Blister 2010

TheBlistbusterconcept:anewapproach
todetectrecurrentdiameterflaws(Blisters)
inMagnetWireIndustry.
Abstract
Asuitablerealtimeprocessingofalldiametermeasurementscomingfrommediumfrequency
dualaxislasergauges,allowsonline,earlydetectionofrepetitivediameterflaws(blisters)in
theenameljacketoffastmovingmagnetwires.
Atheoreticalmodelisoutlinedandacomputersimulationprogrammeispresented:itispossible
torunrealisticvirtualteststoseehowthesystemwouldworkonline,checkingwireswithany
patternofblisters.
A.SpizzamiglioAeroelItaly
02/12/2010
Pradamano (UD) - Italy
Extensive on-line diameter control in Magnet Wire Industry
provides outstanding improvements in process efficiency and product quality.
1Introduction
The quality of magnet wire is expressed by a number of characteristics, the most important are the
averagethicknessofthecoatinganditsuniformity,ortheabsenceofgeometricflaws,whichappearas
smallbubblesonthesurfaceoftheenamel.
Thistypeofflaw,commonlyknownasablister,usuallyappearsonquitelongsectionsofwireandin
theextremecases,makesthewirelooklikeanecklace.
Thecharacteristicsoftheseflawsarenotuniformandcanvaryinsizefromafewmicronstosome
tenths of a millimetre, and the number of flaws can vary in frequency from a few to hundreds of
flawspermetre.
Itbecomesincreasinglyimportanttohaveavailableamonitoringsystemcapableofdetectingblisters
online, which by means of an alarm signal, allows the early identification of flaws occurring in the
manufacturingprocess,oratleastthelocalisationofdefectivesectionsofwirewithineachreelsothat
thesecanbesubsequentlyisolated.
Sincetheseflawsdonotalwaysimplyalackofelectricalinsulation,itisnotpossibletoreliablyidentify
them with insulation test instruments (spark tester), but instead instruments which are capable of
detectinglocalisedchangesofdiameter(flawdetector)mustberesortedto.
However,consideringtheverysmalldimensionsofthesmallestflawstobedetectedandthespeedof
the wire, the performances of a hypothetical optical instrument capable of detecting with certainty
every flaw present on the wire, appears unavailable with todays state of the art measurement
technology.Indeed,thefollowingcharacteristicswouldberequired:
highprecisiongauging(1m)inordertoidentifywithacceptablecertaintyflawsofafewmin
height(10m);
scanningaroundthewholecircumferenceofthewire,insuchawayastoguaranteethedetection
oftheflawinwhateverangularpositionitappears;
insensitivitytothevibrationandspeedofthewire,inordertoallowonlineinstallationwithoutrisk
offalsealarms;
veryhighscanningfrequency(>50kHz),inordertobeabletodetectveryshortflaws(L<0.05mm)
whenthewiremovesatthehighproductionspeedspossibletoday(VD>100);
lowcost(<3,000US$),inviewofthehighnumberoflinesuponwhichsuchadevicecouldbe(or
rather,shouldbe!)installed.
Therefore, it is fair to say that an instrument capable of thoroughly satisfying the requirements
necessaryforthedetectionofblistersisnotyetavailableonthemarkettoday(atleasttotheauthors
knowledge). Magnet wire manufacturers must live with incomplete and in many cases unsatisfactory
solutions,inthehopethatsubsequenttechnologicaldevelopmentsenablethedefinitivesolutionofthe
problematacceptablecosts.
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TheBlistbusterconcept:anewapproachtodetect
recurrentdiameterflaws(Blisters)inMagnetWireIndustry.
2TheNewAeroelApproach:theBlistbusterSystem
Aeroel has developed a monitoring instrument dedicated to this application, the Blistbuster
system.Thissystem,onthebasisofexperimentalresults,alreadygatheredinthefieldprovestobea
helpful tool for enamellers, allowing defective sections of wire to be detected with reasonable
certainty, provided that these sections are sufficiently long and characterised by the presence of
recurrentflaws.
Theprincipleofthesystemoperationisbasedonthestatisticalanalysisofdiametermeasurements
takenfromanAeroelXLS13XY/1200/Bdualaxislasergauge.
Thelasergaugescansthewirediameteralong2orthogonaldirections,XandY,withatotalscanning
frequencyof2400Hz(1200X+1200Y)(Fig.1);sincetherepeatabilityofeachsinglemeasurementis
exceptional(betterthan1mat2)andisnotaffectedbythespeedofthewire.Thismeansthat
allthemeasurementsperformedoveracertainperiodoftime,e.g.1s,onaproductwithauniform
diameter and without flaws are contained within a very narrow Gausss normal distribution curve
(=0.5m),whoseaveragevaluecorrespondstotheactualwirediameter(Fig.2).
However,thesituationchangesifthereareflawspresentonthewire.Theflawswillcausealocalised
variationinthediameterandprovidedthatonewaitsforashortwhile,itisstatisticallycertainthat
somemeasurementswillbeperformedexactlyonaflaw.Thiswillresultinsomeabnormalreadings
beingtaken,whichwillfalloutsidethetypicalcurveofthegaugeandthereforewillberecognisable
withcertaintyandclassifiedasflaws(Fig.2).Consequently,itisclearthatbyaccuratelyanalysingall
thesinglemeasurements(andnottheiraveragevalue)itispossibletodetectthepresenceofflaws
andtoprovidesomeindicationsrelatingtotheirfrequencyandamplitude.
TheBlistbustersoftwareanalysesallthemeasurementscarriedoutbythegaugeinsuchawayasto
calculatethefollowingparameters:
%DF= percentageofscansperformedwhichcorrespondstotheproportionofflawsoverthetotal
scansconsidered
ADF = averageflawamplitude(expressedinm)
IDF = flawindex
IDF = %DF*20*ADF(1)
The calculation of the parameters mentioned above is performed at a programmable rate,

