Extrusion International 2-2026

36 Extrusion International 2/2026 MEASUREMENT TECHNOLOGY, PIPE EXTRUSION – FROM THE RESEARCH Real-Time Measurement Reduces Scrap in Plastic Profiles AI-Based Measurement Technology Integrated into the Production Process for Quality Control of Fiber Composite Pro les A new measurement technology reduces scrap in ber-reinforced plastic (FRP) pro les and enables cost-effective, real-time process control for small and medium- sized enterprises. Researchers developed the system in the PulLoop project led by the Fraunhofer Application Center for Optical Metrology and Surface Technologies AZOM. Together with Fraunhofer IGCV, the team developed an integrated measurement system that monitors product quality in real time during production and feeds the results back into the manufacturing process. F iber-reinforced plastic pro les serve as key compo - nents in lightweight construction. Manufacturers typically produce them using pultrusion, a process that offers cost advantages but often introduces quality uncertainties in practice, especially with changing pro- le geometries or small batch sizes. Fraunhofer AZOM contributes expertise in optical surface metrology and AI-based image analysis. The solution developed in the project, SURFinloop, uses low-cost scattering sensors that continuously record surface data and compares it with digital reference models known as digital twins. Modular software evaluates the data and detects geo- metric tolerance deviations with high precision. The sys- tem then feeds this information directly back into the production process in a closed loop. Technology for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises “Existing systems for quality monitoring in pultrusion are either too expensive or too complex to implement,” explains Alexander Kabardiadi-Virkovski, project man- Conventional systems for quality monitoring in pultrusion are often too expensive or too complex to implement. SURFinloop targets the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises Researchers developed an integrated measurement system in the PulLoop project that monitors product quality directly during production (All Pictures © Fraunhofer IGCV)