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Spring Presence/Absence Inspection

Judges whether compression springs, tension springs and spring plates are properly installed, for inline verification at assembly process steps and pre-packaging checks.

inspection Overview

Spring Presence/Absence Inspection: Part Loading and In-Position Judgement Station
Spring Presence/Absence Inspection Object Characteristics → Inspection Difficulties → Visual Judgement Method → Applicable Algorithm → Optical Considerations → OK/NG Output
Quick answers

Spring presence/absence inspection: determines whether compression springs, extension springs, spring plates, and similar parts are installed in place; suitable for in-line verification at the assembly process step and for pre-packaging checks. The judgement usually does not check details such as threads or dimensions, but rather Whether the visual feature at that position exists and matches expectations, output OK / NG and interlock with the production line.

Judge whether compression springs, extension springs, spring plates and similar parts are properly installed; suitable for in-line verification at assembly process steps and pre-packaging checks.

The feasibility of "spring presence/absence inspection" depends on Whether the visual features of the object are stable and distinguishable, as well as the on-site optical and tooling conditions. Each item is expanded below in the order commonly used in inspection engineering.

PresenceCore acceptance criteriaWhether the part is in place at that position
Position-by-position verificationInspection MethodJudge by position number / region separately, then combine the results
OK/NGResult OutputDirect integration with PLC and actuators
6communication methodI/O · TCP · RS485 · Modbus · S7 · Profinet

Object Characteristics

How the object appears in the image

  • Slender or thin-sheet structures appear as fine dense texture in the image
  • Metallic material, prone to specular highlights
  • After assembly the part sits in a hole or groove with limited visibility
  • States such as not fully inserted, tilted or wrong model may exist

inspection Challenges

Where Problems Really Occur on Site

  • Fine coil textures easily blur together at small sizes
  • Metal reflection makes the spring contour blend into the background
  • Only a small part is exposed after insertion into the hole
  • A compressed spring looks very different from a spring in its free state

Vision Judgement method

How acceptance criteria are set and why

Spring: OK and NG State ComparisonIllustration of the two judgement states for a spring, used to show the output format of visual presence/absence inspection.OKIn Place · OKNGMissing · NGDashed contour = this position "should be present but was not detected", i.e. NGInspection zones are divided position by position according to the assembly drawing, and the part-level conclusion is composed after judging each position
Spring | Judgement State Illustration — left: "part present at this position, judged OK"; right: "should be present but not detected, judged NG".

The common criterion is Whether a regular stripe texture exists in the region (coil feature) or Whether there is a specular structure clearly different from the hole bottom.

If the spring is small and highly reflective, the "statistical features of the regional texture" can be used instead of precise contour matching, which is usually more robust.

Applicable algorithm

Choose by the Form of the Acceptance Criteria, Not by Complexity

Texture Statistics

Judges whether the spring is present by the regularity of the region texture

template matching

When the pose is stable, use standard spring template matching

Optical Precautions

Imaging conditions set the upper limit of feasibility

  • Low-angle light creates alternating light and dark bands on the coil texture and reveals the spring structure more easily than frontal light
  • If the spring is inside a deep hole, a dedicated light source (such as built-in coaxial light or a light guide) is needed to illuminate the bottom of the hole
  • When reflection is too strong, add a polarizer to reduce specular reflection

OK / NG Output

How results are judged and passed to the production line

Visual inspection judgement chainThe complete chain from image acquisition to OK/NG judgement and PLC interlocking.image acquisitiontrigger captureTarget Positioningtemplate matchingfeature recognitionAlgorithm JudgementResult JudgementOK / NGindustrial communicationPLC interlockingRelease OKRejection / NG AlarmEvery step's result retains the image and judgement item, for traceability and review
Inspection Judgement Chain — Acquisition → Positioning → Recognition → Judgment → Communication interlocking; the entire chain runs locally on the machine.
Inspection Statusjudgement Interlocking Action
Spring feature detectedOKrelease
No spring feature detectedNGBlock as missing part
Spring clearly tilted / not seatedNGHandle as an assembly defect
Judgement thresholds must be set according to the site's tolerance for Escapes and false calls tolerance setting: the costs of the two sides are usually asymmetric, so the threshold should be biased toward "whichever side is less acceptable".

Applicable Industry

This type of inspection is common in the following industries

Common Question

The most common questions about this object

Can a small spring inside a deep hole be detected?

Yes, but the illumination problem must be solved — ordinary external light sources cannot shine into deep holes. Coaxial light, ring light guides or dedicated in-hole illumination are usually needed. A physical test is mandatory before implementation.

Are missing springs and crooked springs inspected the same way?

The criteria are different. A missing part is judged by presence/absence, while a crooked part is judged by pose (angular or positional deviation). If both must be managed, set separate acceptance criteria so that the site can tell where the problem comes from.

What are the acceptance criteria for this object?

A common acceptance criterion is whether a regular striped texture (coil pattern) exists in the area, or whether a highlight structure clearly different from the hole bottom is present.

What are the illumination requirements for this type of object?

Low-angle light makes the coil texture alternate light and dark, which reveals the spring structure more easily than frontal light. If the spring is inside a deep hole, a dedicated light source (such as built-in coaxial light or a light guide) is needed to illuminate the bottom of the hole

What Are the Inspection Accuracy and Minimum Detectable Size?

It depends on the combination of field of view and camera resolution, and is affected by the lens, illumination and algorithm. To be added — the configuration must be derived from your minimum defect size, subject to the results of a measured sample trial.

How Do We Verify That Our Product Can Be Detected?

Please provide samples with the spring installed, samples with the spring missing, and photos of the spring's position in the assembly.

Submit sample testing

Please provide samples with the spring installed, samples with the spring missing, and photos of the spring's position in the assembly.

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Each file must not exceed 20 MB
    JPG / PNG supported, multiple files allowed
    Each file must not exceed 20 MB
      JPG / PNG supported, multiple files allowed
      Each file must not exceed 20 MB
        A solution engineer will contact you within 1 business day after submission

        Need to assess imaging conditions, defect criteria and cycle time item by item? Go to the Full Requirement Assessment →

        Send Us Your Workpiece and We Will Show You the Measured Results

        Provide several OK and NG samples, and the solution engineer will run actual imaging and judgement tests on the equipment, then give inspection configuration recommendations that can be implemented, rather than just reading a specification table.

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