i.e.1secondfortheanalysisof2400measurementsatatime.
Generally the length of the flaw is very small in comparison with the scanning pitch of the sensor.
Therefore,itisclearthatthedetectionofflawsisbasedontheprobabilitythatovernumerousscans
taken,someofthesewillbeonflaws.Thefundamentalconditionisthatgiventheconditionsofwork
andthetypeofflaws,thenumberofscansperformedwhichcorrespondtoflawsissufficientlyhigh
topermitthecalculationofsignificantvaluesforADF,%DFandIDF.
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For practical purposes this instrument, utilising the IDF parameter, enables the operator to be
advisedthatthesectionofwireanalysedhassometypeofflaw.TheIDFvalueroughlyexpressesthe
product between the average height of the flaw and the quantity of flaws detected. It can clearly
assumethesamevalueformanydifferenttypesofflaws.Forexample,flawsthatareveryfrequent
butsmall,orflawsthatarelessfrequentbutlarger.
Therefore IDF must be used to provide an indication of the quality of the coating, rather than
obtaining precise numerical information, which is able to characterise all the flaws present on the
wire.TheBlistbusterSystemisratherlikeathermometer,whichrecordsthefeverinapatientsbody,
givingatemperaturevalue,whichiscertainlyproportionaltotheseriousnessoftheillnessbutdoes
notenableaprecisediagnosis.
The tests performed in the field today with the Blistbuster System have given excellent results,
allowing very small flaws to be detected with certainty. However, difficulty has emerged in
interpreting the IDF value and assigning a threshold value that is linked in some way to the classic
valuesthatdefinethistypeofflaw.Suchasthefrequency,heightandlength.Inotherwords,itwould
bedesirabletoprovidetheuserwithatheoreticalmodel.Onthebasisofwhich,havingidentifiedthe
typeofflaw,thetypeofwireandthespeedoftheline,itispossibletounambiguouslycorrelatethe
valuesrecordedbythesensortotherespectiveactualvaluesontheproduct.
Thisprovestobeparticularlydifficult(ifnotimpossible)becauseofthelargenumberofvariablesthat
combinetonumericallydefinethetypeofflaw(density,height,length,angulardimension,form).
Inapreviouswork(Bibliography)asimplifiedtheoreticalmodelhasbeenintroducedwhichallowed
referenceconfigurationstobeanalysedandprovidedasimpletooltopredictsystemperformance.
Althoughthismodelgaveveryusefulguidelinestotheuser,itrevealedtobetoosimplifiedinorder
topredictwithgoodapproximationthesystemperformanceinrealisticworkingconditions.
To overcome these limitations a detailed mathematical model has been designed and a computer
programme has been developed to provide an accurate simulation of the Blistbuster system
performance. Using the AMBRA programme the user can run easy and costless Virtual Simulation
TestsoftheBlistbusterSystem,checkingthesystemresponsetoveryrealisticblisterconfigurations
andworkingconditions.
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3TheAMBRAProgramme
TheAMBRAprogrammeisbasedonamathematicalmodel,whichiscomposedof3parts.
InputFunction:definitionoftheinputdatabyusingageometricalmodelofthewirewiththeflaws
Gauge Transfer Function: measuring the moving product by using a simulated gauge and
processingthedatabyusingthealgorithmsoftheBlistbusterSoftware.
OutputFunction:displayandrecordingofthemeasuredvalues.
TheInputFunction.
Theflaws(blisters)arevisualisedin2differentmodes(Fig.3).
Necklacetype:theflawisacircumferentiallump,whichcanbeseenatanyangularposition,
givingaconstantdiameterincrease.
Flag type: the flaw is like a small flap protruding from the wire surface along a radial
direction.Thisflawcanonlybeseenwithingivenangularsectors(viewingangles)withrespect
to the X and Y measuring planes. The measured diameter increase (when detected) depends
upontheheightoftheflawandtheviewingangle.
Each flaw is locatedatarandomangularposition,determinedbyanindependentrandomnumber

