- Quality & process control in CFRP manufacturing
- Image processing systems substitute visual inspection
- Already employed by a leading German premium car producer
At the current Vision 2014 exhibition, the company Pixargus is showcasing a range of inline quality control inspection systems for carbon fiber fabrics, a product increasingly used in applications such as automotive and aviation construction. The company is showing the WebControl Carbon Fiber systems, which are integrated inline quality control systems for biaxial and multiaxial carbon fiber fabrics. By applying these systems, customers ensure that all products leaving their works are 100 percent defect-free.
Optical inspection of the carbon fiber fabric for weaving defects and incorrect distances between bundles: the web (not shown) runs over the measuring frame (source: Pixargus)
Systems for the detection of missing bundles and analysis of material flaws
An example of these systems is the inline inspection of carbon fiber fabrics used to make car body components for a new generation of electric vehicles made by a leading German premium car producer. The employed solution comprises hybrid quality assurance systems for measurements and inspections during the application of the powder, for the detection of missing bundles and the analysis of material flaws, and during sintering. With the exception of the weight per area, all measurements and inspections are based on optical methods.
Whenever the system detects a relevant defect, the production process is automatically stopped. Traffic lights indicate the type of defect. The automatic inspection has proved to be so reliable that production is now only started when the Pixargus system is on.
Core elements of the carbon fabric inspection system: eight high-resolution GigE CCD line scan cameras (source: Pixargus)
Software specifically developed for the inspection of carbon fiber surfaces
A key element of the technology is the Pixargus WebControl Carbon Fiber system, which inspects the web surface. With the framework software architecture, which has been specifically developed for the inspection of this type of surfaces, it is possible to map the complex web structure while detecting defects typical of carbon fiber material.
As a general contractor for total quality control systems, Pixargus supplies several interlinked measuring systems and combines the data measured by the various sensors into a global data map, allowing the customer to analyze the results within a context, not isolated from one another.
Main Picture: Optical inspection of the degree of sintering in carbon fiber fabric productio (source: Pixargus)
