diff --git a/README.md b/README.md index bcebeb6..5256b40 100644 --- a/README.md +++ b/README.md @@ -180,6 +180,11 @@ The detail lives in dedicated documents: repo, VLAN zoning, Telegraf/MQTT acquisition source by source, QC instrument integration, the factory application, alerting, backup, security, the data clauses for every RFQ, build order and rough cost +- [Inline optical QC](docs/equipment/inline-optical-qc.md): devices for + the 100% record inspection station (line-scan cameras with dark-field + and transmitted light, label camera, laser warp sensors, centring + turntable), CD-scanner and PRP precedents, smart-camera versus open + NixOS software, specials, prices and a two-station cost estimate - [Quality automation](docs/quality-automation.md): stamper metrology (Keyence-class confocal, profiler, XRF), layered pressed-record QC (100% optical inspection, per-cycle press telemetry, sampled automated audio @@ -339,6 +344,7 @@ docs/ │ │ optical-disc literature (vendor PDFs) │ ├── duplex-cell-layout-sketch.png Duplex cell arrangement (sketch, not to scale) │ ├── galvanics.md Electroforming and stamper prep equipment plan +│ ├── inline-optical-qc.md Devices for the record inspection station │ └── pressing-line.md Press fleet strategy and equipment plan ├── finance/ Project cost overviews, revenue model, │ construction RFQ, PEA electricity tariff diff --git a/docs/digital-factory.md b/docs/digital-factory.md index 06328fc..cad19fe 100644 --- a/docs/digital-factory.md +++ b/docs/digital-factory.md @@ -563,7 +563,7 @@ same watcher pattern as the metrology exports below. See | Instrument | How results reach the database | Key | Open integration item | |---|---|---|---| -| Inline optical inspection at the press unloader (Keyence or Cognex class, custom integration) | vision controller sends one result string per record over TCP to a receiver on `vinyl-edge-press`; images pushed by SFTP to the collector, synced to the core's image dataset | press ID + cycle counter, passed from the PLC to the vision trigger | the cycle counter hand-off between PLC and vision controller is an integrator deliverable and an acceptance test | +| Inline optical inspection at the press unloader (PC-based GenICam station or Keyence/Cognex class, custom integration; devices in [inline optical QC](equipment/inline-optical-qc.md)) | vision controller sends one result string per record over TCP to a receiver on `vinyl-edge-press`; images pushed by SFTP to the collector, synced to the core's image dataset | press ID + cycle counter, passed from the PLC to the vision trigger | the cycle counter hand-off between PLC and vision controller is an integrator deliverable and an acceptance test | | Stamper metrology (Keyence VK-X, VR-6000, XRF gauge, profilometer) | vendor Windows PCs export CSV and raw 3D to an SMB share on `vinyl-st-metrology`; a watcher parses and posts | back-side Data Matrix serial, scanned at the bench before measurement | export format per instrument confirmed with Keyence Thailand | | PVC material lab (moisture analyzer, spectrophotometer, balance, later torque rheometer, DSC, FTIR) | instruments with RS232/USB export are read at `vinyl-st-lab`; the rest are typed in with the printout photographed; CoA PDF attached | compound lot ID (printed label scanned at intake) | which benchtop models have serial export | | Audio QC station | capture service on `vinyl-st-audioqc` records the needle-drop (PipeWire, FLAC to the core's capture dataset); analysis pipeline computes spectral-envelope match to the source master, click/pop count, noise floor, channel balance; scores posted | record key (stamper + press + cycle + side), typed or picked from the run list | first-of-kind pipeline, developed in Expand phase against launch-phase recordings | diff --git a/docs/equipment/inline-optical-qc.md b/docs/equipment/inline-optical-qc.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..92b00fd --- /dev/null +++ b/docs/equipment/inline-optical-qc.md @@ -0,0 +1,236 @@ +# Inline optical QC: devices for the record inspection station + +Research note, October 2026. This note works out which devices can do +layer 1 of [quality automation](../quality-automation.md#layer-1-100-optical-inspection-inline), +the optical check of every pressed record. Prices come from vendor shops, +vendor pages or third-party listings, and the source is named each time. +Anything without a source is marked as an estimate. Nothing here is a +quote. + +**Short answer.