TIRE TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL 2022 Optimizing visual inspection As advances in machine vision continue, human input remains key to tire inspection. Tailored inspection systerns must use best practices and solutions by A mien ak Donat rand re ey sul inspections defect (uch as bss) ae more een probably the single easly Meth when the tres Sroupanes now important ep ornate instr corps epee uly conta After inspections to remove defective ties foaetoute production all res from the product fw and prevent undergo thorough inspection of them from proceeding forward to ‘heir condition, quality and design, the customer. Another key objective The am isto verify hateach finished isto gather invaluable information tireis of uncompromised quality and to improve the quality of upstream shows no defects o signs of damage. processes. The phrase what gets ‘his ensures the manufacturer’ lies measured, gets improved sits the ‘eel the highest produc reiabilty philosophy of viscal inspection and durability standards, ‘Visual inspection is primarily The human touch carried out immediately after ‘Tite manufacturers generally vulcanizing so that possible use thei own methods for visual ‘quality sues can be discovered inspection. This can ead to grt and fixed quickly In addition, certain variation ~ 35-60 seconds ~in ™ ‘woietchnologyinieratonalcor,TIRE TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL 2022 the cyte ime ofthe process In ‘most companies, visual inspection tasks ae performed manually by trained human operators. Although automated inspection has ‘significantly improved over the last. decade, sensors and machines have not yet been able to fll eplace Jhaman eyes and touch, ‘One reson forthe superiority ‘of mana view inspection i the complentyoftire defect detection ‘within several defect ypes and lassiiations. The inspection proces offers a 360" perspective ofall tie surfices: the it sidewall, read area, shoulders, the second sidewall, ‘bead ate and internal surfaces Consequently, there can be up to 100, reasoas to maka tie sb defective, ‘An experienced visual inspector ‘catches all kinds of defects that most ‘people or current applications would not detect ~ even those hidden in the tread or not previouly clasitied. Moreover the defect is spotted and assed in under second, at the same times the tris being moved, rotated and turned, Professional Inspectors catch defects in the texts, numbering lamellas or logos of tire, They can ind blisters, bulges anv dents in the tire construction, and notice too-thin rubber layers in ‘certain areas, Manvally pushing the re they can notice missing plies ‘or open spices. A trained operator ‘can immediately tll ifthere was any problem in the curing proces. ‘The power of automation Despite the benefits of manual inspection, the obs of human ‘operators are under presse to ‘change. Companies are struggling to fill any production jobs and new visa inspectors are hard to attract and retain. Fast paced work aa conveyor belt with challenging ‘ergonomics is racely considered a dream jo. Consequently, new technologies are making gest progress in the “igtalization and modernization ‘of visual inspection, Developments In machine vision and sensor technology are sowy taking over ‘one ofthe last conveyor-belt work posts in the tre factory fully futomated inspection pracess ‘would have many indisputable ‘benefits forte vel inspection process in terme of labor cost savings, ‘decreased deviation of inspection, Iisbility and data management ~ but there i stilla way to go ‘At the moment, hazman vision is iereplaceabe i the visual inspection proces, although the high accuracy and consistency of machine vision ‘an surpas the naked eye in some axeas For instance, the comparison ‘of mold texts and DOT numbers theie specification canbe quickly and precisely performed by machines. Inefficient compromises Even wien the visual inspection process includes one or more ‘tomate element allo 3 majority of ties end up undergoing human inspection. This'mixed method! = combination of automation and manual inspection ~ can be problema ad an even complicate the factory layout and cause inefilency inthe use of pace Furthermore the cycle time ofa parly automated, prly manual Inspection sytem is cursenty too long. Asa result sthough Implementing machine vison, 30 modeling and AL feetares can Improve inspection accuracy the ‘benefits do nat necessarily outweigh the decrease in efficiency enased by langer total processing times ‘afortunately, de combination of Tong yee times and manual rechecks ‘often equates toa need for more floor space, automated posts and conveyor sjstems ~ and ukimately, increased ‘cost and reduced prota ‘Responding to demand for process automation and efficiency, some technology service providers ‘nluding Black Donuts, have developed visual inspection systems that apply the best practices and selutions customized for tre production. The gol isto make ‘sul inspection in ize production ‘ore accurate, comfortable and ‘connected, Thee tailored systems ‘onside all specs ofthe visual, Inspection proces, fom eliminating on-value-added steps to improving the working conditions of operators via better ergonomics. Harnessing the power of daa, these systems enhance the proces fllow- up ‘wth automate data recording, reporting and statistics, "Ta advance the identification of defective tees, ll manufacture specific serap codes ~ on average 50-100 codes ~ can be saved in ‘he visual inepection sytem and completed with indica instructions snd helpfl illustrations, Navigating the different wer interfaces onthe touchscreen, the inspector simply oom in tothe tire ros section to spot the exact area of defect and confirm the cores scrap code, ‘A connection to the upstream {sa tandardfnction in the most advanced visual inspection systems Following the ire flow, the stern records al possible serap causes and detects those that occur repeatedly. Default alarms and proposed measures can be setup for repetitious defects. Thies of great bene in the ‘case of several inspection posts the seraps detected at other posts, se usually not reported with traditional inspection metnods The system also tracks repetitious saps caused bya particular process or device, leading to reduced reaction time and faster corrective actions Some systems even enable the Upstream process o be stopped automatically when a defect is detected, to avoid addtional scrap tires This can lead to long term savings in srap tres and reductions imunnecessary wate tire