:::

【2020 Application Example】 AI constructs the best coating model to reduce the inspection cost of scrap electrical steel sheets, saving NT$2 million per year

Surface treatment applications face rising costs and talent gaps

The development of metal surface treatment technology affects the quality of aerospace, automobile, machinery, home appliance, communications, and fastener products sold domestically and exported. At the same time, it plays a pivotal role in domestic smart machinery, national defense, and circular economy in the " 5+2 Industrial Innovation Plan." According to 2018 survey statistics, the output value of the metal surface treatment industry reached NT$151.5 billion, an increase of 3.6% compared to 2017.

However, metal surface treatment is a labor-intensive, energy-consuming, and pollution-intensive industry. It has long suffered from a shortage of professional and technical talent, and the tightening of environmental regulations has caused processing costs to continue to rise. As a result, the industry is facing a crisis of survival and a crisis of competition from international high-value supply chains.

Manual quality control faces market challenges, while the coating process has found new opportunities

Overseas markets currently account for 70% of the revenue of a domestic steel plate coating plant. It expanded into the automotive steel, diverse supply chain, and various special steel product markets in 2016. It is imperative to improve the quality of surface treatment through innovative technologies, in order to seize international markets.

In the continuous steel plate coating process, the price difference between finished steel plate products and defective products is about 10 times. Manual inspection is used in the current stage. During the production process, 10 m needs to be cut from each steel coil and becomes fixed inspection waste, incurring a significant amount of cost for waste materials, and also delaying production. At the same time, the instability in manual inspection quality also makes production quality unstable.

The Southern Taiwan Industry Promotion Center (STIPC) utilized the guidance capabilities it accumulated over a decade in Southern Taiwan, and matched the steel plate coating plant’s pain point with an AI optical measurement technology service provider. This reduced the cost of consumables used in steel plate inspection, and reduce errors caused by fatigue during manual inspection.

Stabilizing steel plate coating quality with optical measurement technology

In order to control the quality of the coating process, image recognition must be used to identify product yield. General measurement technology requires contact to detect the thickness of coating. Therefore, the STIPC match the plant with an AI optical measurement technology service provider to assist in the development of a non-contact optical measuring instrument, record coating data, and then compare the data to obtain the best process parameters.

Illustration of 3D non-contact measuring instrument testing

▲Illustration of 3D non-contact measuring instrument testing

Presentation of measuring instrument data

▲Presentation of measuring instrument data

Rapid scanning through AOI achieves non-contact measurement. It can quickly scan the profile and overall dimensions of the object being measured without directly making contact with the product or damaging the surface of the steel plate. It can immediately control coating thickness and quality of steel plates without increasing cost. We hope to calculate data of the process environment and design the product abnormality warning range, so that it can be used to make the process smarter.

In the future, this solution will further detect surface defects and color differences of finished steel plates to reduce the proportion of discarded material, solve the problem of the gap in professional and technical talent, and improve product yields.

Schematic diagram of non-contact measuring instrument

▲Schematic diagram of non-contact measuring instrument

Establish an AI coating model to create world-class steel plate supply standards

With the guidance of the STIPC in 2020, the steel plate coating plant accelerated the application of advanced process technology and established quantified indicators of surface treatment process quality standards, which will help domestic surface treatment companies produce high-quality electrical steel sheets, and is expected to increase the product price by 2%.

In addition, it can also assist companies in the industry obtain heat treatment certifications for high-value aerospace, electric vehicle, fastener, and aerospace products, increasing the industry’s added value through innovative thinking, and continuing to lead the metal industry forward.

Recommend Cases

這是一張圖片。 This is a picture.
[2023 Case Study] AI Steps into Philanthropy: Stylish Tech at Food Banks

