Visual quality firewall

Catch the defect before the leak test does

Sensor-backed quality control and traceability for cooling-equipment lines, before leak, pressure, and end-of-line testing.

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ARGUS inspection station

Pre-leak test

Fin-pack deformation

Hold

Braze-region surface

Review

Fitting orientation

Pass

Image record tied to serial, SKU, station, and downstream result

Leak testQueued

Representative station view. Example data.

The operating reality ARGUS is built for

598kU.S. quality-control inspectors employed in 2024.BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook

63%Share of quality-control inspectors working in manufacturing.BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook

148.5kU.S. payroll jobs in HVAC and commercial refrigeration equipment manufacturing, Apr. 2026.BLS CES

69,900Projected U.S. quality-control inspector openings per year, 2024-2034, mostly replacement.BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook

Defects are most expensive when they are found downstream

Makers already invest in leak, pressure, and functional testing. But many visible defects start earlier, at insertion, brazing, manifold joining, and assembly. Found downstream, they cost retest, diagnosis, rework, and delayed shipments.

Plant-floor reality

The defect was visible at the braze station

When a coil fails leak test, the cause is often a workmanship issue that was visible an hour earlier, several stations upstream.

Inspection bottleneck

Rework starts with a diagnosis problem

A failed unit reaches rework with no image of how it was built. Teams reconstruct what happened from memory and guesswork.

Traceability gap

Pass / fail without a record

Final test gives a verdict, not a history. When a defect mode trends, there is rarely an image trail back to station, shift, or SKU.

Plant-floor reality

The defect was visible at the braze station

When a coil fails leak test, the cause is often a workmanship issue that was visible an hour earlier, several stations upstream.

Inspection bottleneck

Rework starts with a diagnosis problem

A failed unit reaches rework with no image of how it was built. Teams reconstruct what happened from memory and guesswork.

Traceability gap

Pass / fail without a record

Final test gives a verdict, not a history. When a defect mode trends, there is rarely an image trail back to station, shift, or SKU.

Station checksS4 · Pre-leak test

Capture

2 camera views

Lighting

Dome + bar

Signals

Serial + presence

Braze-region surface review
ROI-1Review
Fitting seated and oriented
ROI-2Pass
Fin-pack deformation
ROI-3Hold
Port cap and plug presence
ROI-4Pass
Label and SKU match
ROI-5Pass

5 checks activeImage record enabled

Product

A visual quality firewall for critical stations

ARGUS configures station-specific checks for visible process defects, then records the image evidence by serial, SKU, station, and downstream test result.

Fixed capture at the station: Cameras, lighting, and sensors capture repeatable views of the unit at the point where visible defects are created.
Every check is an image-backed record: Each inspection is tied to serial number, station, operator, SKU, timestamp, and the downstream test result.
Complements the testing you already trust: ARGUS sits before leak, pressure, and EOL testing. It does not replace hard tests or experienced inspectors.

Built first for coil and heat-exchanger lines

Current focus: HVAC and refrigeration coil lines, from fin press and tube insertion through brazing, manifold joining, leak and pressure test, rework, and final QC.

ARGUS inspection station Existing line station

Fin press

Pass-through

Tube insertion

Inspected

Tube expansion

Inspected

Brazing

Inspected

Header / manifold

Inspected

Leak / pressure test

Pass-through

Rework

Inspected

Final QC

Verdict

One pass through the cell. A record that follows the unit

Each unit passes through the cell once. ARGUS reads its identity, captures the build, runs the checks, and ties the result to what happens downstream.

Scan

Read serial, station, SKU, and operator as the unit enters the cell.

Capture

Cameras, lighting, and sensors record the build state at the station.

Inspect

Station checks review the configured visible defect families for that cell.

Flag

Surface a pass, a hold, or a defect region for the operator in line time.

Record

Write an image-backed record tied to serial, station, SKU, and timestamp.

Correlate

Link the record to the downstream leak, pressure, and EOL test result.

Scan

Read serial, station, SKU, and operator as the unit enters the cell.

Capture

Cameras, lighting, and sensors record the build state at the station.

Inspect

Station checks review the configured visible defect families for that cell.

Flag

Surface a pass, a hold, or a defect region for the operator in line time.

Record

Write an image-backed record tied to serial, station, SKU, and timestamp.

Correlate

Link the record to the downstream leak, pressure, and EOL test result.

The defect families ARGUS is configured to catch

Visible process and assembly defects that are cheap to fix at the station and expensive to find at final test.

Damaged or bent fins

Fin-pack deformation and crush before tube insertion.

Tube misalignment

Hairpin and return-bend position drift across the pack.

Missing fittings

Absent or mis-seated fittings ahead of joining.

Brazing workmanship

Visible joint coverage and fillet anomalies at the braze cell.

Wrong or unreadable labels

SKU and barcode mismatches before they leave the cell.

Missing caps, plugs, brackets

Open ports and absent hardware before pressurization.

Manifold orientation

Header and manifold rotation against the build spec.

Rework confirmation

Image-verify that a returned unit was actually corrected.

Traceability

Not just pass / fail. A record of what happened

Inspection images become a searchable quality record for rework, audits, and root-cause analysis, showing which stations, SKUs, shifts, or defect modes drive late-stage failures.

serial, SKU, station...

StationShift ALast 24h

CX-48817-A

S4 Braze · HX-3R-024 · 09:41:12

Hold

CX-48816-A

S4 Braze · HX-3R-024 · 09:40:48

Pass

CX-48815-B

S5 Manifold · HX-3R-024 · 09:40:05

Pass

CX-48814-A

S2 Insert · HX-2R-018 · 09:39:31

Fail

CX-48813-A

S4 Braze · HX-2R-018 · 09:38:57

Pass

CX-48812-C

S7 Rework · HX-3R-024 · 09:38:20

Pass

Serial	Station	Operator	Time	Result
CX-48817-A	S4 Braze	A. Reyes	09:41:12	Hold
CX-48816-A	S4 Braze	A. Reyes	09:40:48	Pass
CX-48815-B	S5 Manifold	D. Okafor	09:40:05	Pass
CX-48814-A	S2 Insert	M. Boucher	09:39:31	Fail
CX-48813-A	S4 Braze	A. Reyes	09:38:57	Pass
CX-48812-C	S7 Rework	L. Tran	09:38:20	Pass

Defect modes28 days

Braze fillet12
Fin deformation7
Missing cap4
Label mismatch3
Tube offset2

Example record. Illustrative data.

Correlate byStationSKUFixtureShiftDefect modeDownstream result

Scope one measurable station evaluation

ARGUS starts with a focused station, a visible defect family, and a baseline tied to rework, first-pass yield, or image traceability.

Request an evaluation

01One station
02One visible defect family
03One measurable baseline