High-performance nonwovens and membranes are used in a wide range of consumer and industrial goods. Often in highly technical or sensitive areas, such as medical or hygiene products, which are subject to specially defined quality standards. To meet these standards, quality assurance in production is essential. The SMASH inline inspection system ensures the highest product quality at every stage of production. The reliable system precisely distinguishes between contamination or material defects and ensures that only flawless products are delivered to your customers.
Quality defects can occur in various nonwoven manufacturing processes, including spunbond, spunlace, meltblown, airlaid and wetlaid. In the spunbond process, defects can arise from issues such as inconsistent fiber feed, uneven die temperature, or insufficient cooling. This can lead to streaks, holes, clumps, or poor uniformity. For spunlace, defects may arise from inadequate water pressure or temperature control, inconsistent web tension, or uneven fiber distribution. This can cause pilling, linting, or holes.
In meltblown, defects can occur due to irregularities in the polymer feed rate, shot particles, poor air flow control, or inadequate filtration. The result can be filament breaks, uneven fiber distribution, pinholes, and poor web formation.
In airlaid, defects can arise from issues such as inadequate fiber blending, bale strapping, poor web formation, or insufficient adhesion. This may result in weak bonding between fibers, uneven thickness or low density. With the wetlaid process, defects can result from poor fiber distribution, insufficient water pressure, or insufficient bonding. These can result in poor web formation, uneven density or insufficient bonding, thin areas, and holes.
ISRA inspection systems ensure the highest quality in all nonwoven manufacturing processes by detecting and classifying defects before slitting/rewinding as well as evaluating the rolls for conformity. This reduces waste as users can immediately correct process-related defects. Color cameras, real-time Multi-Scan Technology, and uniformity analysis enable the detection of even the smallest defects at high speeds. The systems make invisible defects visible, identify and eliminate critical defects with AI classification, and offer condition and health monitoring.
Features
Outstanding defect detection & classification with next generation Nonwoven inspection technology
Color camera + Real-time Multi Scan Technology (HDR) + Uniformity analysis
100 % detection of the smallest defects at the highest production speed
GSM Monitoring
Identify & eliminate critical defects with outstanding AI classification
Condition & Health Monitoring with EPROMI LIVE
Typical defects
Contamination
Thin spots and fiber clumps
Holes
Linting
Pilling
Poor bonding
Shrinkage
Streaking and poor uniformity
Wrinkles
Insect contamination
Fiber contamination
Technical data
Speeds up to 1.800 meters/min and product widths up to 6,5 meters
Optical resolution: 150-350 µm
Temperature up to 45°C (as of 12/22)
The manufacturing processes of products used for microfiltration and air filtration technologies present several challenges that affect the cost-effectiveness, performance, and durability of membrane and filtration materials.
Microfiltration is a commonly used separation technology in various industrial processes, such as water treatment, pharmaceutical manufacturing, automobile, electronics, or the food industry. The technology is used in many applications, including liquid filters and diagnostic test strips. The process involves passing a liquid through a microporous nonwoven membrane, which retains particles or substances larger than the membrane pore size while allowing smaller particles to pass through.
Quality defects in the production of the microporous nonwoven membrane can result in pore size variations, surface irregularities, or mechanical damage to the membrane. Pore size variations can result in the passage of larger particles through the membrane or the retention of smaller particles. Surface irregularities, such as cracks or pinholes, can cause leaks, reducing the separation efficiency and increasing the risk of product contamination. Mechanical damage, such as scratches or tears, can compromise the structural integrity of the membrane and shorten its lifespan.
Air filtration is a critical process in maintaining indoor air quality and protecting human health. Final products help to remove particulate matter, gases, and other harmful contaminants from the air. Filters that are not properly manufactured may not be able to effectively capture pollutants, contaminants, or emissions. Other filters like oil filters in car engines might fail to remove all harmful dirt and contaminant particles from the oil, which can lead to engine wear and damage.
Defects during the manufacturing of membranes and filtration products, such as pinholes, thin spots, contamination, and coating defects, can result in harmful contaminants passing through the filter, which can compromise the safety and life span of the filter.
The SMASH inline inspection system ensures the quality of membranes and filtration products by detecting and classifying even the smallest defects in real time at every process stage. The reliable system precisely differentiates between surface, coating, and raw material defects even at full web speed.
With its cutting-edge sensor technology and innovative software tools, the system gives immediate feedback on production and material quality, allowing for efficient defect correction and optimization of production processes. In addition, ISRA VISION's advanced real-time MultiScan High-Dynamic-Range (HDR) technology enables high-contrast inspection to classify thin spots separately from holes.
The inline inspection systems also ensure seamless product quality by also inspecting the membrane at slitting. As a result, end customers receive flawless material, waste, and quality costs are reduced, and marketable production volume is increased.
Features
High-Res Linescan Camera
100 % inspection of all defects with advanced classification
High Dynamic Range technology (HDR) to distinguish between holes and thin spots
Real-time web inspection camera and intelligent high-performance LED
New dual exposure technology: Differentiation between holes, missing coating, contaminations, and black spots with utmost precision, done by smart dual exposure mode
Typical defects
Pinholes
Thin spots
Coated Membranes:
Comets, craters
Dents
Scratches
Contamination
Technical data
Line Speed: 1 – 60 m/min.
Line Width: Main Lines: 200 –1500 mm
Line Width: Slitting Lines: 200 – 1500 mm
System Resolution: 10-50µm
The web-based production analytics platform allows you to check the system status of all production lines at a glance or analyze production data in detail. With the quality management system, you analyze historical data, monitor current inspection data in real-time, and identify future trends in your production process.
Optimization of production
Dashboards allow you to compare production line and product data onsite or remotely, providing key insights for optimization. This enables you to make informed professional decisions along your value chain to increase the product quality as well as profitability. You can continuously track the progress of optimization measures and present them with visualized advanced reports.
Early detection of production defects
Detect and quickly identify the cause of threshold value violations at every stage of production with live status information and automatic alerts. As a result you can quickly resolve production defects, shorten downtime, and reduce production costs.
Predictive maintenance
You can prevent potential system failures by analyzing real-time data from the sensors and monitoring systems. This allows proactive planning of maintenance, based on the actual condition of the machines, instead of following a fixed schedule. This data-driven approach saves costs through reduced downtime and increased overall productivity, as well as longer production line life.
For the efficient and future-proof operation of your production systems our highly qualified service teams support you globally in all matters. We provide the implementation, maintenance and servicing as well as the analysis and optimization of your systems - quickly, reliably, 24/7.
Visit our service center and request your customized service solution.
Furthermore, learn in the ISRA VISION Academy how our competent trainers always keep your employees up to date with the latest knowledge so that system operators, product engineers and quality managers become real inspection experts.
Visit our ISRA VISION Academy and book your individual and scalable trainings.
Surface & Print inspection - Advanced Materials
Albert-Einstein-Allee 36-40
45699 Herten
germany