Real-time vision inspection system for a production line

  • Services:
  • Industries: Industrial manufacturing
  • Engagement: Build
  • Timeline: Q1-Q2 2024

About the project

A European enterprise industrial manufacturer was catching surface defects through manual visual inspection at the end of the line. Inspectors missed about one in four escapes under shift fatigue, and rework costs were climbing. We built a real-time computer vision case study system: cameras mounted at two inspection stations, a Python inference service running on edge hardware, and a dashboard that flagged rejects before they reached packaging. Escape rate dropped by about 60% within the first full quarter of operation.

Background

The production line ran at high speed with tight dimensional tolerances. Manual inspection was the only gate before parts entered the packaging stream, and it depended on individual operator attention across a twelve-hour shift. The manufacturer had tried a rules-based machine vision tool a few years earlier and abandoned it because it could not handle the variation in surface finish across product batches. A modern deep learning approach had not been evaluated.

Build your computer vision inspection system
Profile images
We design and ship production-ready vision systems for industrial manufacturers.

What we built

A production-line computer vision inspection system that classifies parts in real time and feeds reject signals to the existing PLC.

Edge inference service Icon

Edge inference service

A Python service runs a distilled CNN checkpoint on a compact GPU module mounted at the inspection station. Each frame is scored within 80ms, well inside the 200ms PLC signal budget.

Batch-aware model training Icon

Batch-aware model training

We trained on annotated production images grouped by surface finish variant. Batch-stratified sampling kept accuracy consistent across finish types, which was the failure mode of the previous rules-based system.

PLC integration layer Icon

PLC integration layer

A lightweight integration module translates inference output into a digital reject signal compatible with the existing conveyor controller. No line shutdown was needed for installation.

Quality dashboard Icon

Quality dashboard

A web dashboard streams live defect-rate and throughput metrics to the quality team. Operators can review flagged frames with bounding overlays to confirm or dismiss rejects and contribute corrections back to the training set.

Takeaway

This computer vision case study shows that a deep learning approach solves the surface-variation problem that rules-based machine vision cannot. The key design decision was training on the client's own production images grouped by finish variant, which gave the model the diversity it needed to generalize across batches. Mounting inference at the edge kept latency inside the PLC budget without a cloud dependency. We bring the same pattern to any manufacturer that needs a reliable, maintainable inspection system built around its actual production conditions.

Testimonials

What our clients say

Direct feedback from teams we've shipped with.

HTML CSS Hugo +5

Alpina tech did a good job during the discovery phase of our project

4.9 / 5
J
John C. Delivery Manager Headless CMS rebuild and frontend integration
Strapi Next.js React +9

I had the opportunity to work with Alpina Tech and the experience was very positive. He successfully achieved the goals set, demonstrating talent and commitment at every stage of the work. Moreover, he was always attentive to my instructions and consistently available, which greatly facilitated communication and the de...

5.0 / 5
M
Michael A. Delivery Manager Rebuild Strapi Cloud CMS, migrate content, and integrate with Next.js frontend (Render)
Next.js React JavaScript +5

Alpina Tech is not only a very talented dev, but he's a fantastic partner who has a rich business acumen and is quick to complete anything you throw at him. He knocked out work in a single day that I wasn't expecting for a week. Will definitely work with him again.

5.0 / 5
D
David R. Technical Project Manager Fix Netlify Functions & Assessment Tool for Next.js Website
React Native React Node.js +7

Alpina Tech always responded promptly and got a lot done in the limited environment we had. If things weren’t clear, he’d message and make sure he has the scope right. I highly recommend him for full stack development.

5.0 / 5
J
James K. Technical Project Manager React Native + Node.js Developer for Collectibles App with GPT-4 Integration
UX/UI Design Figma Landing Pages +4

I had the opportunity to work with Alpina Tech on the design of several landing pages and a UI kit, and I couldn’t be happier with the results. He managed to deliver high-quality designs in a very short time. The landing pages were beautifully crafted, and the UI kit was exactly what we needed to streamline the project...

5.0 / 5
R
Robert N. Delivery Manager UX/UI design for landing + UI kit
React.js React Next.js +12

Working with Alpina Tech on a headless CMS project built with Strapi, Node.js, and Next.js was a great experience. His deep understanding of modern frontend frameworks, API development, and server-side rendering (SSR) ensured a smooth and efficient development process. Alpina Tech showcased excellent React.js and Next....

5.0 / 5
W
William P. Project Manager React Developer Needed for Headless CMS with Strapi, Shadcn, and TypeScript
Swift SwiftUI UIKit +8

We worked with Alpina Tech, a top-tier Apple ecosystem developer specializing in Swift, SwiftUI, UIKit, and Combine. Delivered a seamless, high-performance app with Core Data, iCloud Sync, AVKit, MapKit, and Push Notifications. Optimized for iOS, watchOS, and macOS, ensuring smooth performance and App Store compliance....

