Addressing equipment set-up time and manufacturing cost through real time inline inspection in tantalum wire manufacturing

Abstract

For this study, a novel wire inspection system was developed to detect surface defects and monitor diameter real-time during the final wire drawing operation. Throughout his work, it was proven that the new inspection system was able to catch common wire defects under manufacturing conditions (wire speed). Furthermore, defect density limits were defined based on data collected during this study. A production version of the wire inspection system was jointly developed with the equipment supplier and an order was placed for three complete systems to be installed in all final draw machines. Increased competition and poor economic conditions forced the manufacturer to place an unprecedented focus on decreasing manufacturing costs. The wire inspection system reported in this thesis was developed with the objective of increasing productivity at the most critical operation in the factory; final wire drawing.