CHICAGO (Sept. 19, 6:25 p.m. EDT) — A toy train, running in circles at Avalon Vision Solutions' NPE booth, signaled a new market for the company.
Avalon is best known for its vision systems for injection molding. A camera mounted onto a mold that takes a video of every single cycle and is tied into the company's software. At NPE, Avalon introduced the Validator, a fixed camera that checks parts — or cars on a toy train — as they speed past. The system can do up to 60 inspections per second.
Vice President Larry Scarbrough said injection molding part documentation, and mold protection, remain the core market for the 15-year-old company. But the Validator will help diversify the business, he said.
“It's for moving applications down an assembly line that could be adaptable to packaging, metal stamping or any part. This Validator product could adapt very easily,” Scarbrough said.
The company in Lithia Springs, Ga., is promoting the Validator as “the world's simplest vision system.” It can be set up in three simple steps, according to the firm.
“There's absolutely no on-the-floor programming,” Scarbrough said at NPE 2006 in Chicago.