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Camera-based inspection systems for textile webs

Shelton Vision is expert in providing advanced and highly-automated solutions for camera-based inspection of all types of textile webs, including nonwoven, woven and knits. The Shelton WebSPECTOR textile inspection systems are delivered as high-speed, stand-alone machines operating from batch to batch, or as systems integrated to an existing process.

The benefits reach all the way through a user's organisation and payback is often in terms of months rather than years. To maximise the benefits for its customers, Shelton Vision adopts a unique consultative approach with potential users to get them 'machine vision ready' and to jointly develop a route map for successful implementation.

Machine Vision ready

'Machine Vision' is the result of a combination of several technologies and scientific disciplines, primarily optics, electronics, PC technology and colour/ imaging software.

There are many variations and combinations of these technologies resulting in a diverse range of end use products and systems (e. g. X-ray, security, robot guiding, production, quality control). The Shelton WebSPECTOR deals with surface and construction inspection of manufactured web type products and during the consultative process we address perceptions and reality of what can be achieved with machine vision in textiles, how to create the reality in terms of benefits and how to maintain and improve the reality.

Perception and reality

The perception of machine vision varies amongst potential users, from highly sceptical to wildly enthusiastic. As the machine vision market and technology develops, what once seemed a wild claim or expectation has become, or is becoming, a reality. Shelton Vision recognises the gap between perception and reality requires to be bridged to unlock the true benefits by the transfer of knowlege.

The transfer of knowledge between the stakeholders in a project is vital to the successful realisation of the benefit potential. The stakeholders are Shelton Vision personnel and representatives from key departments of the potential users.

It is important to combine the resources of all the stakeholders to form a project team at an early stage to jointly conduct a 'Machine Vision Ready' programme which should have the following objectives:-

• For each stakeholder to understand the potential of machine vision technology as delivered by the Shelton WebSPECTOR, the operations within the users business and the intended integration plan (the knowledge).

• To jointly explore the combination of the knowledge to identify and uncover benefits of applying the technology. The benefits will fall into many categories and an attempt needs to be made to ascribe a value for each benefit. (Examples of benefit categories are cost labour costs, environmental, safety, quality, process control, product/process development).
• To identify potential conflicts of implementing machine vision technology and develop a strategy for dealing with conflict and change within the users organisation.
• To elect a champion from the users team to head the project and be responsible for all aspects of communication between the team members, which includes personnel from Shelton Vision.
• The Shelton Vision consultant and project champion should prepare a joint report of the findings of the machine vision ready programme and set out a timescale of proposed implementation and realisation of the identified benefits.

Benefit delivery

Shelton Vision has developed technology that allows the benefits to be delivered in more convenient ways as well as traditional capital purchases. The traditional method is for a company to purchase a system as capital equipment and treat it as a depreciating asset, which evolved from the starting point where vision systems providers built their own processing platforms.

However, Shelton Vision uses PCs as the preferred processing platform and is able to provide the deliverable as either traditional capital equipment or as a service, where the deliverable is the inspection/IT process, on a licence basis, with support and upgrades included in the licence fee.

Shelton Vision technology allows the WebSPECTOR system to grow with an organisation at marginal cost so that it never becomes obsolete. This allows capital budgets to be available for other investments where such a flexible concept is not available.

Shelton Vision supports the WebSPECTOR systems remotely over the internet and can provide access to the inspection process and data for third parties remotely from the plant where the inspection takes place for the benefit of multi national operations or for close supplier/customer partnerships.