generator.
Theheightandthelengthoftheflawaretheinputdataforthemodel:thesetwodimensionscanbe
considered to be constant for all the flaws or they can be randomized (by using two independent
randomnumbergenerators).Inthissecondcase,theheightandthelengthofeachflawareincluded
between0andtheinputvalues,whichareusedtolimitthemaximumdimensionsoftheflaws.
Theaverageflawdensity(numberofflawspermetre)isanotherinputdatabuttheflawsarerandomly
locatedalongthewireaxis,eachpositionbeingcreatedusinganindependentrandomnumbergenerator.
Ofcourse,thewirediameterandthespeedaretwoadditionalinputparameters.
TheGaugeTransferFunction.
TheXandYmeasuringscans(alternated)arelocatedalongthewireaxis,ataconstantpitchgivenby
thewirespeeddividedbythescanningfrequency.
Whenascanoverlapsaflawandiftheflawiswithintheviewingangle,thediameterincreasedueto
theflawiscomputed.AGaussiannoisehavingastandarddeviationmatchingthegaugesingleshot
repeatability(=0.5m)isaddedtotheresult,toexactlysimulatethegaugeperformance.
This operation is repeated for all the scans which correspond to the programmed measuring time
(inputvalue).
FinallyallthescansareprocessedbyusingtheanalysisalgorithmoftheBlistbustersoftwareandthe
valuesof%DF,ADFandIDFarecomputed.
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TheOutputFunction.
Onthescreen(Fig.4),the3computedvaluesofIDF,%DFandADFaredisplayedandupdatedinreal
time,tosimulatethegaugeperformance.Unfortunatelythescreenupdatingtimedoesntmatchthe
programmed measuring time, as the time required to execute a simulation cycle depends upon
several factors, not forgetting the processing power of the computer used. The simulated elapsed
timeandtheanalysedwirelengtharedisplayedandupdated.
ItispossibletosetathresholdforthevalueofIDFandtoactivateawarningsignalwhenthislimitis
exceeded.
The plots of IDF, %DF and ADF can be displayed in real time: inside 3 small windows, 3 diagrams
providetheanaloguelikerecordingofthelast50measuredvalues(FIFOtypememory).
TheverticalscalecanbesetbyusingtheSCALEkey,afterhavingkeyedthemaximumandminimum
valuesintheprogrammingboxes.Ifnovaluesareinputted(Vmax=0)theSCALEkeydeterminesthe
autoscalingfunction,basedontheactualmeasuredvalues.
Byactivatinganoptioninthesetupmenu(Fig.5),theresultsofthesimulationrunscanberecorded
in a file, which is saved in the /SAVE subdirectory of the main /AMBRA directory. As this file is
recordedin'.txt'format,Wordpadcanopenitanddatacanbeimmediatelytransferredinanopen
spreadsheet(Excel,Works)byselectingthedatablockandusingthe'Ctrl+C'and'Ctrl+V'keystocopy
andpaste.
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4ExamplesofSimulation
Asanexample,4differentflawconfigurationshavebeenconsidered.Foreachone4simulationshots
havebeenperformed,bychangingtheflawdensityvaluefrom200downto10flaws/metre,while
keepingallotherparametersunchanged.
Configuration1:finewire,withnecklacetypeflaws
1.1flawheightandlengtharefixedandsettotheprogrammedvalues.
1.2flawheightandlengtharerandomizedbetweenzeroandtheprogrammedvalues.
WireDiameter,D=0.1mm
