Optical 3D-system for fabric pilling assessment: A complementary tool to avoid evaluation errors

• Published in: Journal of the Textile Institute Vol. 112; no. 6; pp. 921 - 927
• Main Authors: Mendes, António de O., Fiadeiro, Paulo T., Miguel, Rui A. L., Lucas, José M., Silva, Manuel J. dos Santos
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Manchester Taylor & Francis 14.05.2021; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Evaluation; Fabrics; optical 3D-system; pilling assessment; subjective method; surface reconstruction; Topography
• ISSN: 0040-5000; 1754-2340
• DOI: 10.1080/00405000.2020.1787120

Pilling is a defect that affects the appearance of fabrics, being its assessment carried out by the textile sector using a subjective method (reference). This method is simple and works well in most cases. However, uncertainties may arise when complicated cases are under evaluation. The current study addresses the use of an optical 3D-system for the topographic surface reconstruction of fabrics for their objective assessment. With the topographic data of the fabrics, it was calculated the total volume of pilling formed in their surfaces. Their equivalent pilling grades were also achieved through use of a correspondence model. A results comparison was then carried out with both methodologies (3D-system and subjective), which made possible to identify cases of analysis where the grading attributed to the fabrics did not match. These cases were thoroughly analyzed, and it was found that one of the studied fabrics seems to have been over-estimated whereas one other seems to have been under-estimated when initially graded with the subjective methodology.