Improving paper products and textiles through fiber analysis
Description of the Problem
Success in manufacturing clothing and paper products requires developing products with durability and consistency. By offering higher quality products time after time, manufacturers are able to stay ahead of competitors. One method to maintain or improve the quality of paper and textile products is to analyze the quality of raw materials used in production -- characteristics of these materials directly impact the quality of the finished goods. Fiber analysis helps these manufacturers create more durable, affordable products for their customers. In today's competitive environment, manufacturers cannot afford to waste money on poor materials research or inadequate quality control of raw materials.
The Solution using OPTIMAS
By using an OPTIMAS macro, fiber analysis can be performed quickly and accurately through image measurement and analysis. Running OPTIMAS on a Windows-based PC, quality control personnel are able to gather and analyze images of fibers. For example, OPTIMAS macros allow engineers to measure accurately and automatically fiber centroids and widths. OPTIMAS then calculates an average fiber width per region or field of view. Using sophisticated counting and sorting techniques, OPTIMAS can eliminate fibers based on area, perimeter, circularity, and any other spatial measurement or combination of measurements. Quick modification of the macro allows for measuring fiber length, rectangularity, angle to a reference line, and more. With OPTIMAS, quality control managers no longer need to worry about human error and fatigue introducing inaccuracies to the measurement process. OPTIMAS completely guides the operators by prompting with messages, instructing when to switch samples, and guiding them through the data collection process. The measurement data is automatically saved to a disk file for further analysis in spreadsheets, databases or statistical analysis packages.