Taiwan Food Bank AssociationHereinafter referred to as 'the Association'With the mission of providing food aid, poverty relief, reducing food waste, and building a hunger-free network, there are locations across Taiwan that gather donations from wholesalers, intermediaries, retailers, manufacturers, and even generous individuals These sites also rescue food that would otherwise be discarded, properly allocate and distribute it to needy households, thus aiding local vulnerable families55Food banks at various locations collect daily donations from wholesale stores, intermediaries, retailers, manufacturers, and even benevolent individuals from all over Taiwan These places also rescue about-to-be-discarded edible materials, properly sort them, and distribute to needy households, assisting local vulnerable populations However, each location requires significant human and volunteer resources to manage daily operations using traditional methods of communication with non-profit organizations and donors After receiving donations, these resources are then allocated to needy families or individuals There is a potential issue of uneven distribution of resources due to a lack of digitalization and integrated information management in these processes Warehouse and Transportation Centers and Mini Food Banks Distributing Resources to the Disadvantaged The location under validation by the Kaohsiung Charitable Organizations Association,Hereinafter referred to as 'Kaohsiung Charity' In109year6month24Officially inaugurated Taiwan's first 'Food Bank-Warehouse and Transportation Center' at a location measuring200square meters, enhancing the efficiency of food resource redistribution, proper storage, and management So far, nearly two hundred tons of vegetables and fruits have been saved, serving over a hundred organizations and benefiting over5thousand vulnerable households, and continues to serve19mini food banks, with planned completion across multiple districts in Kaohsiung, distributing food resources to over10ten thousand vulnerable families Kaohsiung Charity 'Food Bank-Warehouse and Transportation Center' in the Dasha Community Photo Source Kaohsiung Charitable Organizations Association Challenges in Labor and Food Resource Management Facing the needs of a large number of economically disadvantaged families, the management of the 'Food Bank-Warehouse and Transportation Center' is particularly critical During procurement, tasks such as sorting, purging, and bookkeeping must be performed, while during shipment, food resource needs suggested by social workers must be followed These activities rely on manual judgment and accumulated experience Many volunteers involved are elderly and have limited physical strength, making warehouse tasks physically demanding and recruitment challenging If a large batch of food resources arrives, space and manpower are consumed in sorting and inventory management, raising concerns about the effective use of resources and turnover rate This highlights the challenge of scaling up food bank services while lacking corresponding labor and material management systems At the same time, food bank resources come from various donations, thus they vary greatly in type, shelf life, standards, and quantity Volunteers at mini food banks, mostly also elderly, must handle multiple responsibilities such as case services, food resource management,resource allocation, and resource development Sometimes they must also explain and accept immediate, large quantities of specific resources, such as adults receiving baby formula 'Food Bank-Warehouse and Transportation Center' Resource Inventory Relies Entirely on Manual Labor Mini Food Bank Volunteers Handle Multiple Responsibilities Photo Source Taiwan Food Bank Association Reducing Scrap Resources60 Increasing Speed of Resource Transfer80 To enhance resource management and ensure effective use of materials, and to address personnel shortages, this field validation case has introduced 'Food Bank Warehouse Resource CollectionAITo advance resource management, ensure effective use of resources, and solve manpower shortages, this validation site has implemented an 'Automated Early Warning Needs Assessment System' for the food bank's warehouse resource gathering The first part involves building a classification model, setting up and collecting warehouse information at the site, andAItraining the model Past sitewarehouse information is collected and stored in a database, allowingAIfor preprocessing, classification, and other tasks At the same time, depending on the dependency conditions of the types of goods as features, algorithms are introduced for computation and modeling, and the data collected is used for retraining, ultimately validating the field and organizing data for the five most common types of goods into training and test datasets as required The second part involves constructing the classification model using AI techniques further use of reinforcement learning constructs the management mechanism for the food bank's warehouse, perfecting the classification of donated goodsRNNTechnical construction of classification models further use of reinforcement learning constructs food bank warehouse management mechanisms, making the classification of donated goods perfectlike white rice, instant drinks, noodles, instant noodles, and canned goodscan then be automatically assigned storage based on storage assignment principles AI Service System Process and Description Source Taiwan Food Bank Association AtAIUnder forecasts, it can optimize the speed of resource transfer and allocation, effectively and accurately match resource donations reducing the loss in the donation process, increase the accuracy of resource distribution, and improve the service rate—the successful donation rate—reducing the waste of resources due to incorrect items, and enabling instant monitoring of food resource stock, ensuring operators can respond quickly to needs, effectively providing resource assistance WithAIthe system's introduction and the establishment of data intelligence, it helps the operations of the warehouse and transportation center, allowing more time for the allocation of donated goods The introduction aims to accelerate the digital service rollout for social welfare organizations, thoroughly addressing the needs of the overall vulnerable segments of society Using the system for resource allocation and dispatching Photo Source Kaohsiung Charitable Organizations Association Following this field validation, it is possible to expand the system to other food bank service pointsAIThe system can also collaborate with more non-profit organizations, public welfare groups, and charitable organizations, expanding 'Food Bank Warehouse Resource CollectionAIAutomated Early Warning Demand Assessment System' application range such as medical supply distribution, helping more organizations manage and distribute more intelligently, reducing resource wastage, and enhancing social welfare 「Translated content is generated by ChatGPT and is for reference only Translation date:2024-12-12」

