Fabric Defect Detection with Machine Vision Cameras
VA Imaging has expanded its broad portfolio by adding line scan cameras. In most common cases, line scan cameras are used for applications that require high-resolution imaging at a high speed, in which objects are continuously moving. One application for line scan camera is in fabric inspection. Therefore, this article is an example of what setup could be used for a continuous, fast-paced application, in which the main objectives are to inspect fabric defects, identify tears and evaluate the overall quality of the fabric. Moreover, certain products will have links to them, so it would be easy to find them on our product page.
Table of contents
Selecting the Best Line Scan Camera
The first step in deciding the most optimal setup for the application is to choose the correct industrial machine vision camera. For this project, the customer did not need a CameraLink or Coaxpress interface, but they did request a color line scan camera, which could detect the smallest detail of 0.6mm at a maximum speed of 1500mm per second. Furthermore, they provided the Scan Width of 1000mm. Therefore, based on this information, the VALINE 8K3-M72-50GTC line scan camera was advised. This color line scan camera is equipped with a 10GigE Vision SFP+ interface, has a 50kHz max line rate, a resolution of 8192x3 pixels and a pixel size of 7um. Moreover, with this camera, the customer was able to achieve the needed 5000 pixels and a resolution of around 0,122mm/pixel. However, as it is commonly known, you will not be able to use this camera properly without a lens.
Choosing the Correct Industrial Lens for the application
Furthermore, the VALINE-8K3-M72-50GTC line scan camera has the M72 lens mount, which means an M72 to F-mount adapter will be needed in order to equip an F-mount lens. Therefore, based on the provided horizontal field of view and the working distance, the customer was recommended to use the VA-LFM-29MP-60MM-F4-64C lens. With this F-mount lens, at a working distance of around 1106.3mm, the customer was able to achieve an actual horizontal FOV of around 1057.3mm. See the table on the side for reference. Furthermore, the client was advised to keep in mind that the 60mm lens can be used only with a working distance between 200mm to 1538mm. Moreover, he was informed that this lens has an aperture ofF4.0 and extremely low distortion (<0.2%).
Machine vision lighting for Fabric Inspection
Apart from the line scan camera and the lens, the customer also requested a lighting solution for their application. He needed an industrial LED light setup to illuminate the fabric inspection application. Therefore, one of our experts proposed to use the line light standard series – the VA-LLS5. These versatile line lights are used usually for applications, which require line scan cameras to inspect objects on a conveyor belt or involve endless production methods. See an example schematic on the side. Furthermore, the client requested to cover the whole Horizontal area of the application, so it was recommended to take a light with dimensions 10% bigger than the discussed HFOV, which was the VA-LLS5-1100.
Computer vision software and Points to Keep in Mind
After advising the setup, the customer was also provided with a software for his line scan application (You can contact us to request this). Moreover, since the VALINE-8K3-M72-50GTC has a 10GigE interface, it was recommended to also buy a VA-PCIe4-10GF-2 frame grabber. However, the client also needed an encoder and SFP+ modules but unfortunately, this is something that we do not supply, so it was suggested to outsource those items (For more information regarding this, do not hesitate to contact our customer support).
Other Applications in which line scan cameras can be used
Originally the system was advised for inspecting fabric defects and abnormalities, but it can be used in other applications. Those applications can be anything, that involves inspection of various products in continuous fast-moving setups while also achieving high-resolution imaging. Do you want to read more about the applications. Interested in learning more about the applications we have developed? Explore our Machine Vision Solutions& Applications Center for in-depth insights.
Support for Line-scan Applications
Do you require advice or have questions when it comes to setting up your own fabric inspection application or any other similar line-scan system? Do not hesitate to contact us, using the form below and you will be reached out to by one of our machine vision experts.
