Fabric Defect Detection

From high speed web monitoring (what probably is not the case) to sample picturing with admissible deviations from a model. Computerized parameters checking. You can also do shade measurement online or a combination of these. When your machines are not close together, a sound analysis can inform you about defects too. Or watcher- quality inspectors that don't fall asleep in the monotone noise?

There are sensor controlled on line defect monitoring, recording devices used for Grey inspection of woven goods. Just google search for such products with suitable key words, you will find surely. They can specially install the system for your specific requirement. Japanese / Taiwanese machine systems well known.

Google search for: On line / automated defect monitoring fabric inspection machines / systems / manufactures/ suppliers / importers.

I am sure you can find it.

I recommend monitoring separately the quality of the product produced and the status of the machine(s) producing the product.

A common technique for monitoring the performance health of a mechanical machine is to attach contact microphones to the machine and periodically do a FFT analysis of the vibration signatures. This can indicate a failing part or alignment somewhere in the machine long before an actual failure occurs.

To automatically inspect your product it is likely best to use an automated vision system. This will involve a digital camera strategically placed to view your product as it comes out of the machine. A computer program can then inspect the product and track the deviations from ideal along with rejecting the failures. Depending on the topology of your product and camera(s) you may wish to illuminate the product in different ways (back lighting, flood, monochromatic, laser height, etc.) to accentuate an attribute to be measured.

If your fabric has no pattern or color changes along it's feed direction there is a simple and inexpensive way to monitor it's consistency. You need only a pair of high quality video cameras, and a simple integrator circuit. One camera has a sample of your fabric in frame that passes your QC. The other is focused in the identical same manner on your product feed. The integrator circuits are fed the analog signal from each camera. The outputs from the integrators are fed to a comparator. If the comparator detects any difference in the two signals it throws an alarm. This can be done by feeding the two signals to a PC and using software to do the comparison as well, but the analog way is much simpler and cheaper. (There are some video security systems that have this feature, but I'm not sure that they will be high enough quality to achieve your goal.)

I suggest looking for an industrial Vision System Integrator that has experience working with textiles. It sounds very simple to say mount a camera and some lights to detect defects, but in reality it is not simple at all. There are a variety of camera options (sensor type and size), lenses, and lighting possibilities, as well as image processing software, to consider, and an experienced integrator will get you a successful solution faster than doing it on your own.

Dog's analog solution might work to detect a problem and stop the machine, but it is a good assumption that once you start automatically detecting defects someone is going to want data from that. Long term just detecting defects is not going to be good enough for medical manufacturing and a good vision system can tell you what the defect was, where/when it was found, how large, and keep track of how often it occurs.

Just be sure you have the scope of what you need to detect well defined when you go looking for help.