A method and system are provided for inspecting manufactured parts such as
cartridges and cartridge cases and sorting the inspected parts. The
system includes an illumination assembly for evenly illuminating a
plurality of annular, exterior side surfaces of a part when the part is
located in a circumference vision station with rings of strobed radiation
to generate corresponding reflected radiation signals. A plurality of
imaging detectors in the form of CCD cameras are located at the vision
station to generate a plurality of side images. The system further
includes at least one side image processor for processing the side images
of each part to identify parts having an unacceptable defect. The system
further includes a mechanism for directing parts identified as having an
unacceptable defect to a defective part area and directing parts not
identified as having an unacceptable defect to an acceptable part area.