WCN Autumn 2012

W I R E & C A B L E I N D U S T R Y

42 YearsofExcellence

WCN Extended quality control of cable insulation by colour measurement during extrusion

By Dr.Ing. Horst Scheid, Siebe Engineering, Germany

Abstract In order to get better quality information during extrusion of colour coded cable insulation, Siebe developed a new system that can detect colour faults even with small product geometry and fast running lines. The accuracy has been tested to be same or even better than the human eye and reproducable results have been measured with single colours as well as with stripe coded cable types for automotive applications. production, it is common standard and state-of-the-art in automotive wire production to use automatic colour changing systems and automatic colour batch dosing systems on extrusion lines. On such production lines for automotive wires a huge number of combinations of main and stripe colour is used and can be preset within the line control menu. For quality control, concentricity, diameter, capacitance and spark faults are constantly measured and protocolled. Readings can automatically influence and correct the extrusion parameters. But the correctness of cable colours is still left to the imagination and skill of the line operator, to recognise the correct colours in accordance with relevant standards and auditing procedures. The proper colour is checked either visually inline or after the completion of a drum by inspection of the top Introduction In today’s cable

layer. Start and end of the colour changing process is normally not monitored during running production. The scrap length is set by means of empirical values under consideration of a safety value which is longer than actually necessary. It is therefore obvious that wrong colours cost valuable production time and material scrap. The logical consequence of these considerations is the need of some automatic inline colour measurement. Colour metrics For a better understanding of colour measurements, it is useful to define first some basics of colour perception and colour metrics. Just to demonstrate the difficulties in interpretation ‘colour’ by human eyes. Picture 1 shows two squares, A and B. Everyone classifies A to be darker than B, but indeed they have both the same grey value.

This (like many other optical illusions) explains why objective colour specification by human eyes is nearly impossible. To describe colour in physical terms, the base is a part of the electromagnetic spectrum that has wavelengths from 350 to 800nm and will be recognised by human eyes as ‘colour’ (in ascending order violet-indigo-blue-green-yellow- orange-red). A better physiological representation is the so-called colour wheel (or colour circle), where different circular sectors are filled with different colours. Colours in opposite sectors are designated as complimentary, that leads to the well-known RGB model: With the three basic colours Red, Green and Blue, all other colours can be created by suitable mixing. Mixing complimentary colours 1:1 results in a neutral grey or white (additive RGB-mixing). This model is very common for camera or monitor applications, but it is a pure mathematical description without any feeling for human colour perception. In 1927, the German ‘Reich-Ausschuß für Lieferbedingungen’ (an organisation for quality assurance) arranged a colour chart, which should serve as reference for coloured parts. That table is nowadays still very common in industry as ‘RAL Palette classic/ design/effect’ [2] . This does not include the complete continuum of colour variations and so it is not suitable for an automated system.

Are square A and B the same colour?

S S Picture 1: Optical Illusion. Square A and B have the same grey value, but they are interpreted by human eye as different because of differences in their nearest neighbourhood [1]

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