Optical quality inspection system for airbag hoses
One of the core competencies of Software Competence Center Hagenberg GmbH (SCCH) is the development of customized image processing systems for industrial quality control. This know-how was applied in an innovative project with the Austrian company A. Haberkorn & Co. GmbH. The goal of the collaboration was to guarantee 100% control in the optical inspection of airbag hoses and so to save time and costs.
Overview
The collaboration of Software Competence Center Hagenberg GmbH and A. Haberkorn & Co. GmbH is a showcase project demonstrating successful cooperation of industry and research. The joint project developed an optical quality inspection system for airbag hoses: the new system checks the length and width of hoses and inspects their texture for flaws in the weave.
High quality requirements accompany the production of airbag hoses for the automobile industry. For safety reasons, flaws in the weave must be precluded because they can cause a drop in the pressure of the airbag. Previously the quality inspection for such flaws was handled manually rather than automatically. Since the texture analysis problem could not be solved with standard methods, the research competence of Software Competence Center Hagenberg was engaged for a customized solution that reliably detects and classifies various weave flaws.
A deciding factor for the initiation of project negotiations between SCCH and Haberkorn was [SCCH’s | Haberkorn’s] participation in the workshop “Quality Assurance and Control – Image Processing, Nondestructive (Inline) Inspection Methods“ held by [SCCH | Haberkorn] at Techno Log 2005, sponsored by TIM Technologie und Innovations-Management.
The challenge
“For Software Competence Center Hagenberg the challenge was to develop a customized overall solution for the inspection of woven materials that are subject to significant fluctuations in production conditions. Other interesting aspects were the integration of the new system into an existing plant and optical inspection at high speed,” says project leader DI Peter Haslinger.
The solution
Dr. Bernhard Moser, Area Manager for Knowledge-Based Technology at SCCH, explains the advantages of the new system for Haberkorn: “On the one hand, the new system guarantees 100% control of the surface and thus higher quality of the delivered product. On the other hand, time and personnel costs are saved through the increased speed of operation of the plant.”
The hardware components of the new system were provided by SCCH technology partners Schmachtl GmbH (Austria) and Stemmer Imaging GmbH (Germany).