Characterization of a slit edge using image analysis

Abstract

The paper deals with the characterization of edge quality of a slit web. The conventional way of determining the edge quality of a slit web is usually through visual inspection, sometimes under an optical microscope. In this paper, an algorithm was developed and implemented in a code to analyze digital image of a slit edge to characterize and quantify the edge quality of a slit web. The Root Mean Square (RMS) value of the edge profile after image analysis has been used to characterize the quality of the slit web. The image analysis involves grayscale thresholding to convert a digital image of 8 bits or higher into a binary image, component labeling to determine the connectivity of different domains generated through thresholding and the computation of the RMS. The proposed method is capable of quantifying the edge straightness and cleanness through the acquired micrograph image of a slit edge, and the approach works equally well for aluminum, paper, plastic and non-woven webs.