Knowledge
In the 3C industry, AOI inspection of appearance defects on components such as phone back covers and electronic glass cover plates is a key part of quality control. Such equipment has scattered inspection points and a wide variety of sensors, placing high demands on the deployment flexibility and signal transmission stability of I/O modules. This case study takes 3C vision inspection equipment as its subject to demonstrate the practical application of the Solidot EC5R series integrated I/O.
Solidot products used in this case study
(EtherCAT fieldbus, 32-point digital input, NPN&PNP compatible)
(EtherCAT fieldbus, 32-point digital output, PNP)
Equipment overview
3C vision inspection equipment typically consists of an automatic feeding unit, a positioning and clamping unit, a vision inspection unit and an unloading and sorting unit, completing the full process from workpiece supply, positioning and fixing, photo inspection to the separation of good/reject parts.
The entire line needs to acquire two types of signals: magnetic switch signals, used to determine whether the actions of pneumatic actuators such as clamping cylinders, jacking cylinders and pusher cylinders are complete; and diffuse-reflection photoelectric signals, used to determine whether workpieces have reached the specified position.
Process step | Action description |
① Feeding | The workpiece enters the feeding position via the conveyor line; the diffuse-reflection photoelectric sensor detects its arrival and triggers the blocking/clamping cylinder action |
② Positioning and clamping | The cylinder drives the positioning mechanism and clamping cylinder to secure the workpiece; once clamping is in place, the PLC triggers the camera to take a photo |
③ Vision inspection | The industrial camera captures images of workpiece appearance defects and performs algorithm-based judgment |
④ Unloading and sorting | Based on the inspection results, the pusher cylinder diverts good parts and reject parts to different material lanes |
II. Solidot Solution
The inspection points of the vision inspection equipment, such as the loading port, positioning station and sorting port, are distributed at different locations and require simultaneous connection of both magnetic switch and diffuse-reflection photoelectric signals, placing high demands on the channel connection convenience and deployment flexibility of the I/O module.
III. Solution Architecture
Control layer:
The Inovance Easy521 PLC serves as the core controller, responsible for logic scheduling of the inspection process, coordination of vision algorithm trigger signals and loading/unloading cycle control.
Network layer:
EC5R-3200 and EC5R-0032B are both connected to the PLC via the EtherCAT fieldbus, with the modules cascaded in sequence along the production line, supporting up to 72 slaves on a single bus, resulting in a clear network structure.
Field layer:
EC5R-3200 handles digital signal acquisition at inspection points such as the loading port, positioning station and sorting port, acquiring magnetic switch and diffuse-reflection photoelectric signals; EC5R-0032B handles the output of actuators at the drive stations, driving solenoid valves to actuate actuators such as clamping cylinders, lifting cylinders and push cylinders.
IV. Application results
Aspect | Application Performance |
Deployment flexibility | The EC5R module can be installed close to the equipment (deployed outside the cabinet with a dust cover), signals are connected directly from the field, reducing the number of terminal blocks in the central control cabinet and the wiring workload |
Signal response | The high-speed EtherCAT fieldbus combined with distributed deployment enables sensor signals to be acquired nearby and actuators to be driven nearby, supporting synchronization of the inspection cycle |
Supply and maintenance
The spring-clamp terminal enables fast wiring, and the channel indicator helps quickly locate faults on site
Solidot EC5R Series integrated I/O module
The Solidot EC5R Series integrated I/O module integrates communication and I/O functions in one unit and uses an EtherCAT Industrial Ethernet Fieldbus interface.
The module features a compact horizontal design and supports both snap-on and fixed mounting on standard DIN35 mm DIN rail, with an optional dust cover for installation outside the cabinet. It provides short-circuit protection, reverse connection protection, surge protection, disconnection detection, diagnostic alarms, module fault auto-recovery and online firmware upgrade. Its innovative channel indicator design makes the channel status clear at a glance, simplifying on-site inspection and maintenance.
It is widely used in scenarios such as intelligent batching, material conveying, packaging and 3C electronics, which place high demands on distributed I/O deployment and simplified on-site wiring.
