Inspection Equipment
Casting Cavity Inspection
Fiber-optic light probes check 24 internal paths in every casting, catching blocked cavities before they move on.
CLIENT
INDUSTRY
SOLUTION
DURATION
The Challenge
A casting line needed proof that every part’s internal cavities and ports were open. A broken core or leftover sand can block a passage that no one can see from the outside, and a blocked port that reaches machining or assembly becomes scrap, rework or a field failure. Manual checks could not keep pace with the line or cover every passage. The customer needed automatic casting cavity inspection that fit into an existing line between turntables, a re-entry conveyor and a reject conveyor, and that tied each result to the casting’s code.
Key Requirements
- Verify that critical internal cavities and ports are open on every casting
- Inspect in line at production rate
- Turntables, reject conveyor and re-entry conveyor included
- Protect probes from contact with core breaks or leftover sand
- Read each casting’s code and store its results
- Support multiple part variants
- Guarded, interlocked machine with lockout points
The ICR Solution
ICR designed and built a two-station casting cavity inspection machine around Keyence fiber-optic sensing. Each casting is located on datum pins and locator pins, then the probe platens lower. Thru-beam light probes enter the casting from above and the sides, and light must pass from emitter to receiver through each passage. 24 fiber amplifiers send their actual light readings to the PLC, which compares them to thresholds instead of trusting a simple OK/NG output. Vertical probes are spring loaded and horizontal probes advance on low-pressure air, so a blocked passage cannot damage them. Turntables orient castings in and out, a reject conveyor diverts any blocked part, and a re-entry conveyor returns parts to the line. A code reader ties every reading to the casting.
Equipment & Technology
- 2 inspection stations with probe platens and lifters
- 24 Keyence fiber amplifiers with thru-beam fiber probes
- Spring-loaded vertical probes, low-pressure horizontal probes
- Datum and locator pins for repeatable part position
- Keyence 2D code reader for traceability
- Laser sensors for added feature checks
- PLC with HMI, measurement history and counters
- Interlocked doors, E-stop and safety relay
- Two turntables, reject and re-entry conveyors
- Movable access deck
Scope of Work
- Up-Front Engineering
- Mechanical Design
- Fabrication
- Controls Design
- Panel Build
- PLC & HMI Programming
- Traceability
- Installation
- Commissioning
Results
Every casting now has its internal cavities and ports checked in line, with all 24 light readings stored against its code. Blocked passages are caught at the source and routed to the reject conveyor instead of reaching machining. A master casting lets the team confirm light levels at any time, and the probe design keeps a blocked part from damaging the machine.