Fully Automated Microscopic Inspection System and Method for Spinnerets

Abstract

This invention discloses a fully automated spinneret microscopic inspection system and method. The system includes an inspection device with a frame platform. An inspection area is set on the frame platform. A rotating mechanism and a surrounding robotic arm, a blow-suction device, and a line scan camera array are installed on one side of the inspection area. A material tray is placed in the inspection area. The rotating mechanism has several hollowed-out areas for placing spinnerets. After the rotating mechanism rotates at a constant speed, the hollowed-out areas serve as a loading station, a unloading station, a blow-suction cleaning station, and a photographic inspection station. The blow-suction device cleans the micropores of the spinneret. The line scan camera array acquires images of the spinneret and detects the state of each micropore based on machine vision and machine learning methods. The robotic arm picks up the spinneret to be inspected and places it at the loading station, and removes the inspected spinneret from the unloading station and returns it to its original position on the material tray. This invention effectively improves the automation level of spinneret inspection, reduces human intervention, increases inspection efficiency, and reduces inspection costs.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of spinneret inspection technology in the chemical fiber industry, and in particular to a fully automated spinneret microscopic inspection system and method. Background Technology

[0002] The spinneret is an indispensable precision part in the spinning machine of the chemical fiber industry. In the production process of high-speed spinning of polyester filament, mechanical impurities, gels, carbonization, thermal cracking and other particles in the melt often block the micropores of the spinneret, resulting in uneven fineness of the spun yarn and producing products such as "pillar filament", "fine filament" and "fuzzy filament". Therefore, it is necessary to clean and inspect the spinneret regularly.

[0003] Currently, non-contact semi-automatic microscopic inspection equipment is commonly used in actual production processes to inspect spinnerets, such as the SpinTrak spinneret inspection system developed by ASPEX Corporation in the United States and the spinneret inspection instrument from ZENTES Corporation in Germany. This type of equipment positions and photographs each hole of a manually placed spinneret, and uses image processing methods to determine whether each micro-hole on the spinneret has dirt, burrs adhering to the wall, or blockages, marking problematic micro-holes for manual treatment. This type of microscopic inspection equipment significantly improves upon the problems of slow speed, inconsistent standards, and missed detections caused by human factors in manual visual inspection methods, greatly enhancing the efficiency and robustness of spinneret inspection results.

[0004] However, in actual production, it has been found that the current spinneret microscopic inspection equipment has problems such as low automation and low inspection efficiency: (1) Low automation, requiring manual loading and unloading, that is, before inspection, the spinneret to be inspected needs to be placed manually, and after inspection, the spinneret needs to be manually removed, packaged, marked, registered and put into storage, or secondary processing and re-inspection; which seriously affects the inspection speed and increases the inspection cost. (2) The microscopic inspection equipment positions, photographs and inspects each hole of the spinneret, which is slow and inefficient. (3) The microscopic inspection equipment can only inspect round holes and cannot inspect irregular holes, which has certain limitations in its use. Summary of the Invention

[0005] To address the aforementioned technical problems in the existing technology, this invention proposes a fully automated spinneret microscopic inspection system and method, the specific technical solution of which is as follows:

[0006] A fully automated spinneret microscopic inspection system includes an inspection device comprising: a frame table with an inspection area on the frame table; a rotating mechanism mounted on one side of the inspection area; and a robot arm, a blow-suction device, and a line scan camera array surrounding the rotating mechanism. The inspection area is used to place a material tray. The rotating mechanism has several hollow areas for placing spinnerets. After the rotating mechanism rotates at a constant speed, the hollow areas correspond to the loading and unloading stations of the robot arm, the blow-suction cleaning station of the blow-suction device, and the imaging inspection station of the line scan camera array. The blow-suction device is used to clean the micropores of the spinneret located at the blow-suction cleaning station. The line scan camera array is used to acquire images of the spinneret located at the imaging inspection station and detect the state of each micropore of the spinneret based on machine vision and machine learning methods. The robot arm is used to pick up the spinneret to be inspected and place it at the loading station, and remove the inspected spinneret from the unloading station and return it to the original position of the material tray.

