Optical multi-sensor system for process monitoring

For Eoptis, developing this solution involved several challenges. The first was to achieve a target price, given that the solution was to become a “black box” to be installed on every machine, rather than just an optional add‑on. This project also involved adapting to the specific characteristics of the machines: from the communication interface to the highly demanding cycle time. Another challenge was to decompose the light emitted in the processing area into three equal beams using a system of optical filters developed using specific formulations and to transmit the three optical parameters in real time to the devices already present on the machine.

Before the solution developed by Eoptis, the client’s machines operated with reduced precision. They operated under less direct control and the production cycle was not optimized. Furthermore, the results of the machining operations were not always aesthetically acceptable. By contrast, thanks to the Eoptis solution, the client can now optimize the production cycle in terms of cycle time, machine energy consumption, and the aesthetic quality of the machining operations.

To develop the solution, Eoptis leveraged its interdisciplinary expertise, in particular:

• to create a system of specially designed electronic boards and optical filters, with photodiodes and a fiber-optic beam splitter that captures the light and splits it into three equal beams;
• to implement the EtherCAT protocol in the system to facilitate integration of the solution into the machines (to this end, Eoptis became a member of the Ethercat Technology Group); the EtherCAT protocol meets hard and soft real-time requirements in test and measurement systems, automation, and numerous other applications;
• to define, together with the client, a calibration method aimed at standardizing the measurement performance across all delivered systems.