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Success Story
Sentinel Vision Transforms Plastic Injection Molding Inspection with Zebra Technologies and Clearview
Sentinel Vision is a company specializing in advanced machine vision systems for industrial applications. Founded with a focus on leveraging cutting-edge imaging technologies, Sentinel Vision has established itself as a leader in providing innovative inspection solutions tailored to a variety of manufacturing sectors.
Zebra Success Story: Sentinel Vision
Overview: Manufacturing Challenge
Plastic molded parts often present subtle, hard-to-detect defects such as flash, jetting, short shots, delamination, and sink marks. These issues are difficult to catch due to low surface contrast, translucency, and complex geometries. Sentinel needed a way to help manufacturers identify these flaws in real-time, across varied production settings, without sacrificing speed or scalability.
Benefits / Outcomes
- Rapid deployment and intuitive interface have slashed commissioning time
- Enabled 100% inspection coverage during production
- Reduced scrap, rework and downstream defects
- Provided data-driven insights for upstream process optimisation
- Adopted in European facilities with global scalability across industries
Customer
Sentinel Vision
Guimarães, Portugal
Partner
Industry
Manufacturing
Solutions
About Sentinel Vision
Sometimes, innovation doesn’t just improve a process; it redefines what’s possible. That was the case when Sentinel Vision, a leader in advanced machine vision systems, partnered with Clearview and Zebra Technologies to develop the 3D LaserScan system, a powerful new inspection solution for the plastic injection molding sector.
Plastic injection molded components are everywhere, from automotive and consumer electronics to healthcare and industrial manufacturing. While their applications vary, the challenge of maintaining consistent, defect-free output is universal. Meeting this challenge head-on is non-negotiable.
The Challenge
Flash (excess material at mold seams), jetting (wavy surface marks from fast flow), short shots (incomplete part fill), delamination (peeling surface layers) and sink marks (surface dents from shrinkage) are common, and often incredibly difficult to detect during production due to a molding’s low contrast surfaces, translucent material and complex geometries.
Traditional inspection methods, which for a long time relied solely on mechanical sensors and human visual checks, frequently failed to deliver both precision and scalability. Sentinel saw an opportunity to raise the bar. "What we needed was a system that could adapt to any customer’s process while offering detailed inspection of every part," explains Joel Alves, Chief Commercial Officer at Sentinel. "That meant high-resolution 3D imaging, integrated software flexibility and real-time analysis."
This is the kind of story that shows what’s possible when innovative partners collaborate. Sentinel didn’t just build a solution; they set a benchmark.
The Solution
Sentinel turned to Clearview, a Zebra Industrial Automation Partner with deep machine vision expertise, to source the technology. Together, they selected Zebra’s AltiZ 3D profile sensors, a dual-camera, single-laser device that provides better coverage of complex molded parts by minimising scanning gaps often encountered at critical surface junctures because of optical occlusions; a key pain point when inspecting parts with deep cavities or raised edges.
The 3D devices were integrated into Sentinel's proprietary 3D LaserScan solution, a standalone inspection unit that combines precision hardware with advanced software, designed for seamless integration directly onto the plastic injection molding line. "Zebra’s AltiZ was selected because of its modularity, profiling rate and compatibility with our software stack," continues Alves. "The fact that we weren’t forced into a closed software ecosystem was a major advantage."
Each 3D LaserScan unit is engineered for precision and usability. At its core are the dual-camera Zebra AltiZ sensors that deliver volumetric detail with exceptional speed and reliability. These are paired with Sentinel’s VisionCore software, which fuses 2D and 3D image processing techniques to evaluate parts from multiple dimensions in real-time.
This setup is housed in a self-contained industrial system, which users can interact with through robust computing hardware and a touchscreen interface. The operator interface is designed for ease of use, allowing teams to set inspection parameters, review results, and adapt tolerances without programming knowledge.
As a result, the system can perform dimensional inspections, run CAD file comparisons, and detect visual and structural defects within seconds of part ejection. "The 3D LaserScan system can detect issues like flash or short shots that would be almost impossible to identify with traditional 2D cameras," says Andrés Carrillo Serrano, Sales Director at Clearview. "And because it's modular and easy to deploy, manufacturers across industries can integrate it with minimal disruption."
The Zebra Difference: Outcome and Benefits
With the 3D LaserScan system in place, manufacturers have been able to achieve full production inspection coverage without slowing down throughput. Deployment takes under an hour, making it viable for both high-volume and low-volume environments. Return on investment is typically realised in under six months, thanks to dramatic reductions in rework, scrap and warranty claims.
Beyond detection, the system provides actionable data that can be used to fine-tune injection parameters, reducing process variability and improving part consistency. The solution’s adaptability has already made it valuable across a range of sectors, from medical-grade components to heavy-duty enclosures.
As manufacturers face rising quality demands and decreasing tolerance for waste, Sentinel's solution is becoming an essential tool. The company is already deploying the 3D LaserScan system across Europe and preparing for global expansion. "It’s a flexible platform for a broad market," adds Alves. "Whether you're molding medical devices or automotive bumpers, our system delivers the assurance that every part meets spec."
And behind it all, Zebra's hardware and Clearview’s support ecosystem continue to provide the foundation for precision, performance, and scale. "This is the kind of story that shows what’s possible when innovative partners collaborate," says Carrillo Serrano. "Sentinel didn’t just build a solution; they set a benchmark."
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