Innovative Solutions - Adding Value
This project holds two compelling aspects. Firstly, it marks the debut of BJM’s universal I/O board (edge device), and secondly, it pioneers the use of cameras for assessing laminator production and product quality.
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The laminator process: Using heat and pressure, the laminator presses highly reflective silver tape onto the high visibility cloth bands woven by the looms upstream in the process. Each of the six operators overseeing the six laminator trains is responsible for several critical tasks:
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- Ensuring a steady supply of cloth band and silver tape to avoid production disruptions.
- Monitoring for proper pressure and temperature in the laminator to ensure correct lamination.
- Inspecting and removing faulty product sections to meet specifications.
- Metering 100 meters of material onto each roll, which has been problematic due to mechanical counters breaking.
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The project is progressing past the prototyping stage, demonstrating the system's value to the customer:
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- Adding band and silver depletion detection to avoid material shortages.
- Installing pressure sensors to monitor laminator belt pressure.
- Implementing electric element current monitoring to detect element failures.
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All parameters are displayed on an operator screen, triggering alarms and signals if thresholds are breached, enabling quick problem identification.
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For quality control, cameras installed overhead capture and monitor banding parameters. Innovative programming analyzes these images, determining quality parameters like band width and silver centering. The system will automatically halt the process if faults are detected, ensuring product quality and alleviating the operator of this tedious task.
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This project demonstrates the significant potential for camera based systems in the IIoT space. BJM Controls has developed very strong capabilities with image processing. We see tremendous opportunities using this technology in many other applications.
