When buying a production-line vision system, define three measurements separately. Vision decision time can run from image submission to the software decision. Station response time can run from the workpiece trigger to arrival of its result at the controller. Machine cycle time can be measured between consecutive workpiece completions during steady operation.
Agree on test conditions and statistics
Record the workpieces, image settings, concurrent tasks, equipment and software versions. Label samples from normal operation, startup or fault recovery. Agree on sample counts, percentiles, timeout counts and the samples included in each statistic. Keep records of timeouts and missing results.
Check machine cycle time using line records
Parallel stations can overlap in time. Waiting and communication retries can extend the cycle. Use one identifier per workpiece to link the trigger, decision, station feedback and machine completion. Check cycle time and throughput under the agreed conditions.
Report the observation period, completed count and stoppages for throughput. State whether the period includes stoppages. Label material changes, changeovers and workpieces sent back for reprocessing so the reporting scope can be checked.
Related service: Vision algorithms and model engineering.