Automation gains
The study suggests that the demand for increased quality and quality control on the production floor, along with high throughput, has led companies to use the automated vision inspection technology, which can eliminate manual inspection and reduce the margin of error. It notes that customers will require systems that can inspect multiple parts and handle product changeovers without major reprogramming.
Among the products analyzed, 1- and 2-D metrology systems represented 22 percent of the total revenues in 2004. The report predicts that these shares will fall as 3-D systems replace the 2-D types. The revenue share of 3-D systems is projected to represent 19.13 percent of the total market by 2011, reflecting their increased popularity, particularly in the automotive and aerospace sectors. The rising demand for nonweb flaw systems and web-based inspection systems also is expected to erode the market share of the 2-D systems.