VDFactor=120
WireVelocity,V=20m/s
FlawLength(max.value),Ld=0.2mm
FlawHeight(max.value),A=0.05mm
MeasuringTime,T=1s
FlawDensity,Nd=200,100,50e10Flaws/m
Configuration2:finewire,withflagtypeflaws
2.1flawheightandlengtharefixedandsettotheprogrammedvalues.
2.2flawheightandlengtharerandomizedbetweenzeroandtheprogrammedvalues.
WireDiameter,D=1mm
VDFactor=120
WireVelocity,V=2m/s
FlawLength(max.value),Ld=0.5mm
FlawHeight(max.value),A=0.1mm
MeasuringTime,T=1s
FlawDensity,Nd=200,100,50e10Flaws/m
The simulation results are shown in the enclosed diagrams 1 to 12, where the plots of the three
measuredvaluesarerecordedversustime.Asthespeedisconstantthetimeisalsoproportionalto
thelengthofproductbeenanalysed.
Theeffectoftheflawdensitychangecanbeseenimmediatelyfromtheshiftoftheaveragevalues
(flawdensityischangedevery50samples,or250s)
Intable1,theaveragesofthemeasuredvaluesarecomparedwiththeaveragevaluespredictedby
the simplified model (Bibliography). For the users convenience, the definitions and the formulas
relatedtothissimplifiedmodelaresummarizedintable2and3,fordifferentflawtypes.
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Afairlygoodmatchbetweenthesimulationresultsandthepredictedvaluescanbeobserved.The
differencesareduetotheoversimplificationofthetheoreticalmodel,whichimpliesaconstantflaw
pitchandwhichdoesntconsiderthethresholdforflawdetection,presetinthegaugeprogramme.
Asfarastherepeatabilityofthemeasuredvaluesversusthemeasuringtimeisconcerned,itwillbe
necessary to perform additional tests using the AMBRA programme. This will detect a correlation
betweenthestandarddeviationofthemeasuredvalues,themeasuringtimeandthewirespeedfor
anygivenflawconfiguration.
As an example, a simulation has been performed with flaw Configuration 1.1, by setting the flaw
density ND to 100 flaws/metre and by changing progressively the measuring time from 1 to 10
seconds.
Diagrams13to15showtherecordsofthemeasuredvaluesandintable4theaveragevaluesandthe
standarddeviationsarecomputed.
Diagram16showstheplotofthestandarddeviations(asafractionoftheaveragevalue)versusthe
measuringtime:agoodmatchwithastraightlineinabilogarithmicplanecanbeobserved.
5Conclusions
TheBlistbustersystemistodayaneffectiveinstrumentfordetectingthepresenceofrecurrentflaws
(blisters)onmagnetwire.
However, because of the limitations inherent in its principle of operation, the system can only be
satisfactorilyappliedinsomesituationsandundercertainconditions.
TheAMBRAprogrammecanbeusedtopredictthesystemperformanceandtocheckitsapplicability
toanumberofdifferentflawconfigurationsandworkingconditions.
6Bibliography
A. SPIZZAMIGLIO, The Aeroels Blistbuster System: a new approach for online blister detection in
MagnetWireIndustryEuroWire97InternationalConferenceWien1819June1997
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Fig.1TheBlistbusterSystem
Fig.2TheBlistbusterConcept
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Fig.3
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Fig.4AMBRAProgramme,SimulationWindow

