Metal Coil

CIGS production on metal substrates critically depends upon pristine coil quality.  Scratches, inclusions, bumps, and dents in the coil translate into efficiency loss due to shunts and shorts.  The strip surface must be blemish-free and smooth.

Traditional vision systems fail miserably at detecting coil defects at the level required.  While these systems are adequate in conventional steel and aluminum strip mills, the quality demands of CIGS producers are much more stringent.  Traditional vision systems cannot meet these challenges; they are not designed to inspect shiny surfaces (Ra <25nm) for defects of 2 µm - 10 µm and greater.  The systems are hindered by subtle movement of the coil, inherent coil wave, imperceptible changes in camera-illumination angles and more.  Missed defects and false hits result.

Dark Field Technologies has modified its proven, patent pending laser technology for the in-line inspection of shiny metal coils.  This system utilizes proprietary dark field optics and high speed scan cameras to easily detect scratches and other defects.  The systems are 100% solid state, self-aligning, maintenance free and are simple to install.

NxtGen™ ReflecXun systems deliver what the current vision systems cannot - high resolution, reliable, consistent, 100% metrology of shiny steel and aluminum coils for all visual defects.  Defect maps, alarms, defect clusters, repeating defects and other capabilities ensure the quality of the coil, on-line, in real-time.