Method for testing a plastic sleeve for an image cylinder or a blanket cylinder
View Patent ↗This invention relates to a method for testing a plastic sleeve for use with an image cylinder or a blanket cylinder in an electrophotographic process.
1. A method for testing a plastic sleeve for use as an image cylinder sleeve or a blanket cylinder sleeve for an electrophotographic process, the method comprising:
a) positioning a sleeve having an outside on a mandrel;
b) positioning a line scan video camera adapted to produce a magnified image of the outside of the sleeve useable with image producing software;
c) rotating the outside of the sleeve relative to the line scan camera in a pattern to move the outside of the sleeve through an image area of the line scan camera;
d) passing a product data stream indicative of images of the outside of the sleeve to a computer programmed with a software program to receive and analyze the product data stream;
e) analyzing the product data stream to determine the presence and severity of defects in the outer surface of the sleeve; and,
f) compiling a record of the presence and severity of the defects.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the defects are compared to a selected standard to determine whether the sleeve is acceptable.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein the line scan camera is moved along the length of the sleeve as the sleeve rotates.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein a depth and a cross-sectional measurement of the defects are detected.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein defects no more than 3 microns in depth are detected.
6. The method of claim 1 wherein defects no more than about 10 microns in cross-section are detected.
7. The method of claim 1 wherein the product data stream is processed by the software program to measure the defects for size and optical density.
8. The method of claim 1 wherein the software program supplies an acceptable or a reject report.
9. The method of claim 8 wherein the software program supplies a compilation of al defects in the sleeve.
10. The method of claim 9 wherein the compilation is displayed on a computer screen.
11. The method of claim 10 wherein the identification of defects during the testing is displayed on a computer screen.
12. The method of claim 1 wherein the sleeve is an image cylinder sleeve.
13. The method of claim 12 wherein the sleeve has a wail thickness from about 125 to about 1000 microns.
14. The method of claim 1 wherein the sleeve is a blanket cylinder sleeve.
15. The method of claim 14 wherein the sleeve has a wall thickness from about 1 to about 10 mm.
16. The method of claim 15 wherein the wall thickness of the sleeve has a variation from the average wall thickness of about +/−12.5 microns.
17. The method of claim 1 wherein the sleeve is a plastic sleeve.
18. The method of claim 1 wherein the sleeve includes a metal core.
19. A method for testing a plastic sleeve for use as an image cylinder sleeve or a blanket cylinder sleeve for an electrophotographic process, the method comprising:
a) positioning a sleeve having an outside on a mandrel;
b) positioning a line scan video camera adapted to produce a magnified image of the outside of the sleeve useable with image producing software;
c) rotating the line scan camera around the outside of the sleeve in a pattern to move the outside of the sleeve through an image area of the line scan camera;
d) passing a product data stream indicative of images of the outside of the sleeve to a computer programmed with a software program to receive and analyze the product data stream;
e) analyzing the product data stream to determine the presence and severity of defects in the outer surface of the sleeve; and,
f) compiling a record of the presence and severity of the defects.
20. The method of claim 19 wherein the defects are compared to a selected standard to determine whether the sleeve is acceptable.