The company will discuss its automated quality monitoring systems for the nonwovens industry at Innovate Textile & Apparel, including the new Uster Jossi Vision Shield N fibre cleaning system.
Uster Technologies will discuss contamination control solutions for the nonwovens industry at WTiN’s Innovate Textile & Apparel virtual trade show (15-30 October).
The Swiss company has developed a solution that can protect against contamination risks in end products: the Jossi Vision Shield N fibre cleaning system. This offers full control of contamination and defects by combining two automated solutions for quality monitoring.
Especially developed for the high-output synthetic nonwovens industry, Uster Jossi Vision Shield N comprises a wide and deep channel that is designed to be installed on high-production lines. According to the company, the machine is built with the most durable materials, using stainless steel to prevent abrasion in areas which come into contact with the fibres.
The new system is the result of surveys, close collaboration with international nonwovens companies, and ‘countless’ hours of field tests. Installation is easy, since the fibre cleaner’s slim design fits into existing lines – and it readily copes with the pace of standard production environments. For best detection results, the fibre cleaner is tuned to identify the typical disturbing contamination types in nonwovens, including coloured fibres, metal or wood particles and grease deposits, Uster says.
Detection technology
Though Uster Jossi Vision Shield N is brand new, the company says that it is based on well-proven technology specifically adapted to the needs of the nonwovens industry. Introduced to the market 20 years ago, there are 3,500 systems currently installed worldwide and the technology has been continuously improved. The field of experience was in spinning mills processing cotton. In that sector, contamination is a serious issue and is even more critical for producers of fleece for the hygiene and medical applications.
“Some nonwovens producers rely on Uster Jossi Vision Shield 2, the fibre cleaning system with the most sophisticated detection technology, to guarantee zero contamination standards,” says Uster. “The same applies in security paper printing of cotton for currency, where specialist producers place complete trust in the Uster equipment.”
While other technologies use conventional colour cameras, the built-in spectroscopes of Uster Jossi Vision Shield N operate on a much greater wavelength. This enables it to find contamination even within the ‘invisible’ range of infrared and ultraviolet light, even detecting contamination fragments of the same or similar shade as the fibres themselves – down to the fineness of a human hair.
A further advantage is the positioning of the system. For fibre cleaning, bundle size is the key: small contaminant particles can hide inside bigger bundles, making them especially difficult to locate when the material is more compressed.
“Uster Jossi Vision Shield N is ideally located in the line to overcome this, directly behind the fine opener. This ensures that the fibre bundles pass the spectroscopes in their most open state,” the company says.
No waste worries
Initially, nonwovens producers might be wary of applying the system’s contamination detection performance – the fear being that too much raw material would be wasted through contamination ejections. But Uster says that this is not the case with its new system. This is because the velocity of the fibre bundles is continuously measured. Precision valves then match the timing and duration of each ejection of contamination, so that a minimal amount of ‘good’ material is taken out each time, even at high production throughputs.
“It is important to ensure a minimum of good fibre is lost,” says Giacomo Frattesi, product manager, Uster Technologies. “Trials have shown that the advanced Uster technology results in about 75% less waste compared with other fibre cleaners – saving tons of raw material every year.”
Extra assurance comes with the Quick Teach feature, in which Uster Jossi Vision Shield N ‘learns’ the correct colour of each new raw material lot within seconds. This prevents any annoying false ejections when changing lots. Additionally, it is possible to view pictures of every ejected contaminant on the touchscreen, to verify that only the required material is removed.
Combined solution
At the fibre preparation stage, Uster Jossi Vision Shield N ensures the best possible initial inspection and removal of contamination. Then, at the end of the production sequence, Uster EVS Fabriq Vision N handles automated detection and marking of all the main defects caused during production – and of any remaining contamination, says Uster.
This combined solution makes it possible for nonwovens producers to protect quality, avoid material waste and take full advantage of the potential for process optimisation.
“The combination of Uster Jossi Vision Shield N and Uster EVS Fabriq Vision N means that Uster can offer a complete quality monitoring solution for the nonwovens industry,” says Frattesi.
