Rise in Automotive Industry to Drive the Market for Surface Inspection

surface inspection market

The surface inspection market is anticipated to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.55% over the forecast period, rising from US$3.792 billion in 2020 to US$5.911 billion in 2027.

Surface inspection is a non-destructive method to discover potential flaws, abnormalities, or defects. To ensure a product or commodity has a long service life, a surface inspection is performed. Surface flaws are found and fixed using directional illumination, smart cameras, software, and equipment. It is typically applied to the electronics sector to remedy surface flaws as well as the automotive sector to find body or paint flaws. Some of the key factors propelling the market growth for surface inspection include rising demand for electrical and electronic devices, rising wages for manual workers in different nations, efforts by governments and public-private companies, and expanding use of smart cameras, enhanced software, and potent image processors. The main factor driving the market’s expansion is the existence of strict laws governing quality assessment and irregularity detection. Another important factor promoting the market’s expansion globally is the simple availability of cutting-edge assessment and vision technologies like machine vision. Additionally, it is anticipated that the growth of the surface inspection market over the ensuing years will be stimulated by the enhanced execution of assembly lines with improved authority over quality enhancing the degrees of buyer satisfaction.

New Developments in the automotive industry and the growing adoption of Surface Inspection

The demand for the automotive industry is anticipated to rise as a result of the sector’s continued development and the growing popularity of electric vehicles. OICA estimates that global vehicle sales reached more than 82 million units in 2021, an increase of 6% when compared to 2020. In 2021, more than 56 million passenger cars and 26 million commercial vehicles were sold. The surface inspection market is anticipated to grow as a result of the automobile industry’s developments. In the automotive industry, surface inspection is done to identify and fix paint and surface cracks or faults. Defect detection on automobile bodies typically uses an inspection programme flow that includes image capture, fusion (gathering images of automobile bodies), image processing, and classification (identification and differentiation of millimeter-sized faults). The goal of surface defect inspection has led to the introduction of numerous vehicle inspection systems and procedures.

For instance, an automatic paint repair solution for metal and plastic body parts was recently announced by ISRA. Utilizing the cutting-edge multi-mode LED technology of ISRA’s new PAINTSCAN small sensor, the fully automated SSP system (Scan, Sand, Polish) created by Accell GmbH, an ISRA partner company, integrates optical inspection, sanding, and polishing processes into a single unit. The ISRA PaintScan surface inspection system constantly checks painted components for all significant paint flaws and classifies them, even when the production line is moving. The device uses a special camera/lighting setup to detect a variety of surface flaws, including dents, scratches, and imperfections. After successful identification, PaintScan classifies all quality-related paint faults using tried-and-true algorithms, prohibiting faulty goods from being used in further processes. Using PaintScan, existing production lines can also be improved.

The system created by Ford Motor Company uses a moving structure made up of several light bars (high-frequency fluorescent tubes) and a set of cameras in fixed positions around the stationary car body can detect millimetric defects of at least 0.3 mm in diameter with various shapes that are extremely difficult to detect, thus improving the quality of manual inspection performed. As a result, increasing surface inspection adoption and surface inspection market opportunities in the automotive industry have a favourable impact on market growth and development.

Increasing Pothole damage is expected to boost the demand for surface inspection techniques

Drivers all across the world are irritated by the growing number of potholes on the roadways. Numerous problems with wheels and tyres can result from pothole damage. The initial collision on a car may cause buckling wheels, body cracks, tyre lumps, shattered alloys, suspension problems, tracking problems, and many other issues. The American Automobile Association estimates that 10% of US drivers experience serious car damage as a result of hitting a pothole. By the year 2021, the average repair cost for these damages had risen to US$600, costing drivers in the US alone US$26.5 billion in repairs.

The announcement of planned innovations in the automotive industry and the growing pothole issue are predicted to lead to a significant increase in the surface inspection market. For instance, Chromasens has unveiled their new 3DPIXA RI stereo line-scan camera to aid in the creation of an automated road inspection solution. When mounted on a typical vehicle, it can capture high-resolution inline photographs of continuous road surfaces as broad as 14.4 feet in one pass because it has a tri-linear CCD line-sensor and a very wide field of view (4400mm). The 3DPIXA Rl is a line-scan stereo camera that records road conditions line-for-line with an optical resolution of 615 m while also taking 2D colour images and 3D height measurements for analysis. Considering how expensive and time-consuming manual road surface inspection is, this technology would be quite helpful.

North America to hold a major share owing to advancing technology and supportive Government policies

Due to the presence of numerous surface vision and inspection providers in region and the ongoing technological improvements in the manufacturing automotive, and electronics industries, North America is anticipated to have the biggest market share. The increasing demand from pharmaceutical and cosmetic companies around the world is mostly the reason for the regional market’s expansion. The region’s governments are enforcing a number of strict norms and regulations relating to product quality, which is driving up demand for surface inspection equipment there. Machine vision technology is about to become a key component of the food and beverage sector, helping players attain production efficiency, quality, and safety. As a result, the demand for surface vision & inspection systems is probably going to increase due to the need for quality and regulatory compliance, which will accelerate the regional market’s growth rate during the ensuing years. Leading market firms are using a variety of methods, like expansion, the introduction of new products, and acquisitions, to stay competitive. For instance, ZEISS plans to expand the nationwide reach of its Industrial Quality & Research sector in the United States in June 2021 by purchasing Capture 3D. With headquarters in Santa Ana, California, Capture 3D is the main US partner for GOM 3D’s non-contact measuring technologies. As a result of this acquisition, customers will gain access to a flawlessly integrated experience to find the finest measuring solutions for their particular needs.

Complex Product Design to restrain the growth of Surface Inspection Market

The intricate product design of the inspection system is the main factor impeding the growth of the global surface inspection market. These systems consist of a camera system, a lighting system, and advanced image processing. Usually, experimentation is used to put up a surface inspection system. Users must experiment with photos of production parts to reflect process variation in addition to assessing various photographs of defective parts in the defect library. A preliminary examination is conducted by inspection professionals based on these observations, and the results often show the necessary setup. Furthermore, it is a difficult task to implement such a sophisticated system in a challenging industrial environment, particularly in metal sectors. Moreover, the lack of skilled personnel to install such systems also impacts the market.  All of these elements are anticipated to restrain the growth of market.