Carded Tow Real-Time Color Assessment: A Spectral Camera-Based System

Area of Science:

• Textile Engineering
• Color Science
• Manufacturing Process Control

Background:

• Color consistency is critical in textile yarn production from pre-colored fibers.
• The carding process, transforming fibers into tow, often results in color deviations from the target reference.
• Inaccurate color matching leads to final yarns that do not meet design or customer specifications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a real-time system for assessing color correspondence of carded tow.
• To monitor the overall quality of the tow during the carding process.
• To ensure the final yarn color matches a given reference fabric.

Main Methods:

• Implementation of a spectral camera-based system for real-time measurement.
• Assessment of color correspondence between carded tow and a reference carded fabric.
• Integration of quality monitoring for the tow during carding.

Main Results:

• The proposed system effectively performs real-time spectral measurements of carded tow.
• It accurately assesses the color correspondence between the tow and reference fabrics.
• The system demonstrated reliability across various colored carded fabrics.

Conclusions:

• The spectral camera-based system is effective for real-time color assessment in textile yarn production.
• It successfully addresses the challenge of color deviation during the carding process.
• This technology ensures improved color consistency and quality control in manufactured yarns.