這是一張圖片。 This is a picture.
AI Assists the Red Cross for Smarter Emergency Response

More Preparation Less Loss The Taiwan Food Bank Association, a non-profit organization, collects donations daily from wholesalers, retailers, manufacturers, and even kind-hearted individuals across Taiwan They also rescue consumable materials that are about to be discarded, properly allocate and deliver to households in need, aiding local underprivileged populations When natural disasters such as earthquakes, landslides, mudslides, typhoons, floods, and droughts occur in Taiwan, the food bank's resources can be immediately deployed for disaster relief This field verification unit is the Nantou County Red Cross AssociationOne of the food bank locations, hereinafter referred to as the Nantou Red CrossIs responsible for tasks like pre-disaster supplies preparation and disaster relief material distribution, helping the government bear the responsibility of disaster relief and aid In Taiwan, various natural disasters have characteristics of different duration and spatial coverage, wide or narrow With the normalization of extreme weather, the scale and number of disasters are gradually increasing and becoming harder to predict The required amount and type of materials differ by disaster, and they must address the lifestyles of the affected areas, rescue needs, traffic conditions, geographical restrictions, and other factors for varied material allocation, facing numerous challenges Typhoon Kanu severely damaged transportation in Nantou mountain areas Nantou County Red Cross planned the mountainous route Puli gt Fazhi Elementary School gt Qin'ai Village gt Aowanda to deliver supplies Disasters happen repeatedly We need to be prepared at all times Effective disaster preparedness can mitigate the impact, including swift response to material needs in affected areas, aid distribution, and even psychological support, providing added security for life and property of those in disaster zones Lack of Timeliness in Disaster Information To improve the living conditions and address the lack of supplies in remote areas, the Taiwan Food Bank Association has partnered with the Nantou Red Cross and has successively established food bank points in Nantou City, Puli, and Ren'aiLixing, Ruiyan, XinyiWangmei, Tongfu, Shuili, Lugu and Caotun among others9establish food bank locations, providing supplies worth a certain amount per household every month6001000in New Taiwan Dollars However, many challenges still need to be overcome during natural disasters For example, when typhoons, earthquakes, and landslides occur, the information source for disaster relief dispatch systems relies on post-disaster reports The time lag between reporting, response, and execution prevents timely adjustment and distribution of 'disaster relief' supplies based on the needs of affected areas, affecting rescue efficiency due to lack of timely information The 'preparedness' supplies of the Nantou Red Crosssuch as dry food, water, instant noodles, etc,are recorded manually in terms of stock, expiration dates, and distribution,When a disaster occurs, there is a chance that 'preparedness' supplies have expired and cannot become 'disaster relief' supplies It’s also possible that both conditions mentioned above occur simultaneously, leading to a need for more time to reassign 'preparedness' supplies into usable 'disaster relief' materials On the other hand, upon receiving information about shortages in disaster areas, the supplies donated by the public often grossly differ from the actual needs of the disaster zone, leading to an excess of supplies The Process of Material Operations Before and After a Natural Disaster AIAnticipating Natural Disasters Reinforcing the Accuracy of Preparedness Material Dispatch Application API Technology connects to compute the state of the climate, the intensity of disaster rescues, prioritizing the main tasks of the Nantou Red Cross and the needed areas of search and rescue Coordinated with the existing heavy rain and typhoon simulation disaster training of the Nantou Red Cross, a 'Natural Disaster Emergency Preparedness Material Dispatch and Supplement Decision System' is establishedreferred to as the Emergency Preparedness Material System。 In material management, inventory data along with immediate supply data are entered into the Emergency Preparedness Material System for comparison and analysis, helping the Nantou Red Cross quickly recognize materials like cookiesdry food, beverages, frozen food, toilet paper, etc, and determining whether they should be 'preparedness' materials or regularly distributed materials Adding to this, information forecasting understands the potential disaster conditions in remote areas, facilitating food delivery, addressing both front-end food wastage and backend practical needs When a natural disaster occurs, it enables faster response and decision-making, completing material deployment, hence increasing the speed of material operation transition20。 AI Emergency Preparedness Material System Helps Rapidly Adapt Material Distribution Through the field verification of the Nantou Red CrossAIthe system, material management, and related applications are promoted to more emergency response organizations in different areas, while continuously improving the alert functions within the Emergency Preparedness Material System, strengthening the technological foundation for alerts, enhancing prediction accuracySystem immediacy, and optimizing the data collection and analysis process Simultaneously, it can collaborate with government agencies, meteorological departments, or other rescue teams to discuss integrating more data sources, establishing a mechanism to share resources and data promptly, sharing information in real-time, helping more emergency response organizations enhance their disaster response abilities, seizing the golden rescue time 「Translated content is generated by ChatGPT and is for reference only Translation date:2024-12-12」

