Automated visual inspection expert system for multivariate statistical process control chart

Automated manufacturing is increasingly common; however, automating inspection as a part of quality management processes is problematic, creating producer and consumer risk. Manufacturing plants can suffer several defect types. These defects result from different processes and cause different product failures. Numerous scenarios currently exist that require simultaneous monitoring or control of two or more quality-related process characteristics and in which online quality control is appropriate. Monitoring these quality characteristics automatically and simultaneously is essential to quality management. This study integrates image processing technologies and multivariate statistical process control chart to design an automated visual inspection expert system. The expert system thus developed can enhance decisions based on inspection of several quality variables and is easy to implement in a mass production environment.