Customization of inspection systems helps brand protection (below)

System support development

Craig cited a number of developments around the metal detection support system, including speeding up the processing of microprocessors. At the same time, it also improved the basic functions of metal detection. He said, "For example, we recently introduced a new product for the pharmaceutical industry, in which the color foil system uses a new coil system design. Metal detection performance still has the potential to improve performance." At the same time, Lock also serves the pharmaceutical industry. A new system has been introduced that meets the requirements of the Federal Food and Drug Administration of the United States (in compliance with 21 CFR Part 11), where the setup and production reports avoid unauthorized changes and must be registered and logged in by the operator. Randall believes that the importance of the development of metal detection systems cannot be underestimated. He said, "Indeed, these developments only involve gradual improvements in system sensitivity, and the amount of improvement is small each time, but progress is ongoing." He pointed out that Lock three-frequency products are favored by the target industry is the best proof. He added, “At the same time, we have also been carrying out other developments, striving to make the structure more compact, easier and cleaner, and data transfer faster. In the field of metal detection, recently launched products include Fortress Technology Phantom E meat pipeline system The entire system can swing outwards for quick product change Operator control equipment can be mounted on the detector, or it can be installed remotely.Safeline supports the development of high-frequency metal detectors, and its product Signature is an example.Safeline said the machine Operating at 850 kHz, which is 3-8 times more frequent than most systems used today, the company claims that it is extremely sensitive and can detect tiny metal fragments and debris, including stainless steel. The device can also inspect a large number of products with the same characteristics, so that various types of products can be inspected while minimizing the number of mechanical settings, thereby making the operation easier and faster without affecting the mechanical sensitivity.

Mettler Toledo integrated the Safeline metal detection system into the company's Garvens CombiChecker heavy metal detector. According to the company, the zero metal zone technology can be used to integrate the mechanical part of the metal detector into the feed conveyor of the weighing device. X-ray detection is not a new concept that integrates both pollution analysis and gravimetric analysis. This cross use is one of the potentials of X-ray detection. Thermo Electron's John Craig said that while the weight gauge can determine the total weight and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements, X-ray detection takes this process a step further. He said, "Through X-ray inspection, not only can all components be inspected, but also gravimetric analysis can be carried out with an accuracy of 1%-2%, checking whether the proportions of various components are appropriate." X-ray detection as the weight system There is no shortage of examples to provide support. According to Craig, “The weight measuring device may think that the double box or block is acceptable, even if there is one layer less in the bottom layer. Although this is not in violation of the regulations, consumers may feel that they have been cheated. This phenomenon also exists in the cracking of biscuits. The legal weight is also feasible, but it may be considered as a non-standard product.” He believes that X-ray inspection systems are different from vision systems, and that X-rays can significantly reduce costs in terms of process control and quality control. As with metal detection, these advantages can be achieved through a SCADA network capable of data recording and communication. He said, “More and more users are demanding this ability, even if the production line efficiency is increased by 0.1%.”

Obviously, the main success of X-ray detection systems lies in their ability to detect non-metallic contaminants. When referring to safety issues, Craig cited the Chilean sea urchin meat industry and requested X-ray technology. He said, “The sea urchin meat is shipped to Japan and sold as a delicious food. However, sea urchin has a large bone toxicity. Therefore, the product must be strictly scanned to ensure absolutely no toxicity.” The development of X-ray contaminant detection includes the Loma system. The company launched the X3 pipeline inspection system for the detection of meat, snacks, dairy products, soups and sauces. Loma claims that advanced filtering techniques can detect objects with lower density such as calcified bones. The X3 uses the AutoTrack image processor, which is said to automatically set scanning components based on the density of the food being tested. This shortens the set-up time and reduces the number of false reports. Loma also claims that the system has a self-test system and therefore does not require trial samples in the pipeline. At the same time, Loma also introduced a new line-of-the-art X-ray detection system for the fast food industry that can inspect bagged FCL products such as crunchy foods.

