Uster Technologies Automate Fabric Inspection System

Uster Technologies is supplying a flexible solution to upgrade fabric inspection from manual to automated system.

Integration in existing production lines is quick and easy, and the data flow also brings extra benefits, which can help fabric producers significantly improve yield with fast and accurate quality monitoring.

“The system offers up to 50 percent lead time savings and 80 percent and the automated fabric inspection combines Uster EVS Fabriq Vision with Uster Fabriq Assistant,” an Uster press release said.

“This integrates a reliable and sophisticated inspection system, delivering vital data, with practical analysis of that data to deliver the best results for users,” the Swiss company added.

Prerequisites for automatic fabric inspection begin with a detailed evaluation of the current process, to identify the critical steps.

At the end of this analysis, the steps towards integration are planned, including the choice of the right hardware and software needed to achieve automation in the fabric inspection process.

The Uster Fabriq Vision inspection solution can be integrated into existing production lines or used as an off-line inspection system.

In both cases, optimal results from optical system are the same like smooth and tension-controlled fabric flow, no creases in fabric, stable light conditions in inspection area and no dust or lint on the fabric.

According to Uster, the inspection cameras feature state-of-the-art technology, positioned at various detection angles.

Sophisticated illumination makes defects visible and raises detection performance to the maximum.

Uster EVS Fabriq Vision provides real-time alerts for operatives, showing all defects and automatically creating roll inspection charts. All detected faults are collected in a dataset and transferred to Uster Fabriq Assistant.

Data generated by Uster fabric inspection systems feeds to Uster Fabriq Assistant, which creates statistics for quality and process improvement.

Its automated features make Uster Fabriq Assistant more efficient and productive, as a reliable and tailored solution for processing, analysing, and visualising quality data.

The Uster solution also offers an open interface to transfer data to the ERP system and to the Optimised Cut Control (OCC), allowing maximised yield.

Uster recommends a customer workshop to discuss data requirements, key parameters, data flow in production and how to create a powerful infrastructure.

The OCC also allows an increased fabric yield after inspection and is a software tool using the defect map from inspection, enabling automated cut optimisation to be installed on any existing debatching or cutting line.

It automatically identifies the correct cutting position for maximum fabric yield according to the customer’s quality requirements, and makes the cutting process highly efficient.

Invisible synchronization marks, which are applied during inspection indicate the position of defects and cut positions in a roll, so these are always under control, allowing the cutting table to run at maximum possible speed.

When colour consistency is critical, Uster EVS Fabriq Shade supports fabric producers to deliver a constant shade in end-products.

The system provides standard shade measurements with high accuracy and continuously qualifies shade variation, based on a set reference point.

To ensure lots have optimal colour uniformity, the system offers grouping according to shade, for best fabric yield.

Combining Uster EVS Fabriq Shade and Uster EVS Fabriq Vision in one process provides all relevant quality data in a single operation and increases the efficiency of fabric inspection.

The automated fabric inspection requires newly-configured logistics as part of the detailed set-up plan– including a clear and traceable data flow for a paperless production.

Finally, the calculation of the ROI will assure customers that profitability as well as efficiency and quality will also increase.