Fabric Inspection (4-Point System)

Fabric inspection is the systematic examination of fabric rolls for defects, shade and dimensions before cutting or shipment. Defects are commonly scored with the 4-point system and expressed as points per 100 square yards.

Rolls are unwound over an inspection frame with controlled lighting and speed, and inspectors mark and record each defect's type, size and position. In the 4-point system, included in ASTM D5430, a defect up to 3 inches long scores 1 point, over 3 and up to 6 inches 2 points, over 6 and up to 9 inches 3 points and over 9 inches 4 points, while holes and openings score 2 points up to 1 inch and 4 points above. Points are normalised to 100 square yards to compare rolls of different sizes.

Inspection protects garment and home textile makers from cutting defective fabric and gives mills feedback on process problems. Buyers set acceptance limits in their specifications, and defect maps can guide cutting to avoid flaws. Shade, width, length and bow or skew are usually checked at the same time.

Manual inspection depends on lighting, speed and inspector attention, so results vary with fatigue and experience. Automated vision systems use cameras and image analysis, increasingly deep learning, to detect and classify defects consistently at production speed, either on inspection machines or directly on looms, knitting machines and finishing ranges. Their classifications still need validation against agreed defect definitions.

Key points

Rolls are examined for defects, shade, width and length
4-point scores rise from 1 to 4 points with defect length
Scores are normalised to points per 100 square yards
Automated vision systems inspect at production speed

Where AiVibe comes in

AiAmbA use cases include visual inspection on textile lines; AiVibe builds Intel-based edge AI devices using the Intel Distribution of OpenVINO toolkit.

Explore AiVibe’s work in Textile & Automotive Manufacturing →

Fabric Inspection (4-Point System)

Key points

Where AiVibe comes in

Related terms

Terms that refer to Fabric Inspection (4-Point System)