The SnaX3 system is said to replace various inspection units on the production line and detect various contaminants, including metal, glass, stone and high-density plastic contained in product packaging from other production lines. It can also display low-density snacks and grains. The flavorings and sugar pieces contained in the product. To achieve this, the SnaX3 system incorporates multiple layers of image processing capabilities to adapt the scanning equipment to the characteristics of different food products. At the same time, the AutoTrack detection software calibrates the machine online, so there is no need to stop for adjustment. Alan Johnson, X-ray product manager at Loma, said, “The SnaX3 system can perform the functions previously performed by multiple sets of free-fall metal detectors. Therefore, in most cases it can reduce costs and try to avoid system interruption.” John Craig believes that the future There will be more resources devoted to designing X-ray systems that are more in line with the needs of customers, such as detection systems that are suitable for the foil market containing metals.

He said, “Our challenge is to develop an X-ray system that can be adapted to a specific application. In the next five years, we will focus on this area and strive to introduce X-ray-based, tailor-made solutions to our customers instead of Universal x-ray detection system.” Otherwise, the end user has a variety of features that have nothing to do with the actual use, only increasing the overall cost.

Integrating various types of pollutants integrated detection systems and quality control systems has obvious advantages. However, some metal detection system suppliers warn that it is very difficult to set up an X-ray machine to perform two tasks. At the very least, it is not possible to optimize both properties.

Indeed, according to suppliers of metal detectors and X-ray systems, more X-ray systems are installed at the end of the line, and are less often installed before the production line packaging stage, and are usually used to check whether the various packages in the composite package are in place. One supplier stated that “for many end-users, brand protection is almost more important than consumer protection.” He added that supermarkets are increasingly focusing on asking suppliers to perform such quality checks. The changes in the market's understanding and use of X-ray detection reflect, at least in part, the importance of accurately measuring the inside and outside of packaged foods.

Visual inspection system

In recent years, the systemic effectiveness of visual inspections has not been as market breakthrough as X-ray inspection. Obviously, as a contaminant detection method, visual inspection cannot compete with the two major technologies. However, other aspects of quality control are becoming more and more important, and the aesthetic appearance of products is increasingly being given priority. Therefore, both suppliers and end users pay more attention to visual inspection technology. In particular, it should be noted that more and more retailers are demanding to check the location of information (especially information in the form of barcodes), putting suppliers under increasing pressure.
For example, Delford recently introduced the VS200 single-camera inspection system that enables 100% verification of tag information and its location. As the package passes through the conveyor belt, it triggers the camera to capture the package image and identify up to 12 preprogrammed fields for verification. In general, these fields include price, weight, bar code, traceability, sales date, batch code, unit price, and package code. At the same time, it is also possible to verify the barcode readability of the point of sale.

The screen shows an error

The system can check the positioning and orientation of the labels according to the individual product restrictions set independently. At the same time, it can also verify auxiliary labels such as promotional labels and shiny labels. The system displays the captured images in order by the color screen. If any defects are found, the background color of the screen will change. If required by the customer, a pneumatic defective ejection device can be set up on the production line to push out the defective packaging. The VS200 system can also be connected to the Delford weight/price tag system to check that all variable information for each package is correct. The visual system can now show the physical defects of the package. For example, Cognex, a British image processing company, has developed a visual food seal inspection system jointly with German quality control company CLK and Sealed Air company Cryovac. Cryovac requires 100% non-contact online leak detection of vacuum-packed sandwiches. The sandwich passes through the camera lens at approximately 60 packs per minute and is checked against pre-set standard reference values. If the image deviates from the standard, the package is separated and independently tested in a sealed integrated inspection device. Cognex revealed that the system is fully capable of adapting to changes in the production process and replacement of sandwich products. The company believes this method can also be used to inspect seals and other types of oxygen sensitive products.