【導入案例】赫銳特科技VCSEL封裝元件瑕疵導入AOI檢測 提升產能效率20
HRT Technology Improves Production Efficiency by 20% Through AOI Detection of Defects in VCSEL Packaging

In 2017, the launch of the iPhone X made 3D sensor technology used in Face ID highly popular, which drove the development of VCSEL, a core component in the 3D sensor module In the detection of defects in incoming packaged VCSEL, the use of AI inference models can solve the industry's issue with low yield and improve reliability to 95 VCSEL technology currently can be used in many applications and various end consumer markets, including robots, mobile devices, surveillance, drones, and ARVR VCSELs are a good solution in applications that require high-speed modulation capabilities, such as cameras and biometrics VCSEL technology has a wide range ofnbsp applications, including in drones Pictured Zoyi Technology's Agricultural Drone VCSEL technology has a wide range of applications, AI technology assists in defect detection HRT Technology stated that the packaged VCSEL market is also facing strong price competition from competitors, and needs to further reduce costs and enhance product competitiveness One of the key problems is the replacement of glass lens with epoxy resin lens The production of traditional glass lenses has high yield, but the cost is higher than that of epoxy resin lenses Due to the cutting process of epoxy resin, the side wall of cutting lines can easily have rough edges, causing it to be oversized The release of stress caused by heat during the mounting process will directly cause the optical lens to break HRT Technology pointed out that the incoming inspection of VCSEL epoxy resin lenses is very important Under the constraints of packaging space, the space for fitting the package and optical lens is limited Moreover, the optical lenses will be confined to a metal frame If the dimensional tolerances are properly controlled, stress release due to heat during mounting can easily cause the optical lens to break, resulting in a yield loss of up to 10 in the VCSEL package reliability verification, resulting in an increase in production costs In order to solve the problems above, HRT Technology hopes to use AI to monitor the size and appearance defects of epoxy resin components in the VCSEL epoxy resin lens incoming stage, verifying whether their dimensions meet specifications, whether the cutting edges are smooth, and whether there are any defects in their appearance Since traditional incoming material inspection requires a rough visual inspection by humans to distinguish the quality The problem of image collection needs to be solved first to successfully collect image data Therefore, HRT Technology first developed an Automated Optical Inspection AOI device, which includes X, Y, Z three-axis motion, high-resolution cameras, and related control software to automatically record images After collecting the image data, opencv aligns the test image and a normal image to determine differences between the two images, and then pixel mapping is used to compare the pixel area to complete initial screening Manual labeling is carried out according to the image classification above, including samples that are normal, have defects in appearance, or have different shape characteristics, and then algorithm training and verification is carried out Residual neural network ResNet or other related algorithms are used for deep learning to identify the quality of lenses Implementation of AOI inspection improves production efficiency by 20 and above Comparing the differences before and after the implementation of AI image inspection, the incoming VCSEL lens inspection before implementation only involved manual inspection of the appearance The lens is packaged on the VCSEL package that has completed die bonding After passing the general light up test, the final reliability test high temperature reflow is performed Failed samples go into the rework process However, after the implementation of AOI inspection, it can screen defective lenses sooner and reduce the cost of subsequent materials input, it can also reduce the need for rework due to failure, improving yield to 95 and above in the reliability verification This is expected to help companies reduce production costs by 10 and increase production efficiency by 20 and above The difference before and after implementing AI image detection HRT Technology pointed out that this technology is an AI application developed based on tiny images It uses deep learning algorithms to identify defects in the images The trained network automatically classifies image data to predetermined categories Defect categories can be determined through reference images, so cumbersome programming is not required In the industrial machine vision environment, deep learning is mainly used for classification tasks in applications, such as inspection of industrial products or identification of parts In the future, with the development of IoT wearable devices and the trend of energy saving, the size of optoelectronic components will continue to shrink This technology can be applied to the detection of defects in the appearance of other tiny optoelectronic components in the future