[0007] Preferably, the rotating mechanism includes a high-precision servo motor and a turntable that controls its uniform rotation, with the hollowed-out area formed on the turntable and arranged around the circumference of the turntable.

[0008] Preferably, the robotic arm adopts an XYZ three-axis control platform.

[0009] Preferably, the detection device further includes an infrared backlight source, which is configured in conjunction with a line scan camera array.

[0010] Preferably, the line scan camera array consists of multiple line scan high-resolution industrial cameras connected in parallel, using wide-angle telecentric lenses.

[0011] Preferably, the testing device further includes a display for outputting the pass rate of micropore status for different types of spinnerets, different batches of spinnerets, and different positions of spinnerets, to evaluate the quality of spinnerets and the content related to micropore blockage and production process.

[0012] Preferably, it also includes an automatic feeding device and an unloading and packaging device. The automatic feeding device identifies the model and number of each spinneret, adjusts its posture based on the back of the spinneret as a reference, and places it on the spinneret carrier tray according to the specified orientation. At the same time, it registers the model information of each spinneret to be inspected on the carrier tray. The spinnerets are pushed to the inspection area of ​​the testing equipment in units of carrier trays to queue for inspection. The unloading and packaging device unloads, bags, seals, marks and puts into storage the qualified spinnerets on the carrier tray.

[0013] A fully automated method for microscopic inspection of spinnerets includes:

[0014] Step 1: The automatic feeding equipment identifies the model and number of each spinneret, adjusts its posture based on the back of the spinneret's latch, and places it on the spinneret carrier tray according to the specified orientation; at the same time, it records the model information of each spinneret to be inspected on the carrier tray; the spinnerets are pushed to the inspection area of ​​the testing equipment in units of carrier trays.

[0015] Step 2: The robotic arm sequentially picks up the spinnerets from the material tray and places them at the loading station;

[0016] Step 3: The rotating mechanism turntable rotates at a constant speed. After the feeding station is switched to the blowing and suction cleaning station by the rotation, the blowing and suction device at the corresponding station will perform high-pressure gas blowing and suction cleaning on the spinneret.

[0017] Step 4: The rotating mechanism turntable continues to rotate at a constant speed. The blowing and suction cleaning station is switched to the photo detection station. The line scan camera array collects images of the spinneret and detects the status of each micro-hole of the spinneret based on machine vision and machine learning methods.

[0018] Step 5: When the spinneret passes the inspection, the rotary mechanism turntable rotates, the photo inspection station switches to the unloading station, the robot grabs the spinneret on the unloading station and puts it back to the original position of the material tray, then returns to step 2 to continue the inspection until all spinnerets on the material tray have been inspected, then returns to step 7 for unloading and packaging.

[0019] If the spinneret fails the test, proceed to step 6;

[0020] Step 6: Rotate the turntable of the rotating mechanism to switch the photo inspection station to the blow-suction cleaning station, that is, rotate the spinneret back to the blow-suction device, and continue with steps 3 and 4. If the spinneret inspection still fails, proceed to step 8.

[0021] Step 7: Transfer the tested material tray to the unloading and packaging equipment, and discharge, bag, seal and mark the qualified spinnerets on the material tray;

[0022] Step 8: Remove the spinnerets that fail the inspection to the manual processing area for manual processing.

[0023] The system of this invention is used to detect whether there is dirt, burrs adhering to the wall, or blockage in the micropores of spinnerets of various chemical fibers. It effectively improves the automation level of spinneret detection, reduces human intervention, improves detection efficiency, and reduces detection costs. Attached Figure Description

[0024] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the inspection equipment structure of a fully automatic spinneret microscopic inspection system according to this embodiment;

[0025] In the diagram, 1-frame platform, 2-material tray, 3-robotic arm, 4-turntable, 41-loading station, 42-blowing and suction cleaning station, 43-photographing and inspection station, 44-unloading station, 5-blowing and suction device, 6-display, and 7-line scan camera array. Detailed Implementation

[0026] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and technical effects of this invention clearer, the invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0027] This embodiment of a fully automatic spinneret microscopic inspection system mainly includes an inspection device, with an automatic feeding device and an unloading and packaging device extended to the inspection device. The devices can be coordinated and controlled by software programs.

