NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, U.K.—Engineers at Newcastle University here are studying how the 3D vision used by praying mantises could lead to simpler visual processing systems in robots. They recently equipped insects with miniature glasses that were temporarily glued on with beeswax.

Vision systems are used to make critical measurements of parts and assemblies as part of a quality control system. Such measurements might be taken to determine the fitness of a component to progress to the next step in the manufacturing process, or they might be done at the end of the line prior to shipping the final product.

For more than 30 years, manufacturers have used infrared welding (IW) to assemble plastic components that are large, made of challenging materials or have high strength and hermetic requirements.

Vision systems play a vital role in automated assembly systems. They can check for the presence or absence of parts or materials. They can measure key dimensions of assemblies. They can tell robots the precise location of parts. They can even read 1D and 2D codes.

Just a few decades ago, the typical American or European driver would never have believed that China, a communist country, would one day be the world’s largest car producer (by volume).

In every manufacturing industry, tradition is becoming less important. Companies no longer assume that what worked in the past will be enough to keep and gain customers. Instead, they look to the latest technology to improve manufacturing processes, optimize product quality and expand their customer base.

At Hitachi Metals Automotive Components USA LLC (HMAC), suspensions, exhaust manifolds and other components are assembled every day for all of the world’s leading automakers.

Every year, more than 500,000 A3, A4, A5 and Q5 vehicles leave the production line at Audi AG’s largest plant in In-golstadt, Germany.

Designing an automated, inline system to perform final quality inspection of a large or complicated assembly can be tricky.