Nonwovens manufacturer saves on checking.

An automated system to check materials, improve quality, and reduce customer claims at Texbond Srl has been installed by AMETEK Surface Vision.

Based in Italy, Texbond is a manufacturer of spunlaid thermal-bonded nonwoven products for a wide-range of applications, including personal care, hygiene, medical, furniture and design, farming, building, and motor vehicles.

Initially, the company was relying on human inspection for quality assurance of its products; however, it wanted to move to a robust, easy-to-use, automated system to improve quality, speed, and process optimization.

The medical and hygiene market in particular is extremely demanding and insists on defect-free material due to the nature of its use. Other markets also have high quality standards and common defects. For example, holes and contamination can affect the visual properties of the material.

Texbond needed a robust system that delivered high-resolution inspection in real time, along with a modular approach that uses state-of-the-art technology. Reporting capabilities, expert service support, and availability were also key requirements.

Flexible and customizable, AMETEK Surface Vision’s SmartView^® system uses the most advanced inspection technologies and provides precise, real-time detection. Texbond installed two SmartView systems in the production process. One on Line 3 (colored materials) and the other on Line 4 (different weights of white nonwovens).

Each system uses four reflection transmission cameras positioned at the exit of the line and before the winder to act as a “gatekeeper,” detecting all relevant defects and contamination. The use of a white backing bar helped support contamination detection on Line 3, while SmartView’s LED lights ensured high performance when inspecting heavy material.

The systems are integrated with Texbond’s process control, for automatic start and stop of inspection, and store information for database analysis.

Spunlaid thermal-bonded nonwoven products

Enrico Chemello, Quality Manager at Texbond, said: “SmartView has really helped to optimize the quality of our products. Defects are detected and the material’s visual properties can be assessed in real time, allowing immediate intervention and optimization of the process, and the elimination of any process upsets. The result is an optimized production with reduced scrap.

“The SmartView system has met our expectations, proving its solid defect detection capabilities. The system became productive in a short time, providing images and defect information from day one.”

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