In-Line Quality Inspection for Short Shots & Flash
Short shot and flash detection is an in-line quality inspection application that identifies incompletely filled cavities and excess material at parting lines on injection moulded plastic parts, using the same imaging approach TARKO applies to plastic molding inspection.
The problem
A short shot happens when molten plastic does not completely fill the mould cavity, leaving a part with a missing section. Flash happens when excess material escapes at the parting line or an ejector pin, leaving a thin edge of plastic that should not be there. Both are common moulding defects and both can be subtle enough to slip past a visual check done at speed.
How it works
TARKO's software analyzes images of the moulded part, checking the fill boundary and parting line regions against a known-good reference part to identify incomplete fills or excess flash. The detection method itself is proprietary and not published.
The system is built to run inference locally, without depending on a cloud connection.
What This In-Line Quality Inspection Catches
- Short shots, where a cavity has not fully filled
- Flash at parting lines and ejector pin locations
- Partial fills on multi-cavity tooling
This is a more specific defect check than TARKO's general plastic molding shape and dimensional inspection. Short shot and flash detection uses the same approach applied to these two specific defect classes.
Can this run alongside general shape inspection on the same line?
Yes. Both checks can run from the same camera station on the same part as it exits the mould.
Does this work on multi-cavity tooling?
Yes, provided each cavity position is covered by the camera setup and the system has reference parts from each cavity.
Seeing short shots or flash on your line?
Get a free feasibility audit. TARKO reviews your part and defect types before proposing a scope.