[0028] Specifically, after cleaning and drying, the spinnerets are placed in the loading area of ​​the automatic feeding equipment. The automatic feeding equipment can also be cascaded with the cleaning and drying equipment to realize automatic transfer of spinnerets between processes. The automatic feeding equipment identifies the model and number of each spinneret and adjusts its posture based on the back of the spinneret as a reference, placing it on the spinneret carrier tray 2 according to the specified orientation. At the same time, it records the model information of each spinneret to be inspected on the carrier tray 2 for use in subsequent processes such as microscopic inspection, unloading and packaging. The spinnerets are pushed to the inspection area of ​​the testing equipment in units of carrier tray 2 to queue for inspection.

[0029] like Figure 1 As shown, the workflow of the detection equipment in this embodiment is as follows: spinneret loading, micro-orifice blowing and suction cleaning, image analysis, and unloading. Its hardware includes: a frame platform 1, on which a rotating mechanism is mounted, and around which are arranged a robotic arm 3, a blowing and suction device 5, and a line scan camera array 7. The rotating mechanism includes a high-precision servo motor and a turntable 4 that controls its uniform rotation. Several hollow areas are formed on the turntable 4 for placing the spinneret. Each hollow area, according to its position after rotation, serves as a loading station 41, a blowing and suction cleaning station 42, an image detection station 43, and an unloading station 44. The robotic arm 3 is an XYZ three-axis control platform, using three sets of servo motors and three ball screws.

[0030] The robotic arm 3 sequentially picks up the spinnerets from the loading tray 2 and places them on the loading station 41. Under the control of the servo motor, the rotating mechanism controls each spinneret to pass through the blowing and suction cleaning station 42 and the photographic inspection station 43 at a uniform speed, realizing one round of inspection of the spinnerets. If the spinneret passes the microscopic inspection, the robotic arm 3 discharges the spinneret to the loading tray 2 at the unloading station 44, and at the same time completes the loading of a new spinneret to be inspected. If the spinneret fails the microscopic inspection, the spinneret is not unloaded, and the spinneret is directly rotated back to the blowing and suction cleaning station 42 for re-blowing and then completing the subsequent inspection and other work. If it passes, the robotic arm 3 unloads it back to the loading tray 2 and places it in the original loading position. After all the spinnerets on the loading tray 2 have been inspected, the loading tray 2 is transferred to the unloading and packaging equipment. The unloading and packaging equipment discharges, bags, seals, marks, and puts into storage the qualified spinnerets on the loading tray 2.

[0031] The system sets the number of re-inspections. If the material fails after the required number of re-inspections, it is moved to the manual processing area for further manual handling. The system also sets the number of high-pressure gas blow-and-suction cycles for the blowing and suction device 5. After the required number of cycles is reached, the turntable 4 rotates to move the spinneret to the photographic inspection station 43.

[0032] At the image inspection station 43, an infrared backlight is also provided to work in conjunction with the line scan camera array 7, enabling a single scan imaging of all micro-holes on the spinneret, thus improving imaging and inspection efficiency. The line scan camera array 7 consists of multiple parallel high-resolution industrial line scan cameras, employing wide-angle telecentric lenses, which offer advantages such as low distortion and high detection accuracy. The line scan camera array 7 uses an encoder to correlate the camera sampling frequency with the rotation speed of the rotating mechanism, achieving an average inspection speed of less than 50 seconds per plate. The specific inspection speed is related to the number of spinnerets on the plate. The line scan camera array 7 acquires images of the spinneret and uses machine vision and machine learning methods to detect the state of each micro-hole. Inspection items include micro-hole dirt, wall-attached burrs, blockage, and special irregular hole sizes, with an inspection accuracy of ±0.01mm, a false detection rate of 1%, and a missed detection rate of 1‰. By controlling the brightness of the infrared backlight, different types of spinnerets can be inspected, and the detectable micro-hole range is 0.01mm-5mm.