** Nobody sells a vinyl inspection machine. The template +is the CD and DVD in-line scanner: spin the disc once under a line-scan +camera that looks along the radius, with angled lights, and measure the +height with lasers during the same turn. That can be built from standard +parts: + +- a 4k line-scan camera per side, with dark-field and bright-field lights; +- a colour area camera per side for the label; +- two laser distance sensors for warp; +- a servo turntable with a centring chuck; +- an edge PC running open-source vision software on NixOS. + +The hardware costs about USD 12k to 30k per station (estimate). The launch +plant needs two stations, one for the Duplex cell and one for the Classic. + +## What the station has to catch + +| Defect | How it shows optically | Device | Limit or source | +|---|---|---|---| +| Non-fill (PVC did not fill the stamper) | dull, matte patches in the groove band, most often at the outer edge of 180 g records ([AnalogPlanet](https://analogplanet.com/content/what-non-fill-looks)) | line-scan camera, low-angle (dark-field) light | any patch; correlates with audible defects | +| Stitching and flow lines | lines or streaks in the groove sheen | same | any visible line | +| Bubbles, inclusions, black specks | dark or bright points; in clear and translucent colours seen best in transmitted light | line-scan with a back light | size threshold set in trials | +| Debris, scratches, scuffs | bright points or lines in dark-field, dark in bright-field | both lights | size threshold set in trials | +| Edge trim (burr, wrong diameter) | the record edge in the line-scan image | line-scan | trim drawing | +| Label wrong, on the wrong side, off-centre, wrinkled, bubbled, misprinted | colour image of the label against the approved artwork from the order | colour area camera, ring or dome light | artwork in ERPNext | +| Off-centre hole (eccentricity) | the groove band edges trace a sine wave in the unwrapped image when the hole sits off the spiral centre | line-scan, fit of the lead-in and the finishing groove | 0.2 mm hole to groove spiral (IEC 98-1987, DIN 45547-1981, as [tabulated here](http://www7a.biglobe.ne.jp/~yosh/standards_table.htm)); Stamper Discs aims below 0.1 mm on the record and 0.05 mm on the stamper ([Stamper Discs, 2025](https://www.stamperdiscs.com/the-physical-attributes-of-a-stamper-eccentricity/)) | +| Centre hole size | hole diameter in a backlit image, or a go/no-go mandrel | area camera (optional) | 7.24 mm, -0/+0.09 mm (same table) | +| Warp: edge run-out and dish | height change over one turn | two laser distance sensors, or one laser line profiler | Mobineko rejects above 0.5 mm (black), 1.0 mm (colour) or 1.5 mm (special effects) edge run-out per turn, or above 2 mm (black) or 3 mm (colour) between edge and centre ([Mobineko](https://mobineko.com/vinyl-quality-standards)) | +| Colour off the approved test pressing | colour values against the first approved records of the job | calibrated colour camera | tolerance set per job | +| Record temperature at unload (process signal, optional) | temperature map | thermal camera | trend against warp | + +No camera can see a wrong master cut into good-looking grooves, or clicks +from defects smaller than its resolution. Those stay with the sampled +audio comparison (layer 3). Optical and audio checks complement each other. + +## Who does this already + +- **No vinyl product.** A search in October 2026 found no inline + inspection machine for vinyl records on sale. The presses do not offer + one either. The Newbilt Classic's feature list stops at automatic + unloading, the spindle stack, cycle recording and OPC UA + ([Newbilt Classic](https://vinyl-pressing-plants.com/blog/newbilt-classic-12-inch-vinyl-record-press)). +- **CD and DVD lines had it, and that is the template.** Dr. Schenk's ISM + in-line scanner ([brochure, 2007](https://www.drschenk.com/fileadmin/user_files/brochures/13-other_applications/optical_media_inspection/ism_inline_scanner.pdf)): + - a 2048-pixel, 12-bit line-scan camera with LED lights; + - one turn in 600 ms or less, 20 µm radial resolution; + - radial and tangential disc deformation measured at 1,000 points; + - a defect classifier, on embedded Linux. + + Basler began in this market in 1990 for PolyGram in Hanover + ([IMVE](https://imveurope.com/feature/caught-camera)) and sold the + optical-media business to Xiris in 2009 + ([Vision Systems Design](https://vision-systems.com/cameras-accessories/article/16747762/basler-sells-optical-media-business-continues-focus-on-camera-markets)). + A vinyl record is a bigger, black, grooved disc, but the method carries + over. +- **Precision Record Pressing (Ontario), 2023.