Laser inspection project shows the benefits that flow through collaboration

Two companies described as “small yet world-class high-tech manufacturers” have teamed up to crack on a thorny optical inspection problem and open up new commercial avenues.

According to a statement from not-for-profit organisation the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre, its members ActionLaser and OptoTech recently worked together to develop an automated quality check solution for filters.

ActionLaser is a maker of thin metal screens for filtration applications, each containing laser-drilled holes ranging between 90 (the width of a hair) and 400 microns, depending on the filter.

It had previously relied on manual point inspections of these holes using a microscope, before being introduced to OptoTech, a specialist in developing and building laser-based inspection systems for clients in industries ranging from semiconductors to medical devices.   

David Pask, Production Manager at ActionLaser, said his company could previously measure “perhaps 100 holes on the disc and extrapolate a measure for the entire disc” but this was from about 500,000 holes on a filter “and we really wanted to qualify our work” against international competition.

“As a result of this collaboration, we essentially receive a map of the disc and each hole size which allows us to calculate performance of these filtration discs,” said Pask. 

“From here, we can then calculate what we and our customers call ‘flow through’, a critical measure of performance and something up until now nobody on the planet could do.”

OptoTech’s Director Mircea Petre said mapping an individual disc in high detail is tricky for numerous reasons, and the solution able to handle huge numbers of small features was nothing that could be bought off the shelf.

 “Also, measuring – let’s say – one million holes or points of reference is not something that people can contemplate,” Petre said.  

“It is also a task that not many companies are equipped to solve, but we are grateful to have had the opportunity to work on it via AMGC’s introduction.”

Pask’s company – which had previously received AMGC support for a collaborative project on production of its MeltFilter discs – has grown output of MeltFilters from 100 a year to 1,500 a year. Pask is hopeful this can reach 5,000 with the help of the new inspection and flow rate data, which will help communicate the product’s superiority to clients.

Dr Jens Goennemann, Managing Director, AMGC, said that the result highlighted the value of leveraging a highly capable manufacturer network for solving difficult, real-world problems.

 “Collaboration should be in every manufacturer’s toolbox,” said Goennemann.

 “There is a magic in finding the right experts and trusting them to deliver on something you couldn’t possibly do inhouse. Experts for a problem as complex as this one might take some legwork, but they’re out there and AMGC knows where they are.”

Further reading

ActionLaser drills into recycling industry with new filter products

Technologies and tools for a manufacturing transformation: the power of collaboration