Extrusion: Measure Optical Distortion in Sheet in Real Time

LiteSentry LLC, Northfield, Minn., which has made Osprey distortion and flatness inspection systems for the glass industry for over 20 years, says its technology has been enhanced to meet the inspection requirements of PC and acrylic sheet. The new Osprey 9 CW provides real-time inspection and measurement of all types of optical distortion over the entire web. By inspecting soon after the extrusion process but prior to cutting, processors can immediately recognize distortion issues and utilize process control information to adapt forming process variables such as thickness, the company says.

LiteSentry say that maintaining high-quality aesthetics and meeting architectural specifications in sheet has long been managed through manual inspection processes. As a result, sheet processors experienced inconsistent optical distortion results and costly scrap when quality defects were discovered too late.

 

 

The Osprey 9 CW is a distortion measurement system that measures all types of optical distortion over the entire area. The system was developed specifically for monitoring continuous product and works with all clear and colored PC and acrylic (of > 15% transmission).

“Sheet processors face increasing expectations of high-quality aesthetics from their downstream customers,” says LiteSentry founder Mark Abbott. “The quality of architectural glass has improved tremendously since manufacturers started measuring distortion and controlling their processes based on the results. Plastics processors are starting to discover that they can benefit from this same technology.”