With the rapid development of manufacturing technologies and products, the production cycle of 3C electronic products is constantly shortening, user experience and requirements are becoming increasingly demanding, and labor costs in the manufacturing process are also rising. To effectively control product quality and improve production efficiency, functional performance testing before electronic products are shipped is an essential step. However, currently, factory testing relies on manual labor, which is labor-intensive, inefficient, and suffers from vague judgment standards and a high rate of misjudgment. To address these issues, this paper introduces an unmanned intelligent production and testing line for 3C products based on machine vision and industrial robot application technologies.
Project Overview
Compared to traditional manual testing, this equipment reduces misjudgments and omissions that are prone to occur during manual testing, and also significantly saves labor costs and time. We use industrial-grade precision components to replace manual labor and employ digitalization to standardize the testing of each product, achieving international advanced levels. Furthermore, the level of 3C electronic product testing technology in China is relatively low, generally focusing on single-function testing and lacking systematic and integrated testing technologies. The unmanned intelligent testing production line for 3C products features system integration, meeting the requirements of intelligent terminal equipment manufacturers for high efficiency, accurate testing rates, and low labor costs. It greatly improves the overall level of high-precision instruments and meters in my country, enabling my country to have a greater advantage and stronger voice in the electronic product manufacturing field. This significantly enhances my country's productivity and scientific and technological level. The project's products and technologies align with the effective needs of social and technological development, as outlined in the "12th Five-Year Plan for the Development of High-End Equipment Manufacturing" and the "Shenzhen Robotics, Wearable Devices and Intelligent Equipment Industry Development Plan (2014-2020)".
The unmanned intelligent testing production line for 3C products can be equipped with testing instruments such as MMI, LCD, CAMERA, SENSOR, AUDIO, and coupling devices to achieve fully automated unmanned testing of mobile terminal (phones, tablets) products. By combining machine vision with industrial robots, it achieves the transfer and sorting of products under test; through a self-developed central management system and modular design concept, it achieves flexible configuration of the entire production line operation, intelligent audible and visual alarms, and other functions; the loading and unloading module can be connected to AGV carts; and the system software can be integrated with the MES system. The mobile phone whole-device testing equipment, combined with automatic material handling equipment, automatic film applicators, automatic screw machines, AGV automatic loading and handling, and automatic warehousing, utilizes intelligent main control software to achieve unmanned, automated, and intelligent testing of mobile phone whole devices.
The unmanned mobile phone testing system uses a computer as the central control system, connects to external modules in a star topology, and communicates using industrial-standard communication modes. This forms a centralized management and distributed control system, enabling unmanned testing. It overcomes the pain points of traditional manual testing, which involved high personnel costs, high labor management costs, and difficulty in controlling product quality.
Our company's R&D equipment for 3C products' unmanned intelligent testing production line can quickly adapt to product production switching, detect product performance and characteristic indicators with high precision and accuracy, and easily cooperate with robots to achieve fully automated production.
This equipment will undoubtedly accelerate the intelligent upgrading of Shenzhen's traditional industries, support the intelligent improvement of manufacturing processes and techniques, and enable enterprises to automate and intelligently manage key production stages, significantly improving production efficiency. It will also help promote the deep integration and application of information and digital technologies in the electronics and information industry, fostering the development of automated factories.
Major problems the project is expected to solve
1. By integrating with AGVs and using self-developed line management software, we provide customers with a one-stop testing solution for mobile phones during the shipment inspection stage, with all operations completed by industrial robots.
2. Through machine vision guidance, industrial robots can accurately grasp materials and effectively identify product markings.
3. Achieve dynamic adaptation of each unit within the automated testing line, material sorting, and create a flexible management system.
4. It can interface with the customer's MES system to report equipment dynamic information in real time.
5. Implement an intelligent sound and light alarm system, intelligent monitoring of equipment operation information, and intelligent handling of system anomalies.
The impact and driving effect of project implementation on the industry
Currently, most mobile phone overall functional testing involves semi-automatic, independent equipment testing a single function. These semi-automatic, independent testing devices include LCD testers, sensor testers, audio testers, camera testers, and coupling testers. The disadvantages of these semi-automatic, independent testing devices are that they can only test one function, the testing time is long, the degree of automation is low, and labor costs are high. To address the aforementioned issues, this product can flexibly integrate various semi-automatic independent testing equipment to achieve rapid, fully automated, unmanned mixed testing of the entire mobile phone during the overall testing process (including LCD testing, serrator testing, audio testing, camera testing, coupling testing, etc.). This product can increase production capacity, achieve fully automated and unmanned operation, namely fully automated material handling (including material carriers, automatic connection with AGV automated feeding carts, fully automated loading and unloading, fully automated material transfer between different testing stations, fully automated material positioning, fully automated robot material grabbing and placement at the testing station of the testing unit, and fully automated sorting of good and defective products). It can meet the testing requirements of multiple mobile phones or tablet computers for various functions, and can quickly add a station according to production capacity and testing time to meet the needs. Each station needs to be modularly designed for easy maintenance and quick addition or removal of stations.
Social benefits: 1. Breaking foreign technological monopolies, creating local brands, and enhancing the international competitiveness of enterprises.
