18 June 2014 – Scientific Visual conference on quality control in sapphire

 Taking guess work out of sapphire production: from early stage defect detection to quality norms.

 Contrôle des défauts matière dans le saphir: de la détection automatique avant et après polissage à l’établissement d’une norme de qualité.

Currently inspection of defects of sapphire watch covers is done after the full processing – i.e. cutting, slicing, grinding and polishing to transparency.

Around 10-15% of the covers are rejected after processing due to internal material flaws such as cracks or bubbles which become trapped during the crystallization stage. Therefore a typical sapphire factory spends half a day per week polishing waste.

What if one could make these invisible flaws visible before the costly processing steps?

Automatic workstations based on index-matching liquid enable early detection of defects and ensure that only suitable high quality material enter the value chain.

Unlike human ocular inspection, the automatic QC sets an objective standard and ensures quick diagnostic feedback during the production stages.

Similar to diamond processing some time ago, the sapphire industry today is on the threshold of establishing a common and observer independent quality grading system that cost effectively improves manufacturer margins and streamlines the supply chain.

At this conference we share how this works along with the results of pilot projects and our data accumulated from the early stage sapphire QC studies.

Furthermore we show how this technology can benefit the Swiss sapphire and watch industry in terms of cost reduction and enhanced competitiveness.

Date: Wednesday 18 June 2014 at 10:30

Venue: Palexpo Hall S, Geneva, Switzerland

Speakers: Ivan Orlov (CEO) and Benedict Stalder (VP Sales)
Scientific Visual SA, Lausanne

The conference is given concurrently in English and French.

 Conference Flyer

The conference is hosted by EPHJ-2014 trade show.