X-Rite Pantone Ushers In Digital Era Of Colour And Appearance Management For Automakers And Their Suppliers

In response to a widespread need for more sophisticated management of color and appearance throughout the automotive workflow, X-Rite demonstrated its new Total Appearance Capture (TAC) technology and other powerful tools for key users and influencers recently at the company's Automotive Innovation Day in Frankfurt, Germany. The company also demonstrated the TAC technology during a special X-Rite media event held in Geneva, Switzerland that coincided with the 83rd Geneva International Motor Show.

Dr. Nguyen Trung Tin, who is responsible for development and industrialization of new paints at PSA Peugeot Citroën, remarked that it was good to see that X-Rite remains competitive – and innovative after he experienced the demonstrations at the Automotive Innovation Day held 20 Feb. at the Squaire Conference Center in Frankfurt.

The new TAC technology gives 3D artists and designers a way to use real-world materials to compile digital files that can then be used to create accurate and photo-realistic visualisations and virtual prototypes in automotive design, saving time and avoiding waste in the decision-making process. The TAC technology uses a hemispherical array of digital cameras and light sources to create virtual prototypes with a remarkably realistic look on a computer monitor that is nearly indistinguishable from that of material objects.

“This technology represents the first step in achieving X-Rite’s goal to expand beyond colour into full characterisation, communication and management of appearance and to create a new ecosystem for digital appearance beyond the colour management ecosystem today,” said Dr. Francis Lamy, Chief Technology Officer of X-Rite Pantone. X-Rite will repurpose technologies developed over the last 2 decades by the computer graphics, entertainment and gaming industries for the benefit of its customers, with the aim to produce measurement-based accurate, physically correct simulation of real-world materials.

With TAC technology representing the beginning of an automotive manufacture workflow, X-Rite representatives showed how the company's other product introductions for the automotive industry use the digital definition of colour and appearance as a foundation for efficient manufacturing at every step of production.

One of those innovations is CarFlash, X-Rite’s in-line, non-contact spectrophotometer that can be integrated into automated production lines with 6-axis robotic systems. “CarFlash is a unique proposition for the car industry as the only solution offering multi-angle colour measurement in the process line,” said Manfred Binder, Product Manager On-Line Colour Measurement.

Another innovation, the MA9X family of multi-angle spectrophotometers, helps manufacturers identify and maintain the colour quality of parts that may originate from different production lines, factories or supply sources, saving money and time by reducing scrap and rework, said Stanislav Sulla, X-Rite Head of Automotive Sales, EMEA. In addition to being used for quality assurance, the instruments are designed for frequent and comfortable measurement by personnel on the factory floor -- encouraging quality control that evolves from random checks into “total” control of colour and appearance in a high volume production environment.

For automotive interiors, X-Rite has developed its RM200QC imaging spectrocolourimeter that bridges the gap between colour appearance and material colour in an elegant, portable unit that fits comfortably in the hand. The RM200QC compares measured colours numerically against in-house standards to help users determine quickly whether incoming batches of materials meet specification or if products on the assembly line are colour matched properly, without disrupting production speed.

All of these innovations are the result of X-Rite keeping its finger on the pulse of the automotive industry, Sulla said. By anticipating their needs, X-Rite prepares its customers for the future.

While it has developed many of the automotive industry's most advanced solutions for digital measurement of colour and appearance, X-Rite recognizes that colours still have to look right to humans. The company recently introduced the SpectraLight QC light booth to give companies involved in global supply chains a superior way to visually evaluate whether the colours of paints, plastics and textiles are production ready, helping to bring products to market quicker and reducing instances of waste.

Responding to the needs of customers worldwide, the SpectraLight QC reduces the rate of sample rejections at multiple locations by providing better consistency of light sources and standard conditions under which the colour of products are assessed visually. SpectraLight QC gives quality control managers new monitoring and reporting tools to more precisely control and communicate how visual assessments of samples are performed.

X-Rite regularly customizes our off-the-shelf solutions to meet a specific need, said Francesco Tomasello, Vice President Sales EMEA. For instance, we can build a harmony room for a customer based on SpectraLight QC technology to replicate what a consumer would experience looking at a product on a showroom floor or outdoors.

Our ability to adapt techniques and adopt technologies on colour management from other industries for automotive applications is a hallmark of X-Rite, Tomasello said. We have a very deep toolbox of solutions.

Juliane Krüsemann, Senior Marketing Manager at BASF SE, summed it up best after viewing demonstrations at the company's Automotive Innovation Day. You showed so well how you live colour, she said.