[0033] In this embodiment, the software component of the detection equipment includes control software, detection software, and statistical analysis software. The control software is responsible for the coordinated control of electrical equipment, motion equipment, and sensors, enabling operations such as loading and unloading, spinneret displacement, and micro-orifice blowing and suction. It also works with the detection software to achieve spinneret imaging and detection.

[0034] The detection software performs functions such as spinneret image acquisition, micro-orifice segmentation, edge detection, and shape analysis, and completes the task of detecting the state of micro-orifices that are circular or irregularly shaped.

[0035] The statistical analysis software analyzes the test results of each micro-orifice on the spinneret and visualizes the micro-orifice status pass rate of different types of spinnerets, different batches of spinnerets, and different positions of spinnerets on the display 6. It also evaluates the spinneret quality and the correlation between micro-orifice blockage and the production process.

[0036] Currently, the R&D budget for a single fully automated spinneret microscopy inspection unit is controlled within 1.5 million RMB. The investment payback period is related to the number of shared workshops; the more shared workshops, the better the manpower reduction effect and the shorter the investment payback period. If there are 2-4 shared workshops, the investment payback period is approximately 2-6 years. In workshops without stand-alone microscopy equipment, 6 microscopists are typically employed, working only day shifts; in workshops with stand-alone microscopy equipment, 3 microscopists are employed, and 300-400 spinnerets can be inspected per day. Manually, spinnerets of different specifications are first placed into molds of corresponding specifications, and then placed on the automated microscopy equipment for inspection. The cycle time of the automated microscopy equipment is 22-30 minutes / 16 plates, and irregular holes still require manual inspection. However, after using the fully automated spinneret microscopy inspection system of this invention, only 1 person is needed per workshop, the inspection cycle time is ≤14 minutes / 16 plates, and both round and irregular holes can be inspected, making it more practical and applicable to a wider range.

[0037] In summary, the fully automated spinneret microscopic inspection system of this embodiment has the following advantages:

[0038] (1) Improve product quality and reduce the production of substandard products. System testing can perform hole-by-hole testing and recording without omission. The status of the tested spinning holes is determined by data, which can ensure the accuracy of the test results, so as to achieve the best spinning quality, reduce the production of substandard products, and avoid unnecessary losses.

[0039] (2) Improve efficiency and save labor costs. The system automatically completes all workflows, including spinneret loading, microscopic inspection, unloading, packaging, and marking, significantly improving spinneret inspection efficiency. For defective holes, compressed air is used to automatically clean the dirt; only for holes that cannot be cleaned by compressed air, manual follow-up processing is required.

[0040] (3) Understand the service life and quality of old spinnerets. Since each spinneret has a test history, it is easy to understand the service time and number of times the spinneret was used, and thus assess the life of the spinneret.

[0041] (4) Assess the failure rate of the cleaning equipment. Understand the cleanliness of the spinneret to improve the scheduling of the front-end cleaning equipment and increase the cleanliness of the spinneret.

[0042] (5) Real-time assessment and improvement of abnormalities in the spinning process. If the contamination holes of the spinneret are found to be concentrated in a certain area, it may be due to a temperature problem or other issues in the spinning process, and the process should be improved accordingly.

