Inspection of Ball Bearings

Maddox AI successfully automates the inspection of impact points, incorrectly mounted components and scratches on ball bearings.

Product

Ball Bearings

Industry

Automotive

Total savings / year

190-350k €

Close-up of stacked tapered roller bearings with polished steel surfaces.

Customer Request

Our customer produces over 20,000 ball bearings daily, which were inspected both by a classic inspection system and, in some cases, by human inspectors. The classic inspection system often mistook color differences for real defects. This resulted in an excessively high pseudo scrap rate, which had to be checked manually at a high cost. To massively reduce the pseudo scrap rate, the Maddox AI inspection system combines existing camera hardware with the Maddox AI software. Classic defect types include damages such as impact points, incorrectly mounted components or scratches.

Before

Previous Inspection System

A classic rule-based system was used for the initial inspection. This was followed by a manual inspection in three shifts by two employees per shift to recheck rejects and pseudo-rejects.

The plant received two relevant customer complaints in the last two years, which had to be manually rechecked.

Since the inspection results were not digitized, no regular structured root cause analysis was performed.

After

With Maddox AI

A classic rule-based system was used for the initial inspection. This was followed by a manual inspection in three shifts by two employees per shift to recheck rejects and pseudo-rejects.

All products are inspected 100% automatically according to a precise defect definition. This made it possible to reduce pseudo scrap by more than 90%, eliminating the need for manual rechecking.

No further customer complaints have been received since the installation of Maddox AI.

Thanks to the digitalized inspection process, process optimizations could be realized (e.g. direct feedback loop for machine setting).

The plant received two relevant customer complaints in the last two years, which had to be manually rechecked.

No further customer complaints have been received since the installation of Maddox AI.

Since the inspection results were not digitized, no regular structured root cause analysis was performed.

Thanks to the digitalized inspection process, process optimizations could be realized (e.g. direct feedback loop for machine setting).

98%

Time saving for recalibrations

> 90%

Less pseudo scrap

30 parts / min.

Inspection speed

Want to learn more about our solution?

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Want to learn more about our solution?

Try it free now!

Book a demo

Want to learn more about our solution?

Try it free now!

Book a demo

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Visual Inspection of Pivot Pins

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Inspection of Bearing Cages

With Maddox AI, the inspection of bearing cages for industrial, railway, and maritime applications is now fully automated. Surface defects such as burrs, roughness, or material flaws are reliably detected—without manual inspectors and with consistently high inspection quality.

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