Fig.5AMBRAProgramme,SetUpWindow
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TABLE1
SIMULATIONRESULTS(*)AVGCOMPAREDWITHTHESIMPLIFIEDMODEL(*)L.
Configuration1,Necklace.
D=0.1mm V=20m/s LD=0.2mm A=50m T=1s
FlawType ND (IDF)AVG (IDF)L (%DF)AVG (%DF)AVG (ADF)AVG (ADF)L

200 7894 8000 7.74 8.00 51.1 50
1.1 100 4062 4000 4.01 4.00 50.7 50

NECKLACE 50 2010 2000 2.00 2.00 50.2 50
10 414 400 0.41 0.40 48.0 50
200 2006 2000 3.71 4.00 27.0 25
1.2 100 968 1000 1.83 2.00 26.6 25
NECKLACE
RANDOMIZED 50 469 500 0.90 1.00 26.4 25
10 87 100 0.16 0.20 22.8 25
Configuration2,Flag.
D=1.00mm V=2.0m/s LD=0.5mm A=100m T=1s
FlawType ND (IDF)AVG (IDF)L (%DF)AVG (%DF)AVG (ADF)AVG (ADF)L

200 4924 4950 6.99 7.50 35.2 33
2.1 100 2492 2475 3.60 3.75 34.6 33

FLAG
50 1193 1237 1.78 1.87 33.5 33
10 242 247 0.34 0.37 36.3 33
200 1044 1375 2.41 2.75 21.6 16.5
2.2 100 527 687 1.17 1.37 22.5 16.5
FLAG
RANDOMIZED 50 258 343 0.60 0.68 21.6 16.5
10 48 68 0.11 0.14 15.1 16.5
50samplesforeachconditionhavebeenconsideredtocomputethe(*)AVGvalues.
The(*)Lvaluesarecomputedusingtable2and3.
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TABLE2
SUMMARYOFTHESIMPLIFIEDTHEORETICALMODEL
LimitValuesforDifferentFlawGeometries.
RANDOMIZED RANDOMIZED
NECKLACE FLAG
NECKLACE FLAG
(%DF)L 2 (%DF)T (%DF)T 2 (%DF )T Rd (%DF )T Rd
A 1 1
(ADF)L A A Ra A Ra
2 2 4
(IDF)L 40 A (%DF )T 10 A (%DF )T 20 A (%DF )T Ra Rd 5 A (%DF )T Ra Rd
Definitions:
(%DF)L , (ADF)L , (IDF)L =limitvaluesofthemeasuredparameters,whenmeasuringtime

LD N L
(%DF )T = 100 = D D
PD 10
LD = Flawlength(mm)
PD = Flawpitch(mm)
ND = Flawdensity(1/m)
A = Flawheight(m)
D = Wirediameter(m)
A
Rd = Densityattenuationfactorduetotheviewangle,functionof value,fromtable3.
D
Rd = Sameasbefore.
A
Ra = Amplitudeattenuationfactorduetotheviewangle,functionof value,fromtable3,canbe
D
approximatedasaconstant=0.66.
Ra = Sameasbefore.
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TABLE3
ATTENUATIONFACTORSVERSUSA/DRATIO
A
Rd Ra Rd Ra
D
0.01 0.126 0.666 0.090 0.666
0.02 0.177 0.666 0.126 0.666
0.03 0.215 0.665 0.154 0.666
0.04 0.247 0.665 0.177 0.666
0.05 0.274 0.665 0.197 0.666
0.06 0.297 0.664 0.215 0.665
0.1 0.373 0.663 0.274 0.665
0.2 0.494 0.660 0.373 0.663
0.3 0.570 0.657 0.441 0.661
0.5 0.667 0.654 0.535 0.659
TABLE4
MEASURINGREPEATABILITY()VERSUSMEASURINGTIME
Configuration1.1,Necklacefixed
D=0.1mm V=20m/s LD=0.2mm A=50m ND=100/m

T=1S T=2S T=4S T=8S T=10S

AVG 3985 3929 3888 3953 3989
IDF 575 383 253 178 171
/AVG 0.14 0.10 0.07 0.05 0.04
AVG 3.94 3.89 3.85 3.91 3.95
%DF 0.572 0.378 0.248 0.179 0.173
/AVG 0.15 0.10 0.06 0.05 0.04
AVG 50.5 50.5 50.4 50.5 50.4
ADF 0.729 0.480 0.343 0.265 0.200
/AVG 0.0144 0.0095 0.0068 0.0053 0.0040
TotalTime(s) 50 100 200 400 500
TotalLength(m) 1000 2000 4000 8000 10000
AVG=Averagevalues
=StandardDeviation
50samplesforeachconditionhavebeenconsideredtocomputetheAVGandvalues.
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TheBlistbusterconcept:anewapproach

The calculation of the parameters mentioned above is performed at a programmable rate,

Each flaw is locatedatarandomangularposition,determinedbyanindependentrandomnumber

D=0.1mm V=20m/s LD=0.2mm A=50m T=1s

FlawType ND (IDF)AVG (IDF)L (%DF)AVG (%DF)AVG (ADF)AVG (ADF)L

1.1 100 4062 4000 4.01 4.00 50.7 50

D=1.00mm V=2.0m/s LD=0.5mm A=100m T=1s

FlawType ND (IDF)AVG (IDF)L (%DF)AVG (%DF)AVG (ADF)AVG (ADF)L

2.1 100 2492 2475 3.60 3.75 34.6 33

(%DF)L 2 (%DF)T (%DF)T 2 (%DF )T Rd (%DF )T Rd

(IDF)L 40 A (%DF )T 10 A (%DF )T 20 A (%DF )T Ra Rd 5 A (%DF )T Ra Rd

(%DF)L , (ADF)L , (IDF)L =limitvaluesofthemeasuredparameters,whenmeasuringtime

D=0.1mm V=20m/s LD=0.2mm A=50m ND=100/m

T=1S T=2S T=4S T=8S T=10S

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