Sunell streamlined its manufacturing processes with production software system Shop Floor Information System (SFIS), which increased product stability last year. The company plans to install another production software — Modulation Transfer Function - to ensure product quality. A&S China Best Buys takes a look at its benefits.
During lean recession times, some manufacturers may cut back on R&D budgets and manufacture less equipment to make more profit. Cash-strapped buyers will be more selective about product procurement, with an emphasis on quality. Therefore, finding the right partner has become even more challenging.
Sunell, a surveillance product manufacturer in Shenzhen, China, invests greatly on cutting-edge innovation as well as manufacturing to ensure product quality and stability. At an annual event in January, Sunell President Steven Liu discussed company performance for 2009.
Providing stable quality products kept the company afloat despite economic turmoil last year, Liu said. To face continuing challenges in 2010, the company will maintain its high standards for product quality and provide better service to partners worldwide.
In order to enhance product stability and reduce human error, automated equipment and proper management play important roles. Delivering quality products requires all stages of production to coordinate seamlessly, as a lack of streamlining could damage equipment and hinder relevant operations.
Modulation Transfer Function
Sunell has automated equipment for all its production, such as surface-mount
Since 2009, the company has not reduced its budget for manufacturing equipment, along with other procedures or software needed to enhance efficiency. Sunell has installed the Shop Floor Information System (SFIS) to deal with its increasing volume. The system ensures its manufacturing capability can keep up with market demand for diverse products.
"We have installed a new software — modulation transfer function," said Gary Du, Director of Manufacturing Center at Sunell. "This software is unprecedented in China. I would say Sunell is the first Chinese manufacturer to use this software to examine image resolution."
"Most video surveillance manufacturers in China still test resolution by human eyesight," Du said. With a basic resolution chart and tester experience, products are not verified 100 percent to claimed specifications.
Therefore, Du brings benchmarks into product testing procedure. With a capture card from an US-based company and its in-house design software, the software analyzes camera images. Data is turned into figures and processes by the software, which specifically checks eight areas - resolution, color distortion, relative illumination value, optical center, color uniformity, defective pixels, particles as well as stains.
Du said the testing takes about the same length of time as a manually conducted procedures. The MTF software allows image testing to be conducted more scientifically and ensures a consistent standard for image quality. Starting this month, the new software will be in place to test fixed domes.
Sunell will install 10 copies of the modulation transfer function software, gradually including more products such as zoom cameras and network cameras this year.