|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| CSIRO | SOLVE | Issue 13 | Jun 08 | |
|
| |||||||||||
ARTICLE
In the competitive and cost-conscious international healthcare market, Australian companies rely on quality for an ‘edge’Melbourne-based manufacturer Textor Technologies produces non-woven synthetic padding, which is used as filling in a variety of products, including disposable nappies. In any market related to sanitation or medical uses, product purity is essential, so when some customers started finding products contaminated with black specks it was a particularly serious issue.
Textor approached CSIRO to solve the problem. The result of the subsequent research collaboration is an instrument that detects contaminated material on the fabric even during high-speed production. There were a number of technical challenges, says the leader of the instrumentation and flexible electronics research program, Dr Stuart Lucas, who designed the instrument. Over a number of years working on optical-based instruments, the group has developed considerable expertise in vision processing and detecting dark fibre contamination as part of its research for the wool industry. Dr Lucas says the new system has to detect specks, which vary from barely visible to very large, and inspect both sides of the fabric simultaneously, while the material is being processed at 500 metres a minute. The CSIRO team developed the instrument, known as the ‘online dark speck contamination detector', which is a continuous computerised inspection system that provides absolute quality assurance. A key to the technology is the image illumination system, which consists of balanced lighting and a high-speed digital camera arranged in such a way that the system is not sensitive to changes in the factory lighting. The core component of the software is a set of image-processing algorithms and a design that can easily meet the very high throughput requirements of 15 milliseconds per frame. All data is logged to a database, which can be queried to generate any product-quality reports requested by the customer. While the initial brief was to provide an instrument that would monitor and eliminate black speck contamination, another quality issue involved the width of the fabric being processed. Textor's customer had tight specifications. The manufacturing process of the end use (nappies) is very high throughput, and this dictated strict width tolerances on Textor's material. Any variation outside the specification could potentially halt the production line and cause significant downtime and increase manufacturing costs. As the fabric is processed at high speed, it is sliced into six strips and even a tiny error could make it unacceptable. Dr Lucas modified the camera arrangement and image-processing software so the system could also measure the width of the cut fabric strips. The instrument uses a camera and lighting system above and below the fabric, one before a slitting station in the production line and one immediately after it. If it detects a variation, the system will automatically stop the machine. The device also records the location of a fault and displays it as a distance from the end of the spool, allowing the operators to unwind and remove faults at the precise location. It also displays width measurements on a touch screen. As the fabric winds between two rollers, the instrument is set up to record a width every half metre. This figure is logged to a database and an operator can see a plot of the width on a touch screen. At the end of the fibre roll, the data can be given to the customer as part of its quality assurance. As well as supplying local manufacturers, Textor Technologies exports 800 tonnes of material to Singapore each year and 50 tonnes to Vietnam for use in disposable nappies and incontinence pads.
Textor Technologies director Phillip Butler says the system developed by CSIRO has enabled the company to minimise the level of contamination in its product and also, by being able to measure fabric width, they have reduced waste and improved the rate of production. “Working with CSIRO has built a partnership that has demonstrated that manufacturing in Australia is viable,” he says. “The industry needs innovative technological solutions that can adapt as commercial requirements become more sophisticated. Our production line is now considered to be one of the best medical-fabric lines in the world.” The device has been running in the factory for more than two years, during which time several improvements have been made. Dr Lucas was recognised for his work on the innovative system with a Chamber of Commerce Innovation and Advanced Manufacturing Award at the Smart Geelong Network's 2007 Researcher of the Year Awards. Now he is leading a Niche Manufacturing Flagship project to automate CSIRO's carbon nanotube spinning process and another project to improve the acoustic performance of components in automotive carpets.
APPLICATION A continuous computerised inspection system locates faults and width variations in synthetic textile production BENEFIT Quality assurance can be guaranteed, allowing the company to compete in the international market
For further information contact: |
 IN THIS ISSUE
|
| Home | About Us | eSubscribe | Links | |
|
|
||
|
|
|
Back to main