** Their in-house AQA system + takes the first and second record of each order. Surface-scanning + cameras built into the lids of modified turntables scan both records, + then both are played in sync and compared with the master + ([PRP](https://www.precisionpressing.com/blog/news-prp-announces-new-automated-quality-assurance-system)). + It works on samples and is not for sale, but it is the closest vinyl + precedent. +- **Czech Technical University, Prague.** A bachelor thesis built an + automated optical defect check for LPs in LabVIEW and ran lighting + experiments ([CTU thesis](https://dspace.cvut.cz/entities/publication/11505711-6ce1-4b87-904d-a1421d91cf9f)). + A 2018 paper from the same faculty identified defects with a wavelet + method and classified them with KNN, and got 57 % of records right + ([CTU, 2018](https://starfos.tacr.cz/en/vysledky-vyzkumu/RIV%2F68407700%3A21230%2F18%3A00321872)). +- **Plants check by hand today.** Mobineko measures flatness with a + micrometer gauge and a laser level on a modified turntable + ([Mobineko](https://mobineko.com/vinyl-quality-standards)). Third Man + checks flatness and label orientation by eye as records leave the press + ([WIRED](https://www.wired.com/video/watch/how-vinyl-records-are-made-with-third-man-records)). + +## The station + +**How it works.** The record goes onto a centring chuck: a mandrel +expands in the 7.24 mm hole and a ring supports the label area. A servo +turntable with an encoder turns it once in about 1 s. Both sides are +imaged during that one turn, one camera set above and one below. The +lights are strobed on alternate lines, so the same turn gives a +dark-field, a bright-field and a transmitted-light image. Stacking line +images from one turn into one picture is standard multi-light line-scan +practice (estimate for this application; to prove in trials). The PC +unwraps each image into a strip of radius against angle, which makes +rings straight lines and an off-centre hole a sine wave. + +| Function | Device, per side unless noted | Examples | Price signal | +|---|---|---|---| +| Surface | 4k monochrome line-scan camera along the radius, with a lens, plus a dark-field and a bright-field line light | Basler racer 2 r2L4096 (GigE, 14 to 29 kHz); Hikrobot MV-CL042-91GM (GigE, 4096 × 7 µm pixels, 28 kHz, 80 kHz in high-bandwidth mode, GenICam, Linux; [datasheet](https://www.innosmart.bg/en/catalog/product/by-id/MV-CL042-91GM)); Cognex In-Sight 3800 Line Scan (smart camera, 4K at 84 kHz, encoder inputs, AI tools on board; [specs](https://www.cognex.com/products/machine-vision/2d-machine-vision-systems/in-sight-3800-line-scan/specifications)) | Basler 4k GigE line-scan from USD 857 to 1,088 in Basler's web shop ([price listing](https://cards.keenable.ai/w/01a14ab8-9648-7191-8286-bc5956857428)); lens USD 300 to 800 and line lights USD 500 to 1,500 each (estimates) | +| Transmitted light | a diffuse line light under the record for the top camera | any line-light maker | USD 500 to 1,500 (estimate) | +| Label | 5 to 8 MP colour area camera with a ring or dome light | Basler ace 2 a2A2840-14gcPRO | USD 1,119 (Basler web shop, same listing) | +| Warp, simple | two laser distance sensors under the record, at the outer edge and at mid radius | Micro-Epsilon optoNCDT 1420 | from EUR 470 list ([Micro-Epsilon](https://www.micro-epsilon.com/insights/optoncdt-1220-1320-1420/)); ILD1420-25 about USD 1,600 at a reseller ([Radwell](https://www.radwell.ca/Buy/MICRO%20EPSILON/MICRO%20EPSILON/ILD1420-25)) | +| Warp and thickness, full map (alternative) | laser line profiler across the radius, giving a full height map | Keyence LJ-X8000 (warpage and flatness tools, compensates eccentricity; [Keyence](https://keyence.com/products/measure/laser-2d/lj-x8000)); LMI Gocator 2500 (up to 10 kHz, blue laser; [LMI](https://lmi3d.com/2500-high-speed-3d-laser-profile-sensors/)); Micro-Epsilon scanCONTROL | no list price found; USD 8k to 20k (estimate) | +| Thermal (optional) | infrared camera over the unload position | Optris Xi 400 (80 Hz, line-scan mode) | from EUR 1,950 ([Optris](https://optris.com/products/thermal-cameras/compact-line/xi-400/)); USD 2,995 at a US reseller ([moviTHERM](https://movitherm.com/product/optris-xi-400-infrared-camera/)) | +| Compute | edge PC with a GPU, NixOS | any industrial PC | USD 2k to 4k (estimate) | +| Mechanics | servo turntable, centring chuck, encoder, frame, light shield, reject gate, stack light | local machine builder | USD 4k to 10k (estimate) | + +**Resolution.