ABB Robots and AI Quality Inspection on the Line

From 1942 hand gauging to AI inspection that learns from a few good parts, and how ABB's 3DQI robot cell scans parts against CAD for tiny deviations.

INDUSTRIAL ROBOTICS

Chat With Robot

9/26/20261 min read

In July 1942, Ann Rosener photographed a former librarian who now inspected aircraft parts, checking each one under a gauge before it went on to assembly. It was careful, repetitive work, and keeping full attention through a long shift is hard for anyone.

Black and white photo of a woman checking small metal parts with a gauge at a bench
Black and white photo of a woman checking small metal parts with a gauge at a bench

A former librarian inspects aircraft parts, July 1942. Photo: Ann Rosener / Library of Congress (public domain)

Machine vision took over the simple checks. Electronics lines now use automated optical inspection machines that compare every circuit board against a reference. Training has always been the catch, because a classic system needs examples of each defect, and rare flaws are the hardest ones to collect.

Worker in a blue coat and cap at white electronics production machines
Worker in a blue coat and cap at white electronics production machines

A worker at an electronics assembly line. Photo: Bananovaya / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Newer AI inspection starts from the other end. In September, Ubergizmo described A.I.MATICS's AIM-T1, which learns what a correct part looks like from three to five good samples and flags anything that differs. The same month, Manufacturing Digital reported that P&G cut scrap by up to 20% with AI inspection.

Inspection machine with a monitor showing a circuit board image
Inspection machine with a monitor showing a circuit board image

An automated optical inspection machine for circuit boards at an electronics trade show, 2025. Photo: Gpkp / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

ABB has a robot-based version of this idea for larger parts. Its 3D Quality Inspection cell, 3DQI, mounts a 3D scanner on an ABB robot and compares each scan with the part's CAD model, catching deviations smaller than half the width of a human hair.

White ABB robot holding a 3D scanner over a metal part in a cell
White ABB robot holding a 3D scanner over a metal part in a cell

ABB's 3D Quality Inspection (3DQI) cell scanning a metal part. Photo: ABB

With the scanner on a robot, it can move around a whole car body or casting instead of checking one fixed view. ABB piloted the technology with the automotive supplier Benteler, and ABB robots of the same family already weld and handle parts in car body shops.

Close-up of a white robot-mounted scanner head with lenses and projector
Close-up of a white robot-mounted scanner head with lenses and projector

The 3D scanner head mounted on an ABB robot in the 3DQI cell. Photo: ABB

I expect inspection to move out of a separate station and into the line itself, with AI that learns from good parts and robots that carry the camera to wherever defects hide. People would then spend their time deciding what counts as a defect, which is the part that needs judgment.

Several ABB robots around car body frames on a production line
Several ABB robots around car body frames on a production line

ABB robots working on car bodies in a body shop. Photo: ABB

Innovation

AI solutions for effortless ABB robot control.

Automation

Robotics

ceojohntran@chatwithrobot.net

+84905311611

© 2025. All rights reserved.

qtran1215@gmail.com

Instagram