Introduction to Sheet Metal Processing Technology: Zero Mistake Identification Management Using Images

basic information

Since our founding, we have primarily been involved in the design and manufacturing of box-type enclosures such as lockers and steel furniture. The five basic processes are: punching → bending → welding → painting → finishing. There are joining processes such as "welding" and "screwing/riveting," and there are cases where processing is completed at stages like "only punching" or "up to bending," which naturally leads to a decrease in the so-called "number of parts" as we move downstream in the process. In other words, it is obvious that the punching process has the highest number of parts. On the other hand, processing instructions for the processes are issued through a centralized production management system in the form of parallel "work instructions" and accompanying "work tickets," resulting in an enormous number of daily forms. This trend is not only seen in box-type sheet metal but also in precision sheet metal parts, which have seen an increase in weight, leading to a current situation where there are as many as 400,000 parts annually due to the diversification into small quantities (long tail).

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Applications/Examples of results

One of the pillars of our business is the provision of suppliers, specifically precision sheet metal parts. Recently, the identification of blanks after completion (commonly known as sorting after punching) has become a significant challenge. Inspired by hints from trade shows, we developed a device in collaboration with a certain vendor that uses camera image recognition to identify parts from the punched sheet metal. By integrating with back data, we can now issue real-time labels that print necessary information such as our LOT number and subsequent processes, making it a device we can proudly present to the world. Moving forward, we aim to enhance this system further and are exploring more advanced identification methods that can be implemented for shipping inspections and identification after the BEND process, achieving identification at a 3D level.