Appearance Inspection System for Tapes Completes Engineering Integration and Enters Dynamic Verification Phase
Recently, the tape appearance inspection project has completed the construction and joint commissioning of its core system, resulting in an engineering prototype system capable of identifying surface defects on superconducting tapes, measuring width and thickness dimensions, and accumulating inspection data. The project has now formally entered the phase of dynamic operational verification and stability optimization.new_lineDesigned to meet the quality inspection requirements for superconducting tapes, the system focuses on key quality indicators such as surface defects, width fluctuations, and thickness variations. It establishes an integrated inspection capability encompassing automated transport, visual acquisition, dimensional measurement, defect screening, and data recording. Compared with traditional manual visual inspection or outsourced inspection methods, the system can improve inspection efficiency and reduce inspection costs, while also providing a data foundation for quality traceability, process optimization, and AI-based defect recognition model training.new_lineThe achievements in this project phase signify that the company has preliminarily established independent integration capabilities for online superconducting tape inspection equipment. The team has developed a complete engineering closed-loop capability covering the entire chain from inspection requirement definition, vision solution selection, mechanical and electrical design, PLC control, front-end and back-end joint debugging, to testing and validation. This not only enhances the company's self-reliance and control over critical material inspection processes, but also accumulates reusable technical experience and engineering methodologies for future automated quality inspection equipment development.new_lineTo date, the project has accomplished the following: construction of the inspection platform, integration of mechanical and electrical systems, development of PLC programs, front-end and back-end communication, camera solution testing, debugging of NG judgment logic, and overall system joint commissioning. The system is now equipped with functionalities including continuous tape transport, surface image acquisition, visible defect screening, dynamic measurement of width and thickness, output of inspection results, and recording of test data.
The system can be applied to various scenarios such as incoming material inspection for superconducting tapes, quality assessment of R&D samples, dynamic width and thickness measurement, defect sample library construction, accumulation of AI annotation data, and small-batch engineering verification. Particularly for subsequent coil winding processes, the system can serve as a pre-screening and risk pre-identification tool for incoming materials. By detecting surface defects, abnormal width/thickness, and potential quality fluctuations before the tape enters the winding stage, it reduces the probability of defective tapes proceeding into the coil manufacturing process, thereby mitigating the risks of rework, performance anomalies, and operational failures during winding, and providing front-end assurance for the stability of coil manufacturing quality.
In subsequent phases, the project will focus on advancing dynamic operational stability verification, optimizing false-positive and false-negative rates, expanding the defect library, refining user documentation, and finalizing acceptance criteria, so as to steer the system from engineering prototype validation toward a stable delivery-ready state.