Improvement of the manufacturing quality test of plastic containers by using thermography scans

ABSTRACT Quality control processes guarantee the proper product performance prior to its distribution in the market. In particular, the analysis of this process in plastic containers is developed by sensors that measure the internal pressure. In this study, an experimental framework for detecting structural damages is proposed. The main contribution lies in the use of passive thermography and digital image processing, where the raw thermographic images are analysed in LabVIEW. The digital interface presents in a user-friendly manner the results of the full process along with the location and characteristics of the structural damage. The results obtained denote an improvement in the quality process by increasing the resolution for the error detection in structural damages around 0.4 mm, which falls out of the scope of classic pressure sensors. The thermographic scans serve as a contrast medium for highlighting the damage in the containers and do not depend on the environmental temperature.