[0043] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the invention in any way. Although the implementation process of the present invention has been described in detail above, those skilled in the art can still modify the technical solutions described in the foregoing examples or make equivalent substitutions for some of the technical features. All modifications and equivalent substitutions made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A fully automated spinneret microscopic inspection system, comprising inspection equipment, characterized in that, The testing equipment includes: a frame table (1), an inspection area is provided on the frame table (1), a rotating mechanism is installed on one side of the inspection area, and a robot arm (3), a blow-suction device (5) and a line scan camera array (7) are located around the rotating mechanism. The robotic arm (3) adopts an XYZ three-axis control platform; a material tray (2) is placed in the inspection area; The rotating mechanism includes a high-precision servo motor and a turntable (4) that controls the uniform rotation. Several hollow areas for placing spinnerets are provided around the circumference of the turntable (4). After the rotating mechanism rotates at a uniform speed, the hollow areas correspond to the loading station (41) and unloading station (44) of the robot (3), the blowing and suction cleaning station (42) of the blowing and suction device (5), and the photo taking and detection station (43) of the line scan camera array (7). The blow-suction device (5) is used to clean the micropores of the spinneret located at the blow-suction cleaning station (42); The line scan camera array (7) is used to acquire images of the spinneret located at the photo inspection station (43) and detect the status of each micropore of the spinneret based on machine vision and machine learning methods. The robotic arm (3) is used to grab the spinneret to be inspected to the loading station (41) and to remove the inspected spinneret from the unloading station (44) and put it back to the original position of the loading tray (2); The spinneret microscopic inspection method of the fully automated spinneret microscopic inspection system includes: Step 1: The automatic feeding equipment identifies the model and number of each spinneret, adjusts its posture based on the back of the spinneret's latch, and places it on the spinneret carrier tray (2) according to the specified orientation; at the same time, it registers the information of each spinneret model to be inspected on the carrier tray (2); the spinnerets are pushed to the inspection area of ​​the testing equipment in units of the carrier tray (2) to queue up; Step 2: The robotic arm (3) sequentially picks up the spinnerets on the material tray (2) and places them on the feeding station (41). Step 3: The turntable (4) rotates at a constant speed. After the loading station (41) is switched to the blowing and suction cleaning station (42) by rotation, the blowing and suction device (5) at the corresponding station performs high-pressure gas blowing and suction cleaning on the spinneret. Step 4: The turntable (4) continues to rotate at a constant speed. The blowing and suction cleaning station (42) is switched to the photo detection station (43). The spinneret image is collected by the line scan camera array (7) and the status of each micropore of the spinneret is detected based on machine vision and machine learning methods. Step 5: When the spinneret passes the inspection, the turntable (4) rotates, the photo inspection station (43) is switched to the unloading station (44), the robot (3) grabs the spinneret on the unloading station (44) and puts it back to the original position of the loading tray (2), then proceeds to step 2 to continue the inspection until all spinnerets on the loading tray (2) have been inspected, then proceeds to step 7 to unload and package. If the spinneret fails the test, proceed to step 6; Step 6: Rotate the turntable (4) to switch the photo inspection station (43) to the blow-suction cleaning station (42), that is, rotate the spinneret back to the blow-suction device (5), and continue with steps 3 and 4. If the spinneret inspection still fails, proceed to step 8. Step 7: Transfer the tested material tray (2) to the discharge and packaging equipment, discharge the qualified spinneret on the material tray (2), bag it, seal it and mark it; Step 8: Remove the spinnerets that fail the inspection to the manual processing area for manual processing.

2. The fully automated spinneret microscopic inspection system as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The detection device also includes an infrared backlight source, which is configured in conjunction with a line scan camera array (7).

3. The fully automated spinneret microscopic inspection system as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The line scan camera array (7) consists of multiple line scan high-resolution industrial cameras connected in parallel, and uses a wide-angle telecentric lens.

4. The fully automated spinneret microscopic inspection system as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The testing equipment also includes a display for outputting the pass rate of micropore status for different types of spinnerets, different batches of spinnerets, and different positions of spinnerets, to evaluate the quality of spinnerets and the content of micropore blockage and production process.

5. The fully automated spinneret microscopic inspection system as described in claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes automatic feeding equipment and discharge packaging equipment. The automatic feeding equipment identifies the model and number of each spinneret and adjusts its posture based on the back of the spinneret and places it on the spinneret carrier tray (2) according to the specified orientation. At the same time, it registers the information of each spinneret model to be inspected on the carrier tray (2). The spinnerets are pushed to the inspection area of ​​the testing equipment in units of the carrier tray (2) to queue for inspection. The discharge packaging equipment discharges, bags, seals, marks and puts into storage the qualified spinnerets on the carrier tray (2).

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