Martorell has achieved:
✅ Automatic inspection of thousands of parts per day with high precision.
✅ Detection of errors in up to 1% of blanks in certain batches.
✅ A significant reduction in downtime through early detection of missing bolts.
✅ An improvement in the overall OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) of the production line.
✅ Lower labour costs by reducing the need for manual inspections.
Bring innovation and reliability to your quality control process
Whether you’re in automotive, rail or advanced manufacturing, our machine vision experts will work with you to develop a robust, customised solution.
Contact us today and find out how STT Systems can turn your production challenges into measurable successes.