Pentagon Assembly Automation, based in Pune, India, builds inspection lines for the consumer goods, automotive, electronics, and medical device industries. Assembling medical products requires careful inspections, and final products must meet rigid manufacturing standards.
"Components are very, very tiny and very, very complicated," said Monoi Mathew, a technical director at Pentagon. "It's not a simple task, but we're passionate about solving these challenges, and we want to make the best machines in India."
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This dedication to quality and innovation has been the driving force behind Pentagon's success. The company's journey began in 2001 when four self-described technocrats founded the company with a single machine. Since then, Pentagon has been investing in research and development, using its profits to buy more tools, machines, and equipment, and maintaining its dedication to new technologies and solutions.
"Money generation is not our core value; we want to build the best quality machines," Mathew said. "That's why we've been using Cognex products for a long time; they develop deep learning and edge learning tools that increase output with minimum effort."
Accomplishing complex tasks with minimal effort is essential in the medical device industry, where demand keeps growing and manufacturing lines run 24/7. With end-users running high-speed lines constantly, it's crucial to reduce human intervention in the inspection process, said Radhakrishnan R, another technical director at Pentagon.
"We have to handle medical devices in such a manner where the product is hygienic and not disturbed throughout the assembly line," Radhakrishnan R added.
Positioning for greater throughput with Cognex machine vision
In 2010, a customer hired Pentagon to make a needle inspection line. To minimize patient pain, needles must have consistently sharp, beveled edges and be mounted at precisely 90 degrees. Customers needed high-speed, accurate inspection to ensure their needles met the standard.
For months, the company tried to meet the demand from medical device companies while adhering to high manufacturing and safety standards. Vision engineers used different machine vision solutions with various options and operating parameters.
That first deployment of a Cognex solution in 2010 was the foundation of a long-term partnership.
In modern needle inspection lines, Pentagon uses the Cognex In-Sight 3800 vision system to increase throughput. Previously, the inspection machine had to rotate each needle three or four times to capture all images from all sides, reducing throughput. Since the In-Sight 3800 captures the entire needle in a single image trigger, Pentagon can inspect more needles in less time.
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Elsewhere in the inspection process, Pentagon's solution positioned critical needle components like clamps and clips using Cognex edge learning, an AI technology.
"Cognex edge learning is a technology where we have an added advantage from a programming point of view," Mathew said. "We used to have many different configurations of different tools, but edge learning is easily programmable, and customers can make small changes as needed."
Pentagon’s history of implementing new technologies is one of the reasons the company continues to partner with Cognex. With ample support from Cognex in India, Pentagon has immediate access to the newest solutions and technologies.
“Whatever Cognex is developing, we’re using it,” Radhakrishnan R said. “Whatever the latest series they’re developing in the U.S., we are using in India.” Pentagon inspection lines have up to 18 vision systems, depending on the machine size and processes required. The company installed the Cognex In-Sight SnAPP vision sensor, to measure the ends of needles, ensuring they are uniform and defect-free throughout device assembly.
Using a single SnAPP vision sensor to measure multiple needles simultaneously helps Pentagon create cost-effective solutions for its end-users.
"This SnAPP camera is a handy tool for us because it's replacing four sensors," Mathew said. "It's a high-speed solution, and we get clear outputs if something is defective."
Mathew said close partnerships between companies and suppliers are essential to success. In-house training and support from Cognex helped Pentagon produce robust, fast inspection lines that stand the test of time – the inspection line from 2010 is still up and running.
"We consider Cognex partners; we call on them for troubleshooting and the latest solutions; if something goes wrong, the Cognex team is there," Mathew said. "We've enjoyed this relationship for years; it enhances our machine quality and rate of production."