Our company's self-developed unmanned intelligent testing production line for 3C products will rely on powerful testing functions and simple operation to break into the market with unstoppable momentum. Without disrupting the market economy, we will gain a share of the market with lower prices, squeeze out foreign monopolies in the technology industry, create a local brand, enhance the company's international competitiveness, and build a "laboratory" for the Shenzhen mobile phone testing software industry.
2. Promote the healthy development of the domestic market, stimulate technological innovation among peers, and drive the progress of the intelligent equipment industry.
To promote the healthy development of the industry market, given the large market share of mobile phones in China, the research and development of this project will stimulate technological innovation among peer manufacturers, thereby driving the development and progress of my country's intelligent equipment industry.
3. It helps increase employment opportunities and promotes employment in upstream and downstream industries.
This project can create corresponding employment opportunities. Based on the product market demand over the past two years, its implementation can create 20 new jobs for our company. Since our products sell well nationwide, this project can create 7-8 times more jobs in upstream and downstream industries and related sectors.
4. This project addresses the industry's rising labor costs and labor shortages, significantly improving the industry's production technology level. It tackles the biggest problem hindering the mobile phone intelligent equipment manufacturing industry by resolving the most crucial and labor-intensive workstations in mobile phone production, thus alleviating a major labor cost challenge for various manufacturers. While foreign companies possess certain technological advantages in this field, high operating costs and selling prices remain insurmountable barriers. Therefore, the market demand for unmanned intelligent testing production lines for 3C products will continue to grow, and the production technology level of the mobile phone manufacturing industry will be significantly improved.
Project technical approach and innovations
1. Flexible layout and planning of each test item, i.e., each test unit (i.e., the ability to quickly add a workstation to meet the demand based on production capacity and testing time; each workstation should be modularly designed, easy to maintain, and able to be quickly added or removed) technology.
2. Fully automated material handling (including material carriers, automatic connection with AGV automated feeding carts, fully automated loading and unloading, fully automated material transfer between different testing stations, fully automated material positioning, and fully automated robot material grabbing and placement at the testing station of the testing unit), and fully automated product sorting technology (mainly including sorting of good and bad products).
3. Compatible with multiple products, allowing for quick switching of device parameters and technologies based on product model;
4. System startup intelligent hardware environment check technology;
5. Intelligent sound and light alarm system technology;
6. Hourly production capacity statistics technology;
7. Intelligent monitoring technology for equipment operation information;
8. Intelligent system anomaly handling technology;
9. System operation history data storage technology.
Advantages
1. Reduce manpower: Currently, there are approximately 4,000 production lines in China, each requiring 10 people to test the overall functionality of smart terminals. The test results lack stability and accuracy. Our equipment can use robotic arms to automatically load and unload materials without human intervention, which can greatly reduce the number of employees. In today's increasingly labor-intensive environment, vigorously developing the automation industry is undoubtedly a necessary path.
2. Improved Quality: The fully automated testing line eliminates the need for manual intervention during the testing process. The machines automatically perform detection, judgment, and analysis, and all analysis results are displayed on the screen, including PASS and FAIL, as well as the testing progress, the number of testing machines, and the reasons for test failures. The entire process requires no human intervention, achieving automated production, which ensures product consistency and the output of high-quality products.
3. Compared with traditional manual inspection, it can reduce the misjudgment and missed detection that are easy to occur in the manual testing process, and also greatly save labor costs and time costs. We use industrial-grade precision instruments to replace manual labor, so that the inspection of each product is standardized and reaches the international advanced level.
4. Flexible Measurement and Control Design: Allows for rapid switching between production models to meet diverse, customized, and small-batch production needs. Test stations can also be customized to meet specific production requirements of testing clients.
Technical features
1. Introduction to System Principles
The unmanned testing line uses an industrial computer as its command center, connects to external modules in a star topology, and communicates using industrial-standard communication modes. This forms a centralized management and distributed control system, enabling unmanned operation of processes such as functional testing, RF testing, and calibration testing for electronic and communication products. It addresses the pain points of traditional manual testing, which resulted in high personnel costs, high labor management costs, and difficulty in controlling product quality.
The four key technologies are as follows:
Independently developed functional testing technology
Industrial robot application technology
Independently developed flexible production line management technology
Independently developed visual guidance technology
2. Hardware interface, see the figure below.
3. Software modules, see the diagram below.
4. Visual guidance tools, see the image below.
Application areas
The unmanned intelligent testing production line can be equipped with testing equipment such as MMI, LCD, CAMERA, SENSOR, AUDIO, and coupling devices to achieve fully automated unmanned testing of mobile terminal products. In addition to the mobile phone field, the system can also be used in the Internet of Things, smart speaker, battery and new energy, smart home, and automotive module fields.
Currently, the level of 3C electronic product testing technology in China is relatively low, generally focusing on single-function testing and lacking system-integrated testing technologies. Unmanned intelligent production and testing lines for 3C products feature system integration, meeting the requirements of intelligent terminal equipment manufacturers for high efficiency, accurate testing rates, and low labor costs. They can also support the intelligent upgrading of traditional manufacturing processes and technologies, enabling enterprises to automate and intelligently manage key production stages, significantly improving production efficiency. This will help promote the deep integration and application of information and digital technologies in the electronics industry, foster the development and expansion of automated factories, and give my country a greater advantage and stronger voice in the electronics manufacturing sector, greatly enhancing my country's productivity and scientific and technological level.