** These are worked figures for a 160 mm field and a 4,096-pixel line: + +- **Radial:** about 39 µm per pixel. +- **Along the groove, at 14 kHz and one turn per second:** about 66 µm per line at the outer edge (146 mm radius) and 22 µm at the label edge. At 28 kHz these halve. +- **What that sees:** millimetre-sized non-fill, flow lines and specks of about 0.1 mm and up. It does not resolve single grooves. +- **How defects show:** the camera sees how the groove field scatters light, so a defect has to change that scatter. That is why lighting trials come first, as in the CTU thesis. + +**Eccentricity.** At the 0.1 mm target, the sine wave in the unwrapped +image is about 2.6 pixels high. A sub-pixel fit along the lead-in edge +and the finishing groove (106.4 ± 0.8 mm diameter in IEC 98) over about +14,000 lines should repeat within 10 to 20 µm. That figure is an estimate +and has to be shown in trials. The chuck has to centre on the hole +exactly, because the station measures the groove spiral against the +chuck. + +**Throughput.** + +| | Duplex cell | Classic | +|---|---|---| +| Output | a record every 15 to 20 s from its two presses (at 30 to 40 s per press; Newbilt quotes about 30 s, and the [fleet calculator](../fleet-calculator.html) takes 3 records a minute as 40 s) | a 180 g record every 28 s (Newbilt) | +| Station time per record | about 1 s of scan plus 2 to 3 s to load and unload (estimate) | same | + +That leaves slack at both stations. One central station could in +principle take the launch plant's 5 to 6 records a minute. A station at +each cell needs no conveyor and catches a non-fill streak within a cycle +or two. The calculator's iso view draws a conveyor to one optical +station; that drawing is schematic. + +## Where it sits + +- **Duplex cell.** The station sits after the edge trimmer, in front of + the operator, before the spindle. The flow per record: + 1. The operator puts the record on the chuck. + 2. A presence sensor starts the scan. + 3. A stack light shows green or red. + 4. A reject goes into a bin, and a small screen shows the reason. + + The operator still sees every record, so the visual check stays as it + is today. +- **Classic.** The Classic unloads by itself onto the spindle stack. Ask + Newbilt whether the unload handling can set the record on an inspection + chuck first, or hand it over to a small pick-and-place unit by I/O. If + neither works, use a fixed area camera over the unload position. That + covers surface and label, and leaves warp and eccentricity to samples. +- **Warm records.** Records leave the press warm and settle in the stack; + 24 hours of cooling is the usual practice + ([Stamper Discs](https://stamperdiscs.com/horns-and-quality-issues-in-vinyl-record-pressing)). + The warp reading at the press is therefore an early warning. Release on + warp uses sampled cooled records, measured on a second station of the + same design in the QC lab. + +## Two software routes + +| | Smart camera or vendor controller | Open, PC-based | +|---|---|---| +| Examples | Cognex In-Sight 3800 with edge learning (about USD 8,500 a unit in a [third-party listing](https://robotomated.com/explore/manufacturing/cognex-insight-3800)); Keyence CV-X or XG-X with LumiTrax, which separates shape from surface pattern on shiny parts ([Keyence](https://www.keyence.com/landing/vision/lumitrax-lighting.jsp)); CV-X controllers listed at about USD 5,400 to 5,500 on resale sites ([BigGo](https://biggo.com/s/cv-x%20keyence)); Keyence quotes only locally | GenICam cameras (Basler, Hikrobot, or Keyence's VJ series) with:
- Aravis for acquisition (LGPL-2.1, GigE Vision and USB3 Vision, packaged in nixpkgs as 0.8.35; [GitHub](https://github.com/AravisProject/aravis), [MyNixOS](https://mynixos.com/nixpkgs/package/aravis)), or Harvester (Apache-2.0, needs the camera maker's GenTL producer; [GitHub](https://github.com/genicam/harvesters));
- OpenCV;
- anomalib for learned defect detection (Apache-2.0, PatchCore and others; [PyPI](https://pypi.org/project/anomalib/)) | +| For | fast set-up, vendor support, tested tools | we own the code and the data, no licence per unit, fits the NixOS stack and the service offer to other plants ([digital factory](../digital-factory.md)) | +| Against | closed, Windows set-up tools; the polar unwrap, eccentricity fit and per-job learning still have to be built on top | we build and maintain it; the first station takes longer | + +Keyence's VJ series sits between the two. It sells Keyence GigE cameras +and LumiTrax lights for PC-based software, with GenICam, OpenCV and +HALCON listed as supported +([Keyence