Count finished parts with one camera: step-by-step

One camera per machine for finished-part counting

A camera at each machine counts finished work against that station's target for the day. You see the counts by station and by shift, tied to the order waiting on that station. The same camera also supports visual inspection, within the stated limits.

This article is about the counting half. The fit is countable, discrete parts that the camera can see.

There are no sensors to fit and no wiring into the machine. The models run on a small computer in your factory, not in our cloud.

FactoryVision counts parts and shows station status. It is not an ERP, a MES or a SCADA system. It serves shops that want counts and station status without wiring into the machine.

Pick the station and the mount point

Start with machines that make countable, discrete parts. Doors, furniture, and metal parts fit. Continuous processes such as extrusion do not. If the output is a stream rather than parts, this is not the tool.

Then mount and aim. The live view shows when angle and focus are good. Watch the picture and adjust the camera.

Stick the target. The printed marker gives real millimetres, so the system works from true scale rather than pixels alone. It also notices if the camera moves.

Use a fixed mount. The printed marker's ability to detect camera movement does not replace a stable mounting point.

Think about what the camera must see. It counts what is in view. The back of a part needs a second camera. Shiny or transparent parts need lighting work.

Teach a cycle with ten parts

Run ten parts as normal to teach the cycle, then confirm what the system found. Show good parts: those parts become its idea of normal for visual inspection. Then point at what matters. Tap the edges, or draw a box.

The setup steps, in order:

1. Mount and aim.
2. Stick the target.
3. Teach the cycle with ten parts.
4. Show good parts.
5. Point at what matters.
6. Complete onboarding observation.

Setup target: under an hour per station. Observation is a separate onboarding period.

Set the daily target and the station light: on track, at risk, behind

Each station gets a target for the day. The count runs against it. The station shows one light:

• Green: on track.
• Yellow: at risk.
• Red: behind.

Recent production pace projects how many parts the station will produce by the end of the shift. The operator reads the light during the shift and decides what action to take.

The counts show by station and by shift, tied to the order waiting on that station. The view also answers a practical question: which waiting order depends on a station that is behind?

Initial observation: it watches first, then the quality lead turns it on

After setup, the system watches quietly during initial observation. Then your quality lead turns it on.

Where counting and visual inspection stop: the limits

• The camera does not see defects inside the material.
• It does not see the back of a part without a second camera.
• It does not measure finer than about 0.1 mm with sensible optics.
• Shiny or transparent parts need lighting work.
• Continuous processes such as extrusion are outside scope.

FactoryVision runs in a Turkish door and furniture factory.

If your parts are shiny or transparent, plan for lighting work. If you need to inspect both faces of a part, plan for a second camera. If your line extrudes rather than makes discrete parts, this is not the tool.

FactoryVision fits factories making discrete parts on 10 to 100 machines. Shiny or transparent parts require lighting work; extrusion is outside scope.

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Buying starts with an introductory call. After the call, we get to know your company — its machines, its parts, its processes — so the setup fits how you work. Book an introductory call.

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