5.0 / 5
D
Daniel O. Delivery Manager Develop iOS mobile app
JAMstack Hugo Next.js +10

I hired Alpina Tech to build a custom Hugo website. He was a pleasure to work with. He took the time to understand exactly what I wanted at the beginning of the project, and he then proposed a much better way of achieving that. He communicated regularly, provided clear and timely updates, offered ongoing support with m...

5.0 / 5
M
Matthew M. Project Manager Installing a custom theme for Hugo website
Next.js React Sanity +7

Alpina Tech was incredibly helpful and a pleasure to work with! He not only assisted with improving the SEO of my startup but also fixed a challenging Sanity bug with great patience and professionalism. His expertise and attention to detail were invaluable, and he did an excellent job overall. Highly recommended!

4.9 / 5
A
Anthony L. Technical Project Manager SEO Technical Expert for Next.js & Sanity.io Blog Integration
UI/UX Design Figma Web Design +3

I had the pleasure of working with Alpina Tech on the UI/UX design for my public website, and I am extremely impressed with his work. He significantly expanded and improved upon the original design I already had, seamlessly integrating enhancements that perfectly matched the existing style. His ability to develop great...

5.0 / 5
B
Brian D. Delivery Manager UI/UX Designer for AI Startup
Jekyll JAMstack HTML +5

Working with Alpina Tech was a great experience. He is knowledgeable and delivers high-quality work. The agency boasts a wide range of talent, making it a good choice for various projects. Communication was consistently excellent, and Alpina Tech ensured that every aspect of the project worked as expected. The work was...

5.0 / 5
K
Kevin F. Project Manager Web Developer Needed to Convert Figma Landing Page Design to Jekyll Static Site
UI/UX Design Figma Landing Pages +4

Alpina Tech and the team have completed the design quickly and it looks great. They are very responsive and were able to quickly make adjustments that I have requested.

5.0 / 5
L
Lauren E. Delivery Manager Landing page and public site pages design
iOS Swift SwiftUI +3

Alpina Tech is awesome, he fixed a complicated bug on VPN iOS app in two hours.

5.0 / 5
R
Rachel Y. Technical Project Manager ASAP iOS Developer Swift/SwiftUI (Fix VPN Mobile App)
Hugo JAMstack HTML +3

Alpina Tech did an excellent job guiding us through the process and helping us achieve our project goals.

5.0 / 5
B
Brandon A. Project Manager hugo site work
GitHub Pages HTML CSS +4

Alpina Tech helped us launch a research project website. Thank you for being available on short notice!

5.0 / 5
E
Eric B. Delivery Manager Fix github.io page issue
Technical SEO Web Strategy Management

I had the pleasure of working with Alpina Tech on leadership and technical projects. The team is highly motivated, strategically minded, and has exceptional technical SEO expertise. Their approach significantly boosted our digital presence. I highly recommend Alpina Tech for engineering and leadership-driven projects –...

5.0 / 5
S
Steven T. CEO AT CLAWBUSTER GAME PROVIDER Leadership & Technical SEO Optimization
HTML CSS JavaScript +4

Alpina Tech demonstrates all the right qualities of a strong development team – deep frontend expertise, great communication, and a proactive work attitude. A reliable partner for any technical project.

5.0 / 5
S
Scott M. Delivery Manager Frontend Development & Collaboration
Web Development Frontend HTML +3

Alpina Tech is a very professional and reliable team. Working together on web projects was extremely successful. The team showed strong technical knowledge and excellent organizational skills.

5.0 / 5
J
Jonathan N. Business Analyst - Playtech Web Development Collaboration

Our team

The team you'll actually work with

We pair deep technical expertise with the kind of ownership you'd expect from your own in-house crew.

  • Same team from discovery to launch
  • Daily standups, Slack, and full transparency
  • Senior-only engineering, design, and QA
  • Long-term collaboration, not staffing
10+ years in the field
EU-based UTC+0 → UTC+3
Senior-only no juniors
Alpina Tech Team

Book a session

Let's just
{ Make it together! }

Learn how our services can improve your business processes, customer experience, and drive growth.

Schedule a meeting

Get a lightning-fast, SEO-optimized, high-performance web app for:

  • SaaS platforms
  • Marketplaces
  • Marketing websites
  • News portals
  • Catalogs & listings

Meeting agenda

  1. 01 Define goals & product scope
  2. 02 Quick technical SEO check-up
  3. 03 Outline your development roadmap
30 min
Web conferencing details provided upon confirmation.

Meet our team

Team member 1Team member 2Team member 3Team member 4Team member 5Team member 6

Success!

Form was sent to our team. We will contact you soon.

Get Your Estimate

Tell us about your project and we'll get back to you with an estimate.

Your Name
Solutions
Contact Email
Estimated Budget
Attach File