VJ](https://keyence.com/ss/products/vision/vj)). + +Recommendation: take the open route for the station itself. Before that, +ask Keyence Thailand for its free demo and test report on sample records +with LumiTrax. It costs nothing, teaches us the lighting, and gives a +benchmark for our own result. + +## Colour and special records + +Specials are planned at 60 % or more of output, and they are the hard +part: + +- **Marbled and splatter:** the pattern is random, so a fixed golden image + cannot work. The model learns each job from its first approved records + and flags what differs. That is few-shot anomaly detection, for example + PatchCore in anomalib, with the operator confirming the first flags. +- **Clear and translucent colours:** transmitted light shows bubbles and + specks well. +- **Picture discs:** they need the label-style print comparison over the + whole face. +- **Black:** the easiest. + +Expect more false rejects on specials in the first months (estimate). The +reject rates in the [factory console](../factory-console.html) demo are +simulated. + +## Cost + +| Item | Estimate | +|---|---| +| Hardware per station, from the table above | USD 12k to 30k | +| First station: mechanics, lighting trials, software, training data | 2 to 4 person-months, USD 15k to 40k (our own team with a local machine builder) | +| Launch plant: two stations, Duplex cell and Classic | about USD 40k to 100k (1.3M to 3.3M THB) | + +All three figures are estimates. They fit inside the existing metrology +launch-tier line, USD 170k to 460k for XRF, inline vision and the audio +station ([total investment](../finance/total-investment.md)). The plan +prices therefore do not change. That line has no published split, so the +vision share is not yet confirmed. + +## Where to buy in Thailand + +| Brand | Channel | Status | +|---|---|---| +| Keyence | Keyence (Thailand), direct sales | free demos and test reports, as Keyence offers in other markets ([Keyence](https://www.keyence.eu/landing/lpc/surface-defect-detection.jsp)); confirm locally | +| Basler | LINX KK (Thailand), Basler's only official distributor in Thailand ([LINX](https://linx.co.th/en)) | | +| Cognex | local distributor | still to name | +| Hikrobot | local distributor or the Chinese route | still to name | +| Micro-Epsilon, LMI, Optris | local distributor | still to name | + +## Next steps + +1. **Lighting trials.** Get a dozen records with known defects from a + partner plant: non-fill, stitching, bubbles, an off-centre one, and a + splatter colour. Test them with a borrowed line-scan camera and two + lights. +2. **Keyence test.** Ask Keyence Thailand for a test report on the same + records. +3. **Newbilt.** Ask about the Classic unload hand-off. Also ask for the + cycle counter over OPC UA, so every result carries the record key + (stamper, press, cycle, side; see [digital factory](../digital-factory.md)). +4. **Warp sensors.** Choose between two point lasers and a line profiler + once the trials show whether a thickness map is worth the extra cost. +5. **Acceptance test.** Write it before ordering. It should cover the + detection rate per defect class on the trial set, the false-reject + rate on good records (black and specials apart), and every result + matched to its record key. diff --git a/docs/quality-automation.md b/docs/quality-automation.md index d3051e4..cf4b2e6 100644 --- a/docs/quality-automation.md +++ b/docs/quality-automation.md @@ -134,10 +134,16 @@ print defects). Non-fill and stitching correlate with audible defects, so optical inspection is a strong proxy for audio quality without playing the record. -No vinyl-specific vision product exists; this is a custom integration of -general machine vision (Keyence or Cognex class) at the press unloader. CNX -would be an early adopter, and it should be budgeted as an integration -project. +No vinyl-specific vision product exists (search of October 2026); this is +a custom integration of general machine vision at the press unloader, on +the pattern of the old CD and DVD in-line scanners: one turn under a +radial line-scan camera with angled lights, plus laser distance sensors +for warp. The closest vinyl precedent is Precision Record Pressing's +in-house AQA (2023), which scans sampled records with cameras in the lid +of modified turntables before playing them. CNX would be an early +adopter, and it should be budgeted as an integration project. The device +options, a station design, prices and a cost estimate are in +[inline optical QC](equipment/inline-optical-qc.md). ### Layer 2: press telemetry, every cycle