INSPECTION & DETECTION
Quality lies in the
eye of the detector There is a new vision inspection system on the market and it’s been developed in South Africa. PACKAGING REVIEW talks to Intelligent Inspection Systems about its various techniques, equipment and algorithms that assist in solving a multitude of problems.
J
onathan Fitzpatrick, sales manager at Intelligent Inspection Systems says the All Surface Bottle
inspection system is designed to fit into any
Specifications and dimensions of the inspection technology from Intelligent Inspection Systems
manufacturing line process. ‘The line can be split to accommodate the system or the system can be added to the end of the line as a final quality inspection.’ He describes this technology as an efficiently designed, compact, versatile unit made to fit perfectly on any existing line. The system’s software, i2s ideal, has been designed as a user-friendly application. It has a touch screen interface and self-teaching algorithms. ‘The operator can teach the system how it should function by using 10 to 20
ADVANTAGES OF VISION INSPECTION SYSTEMS
operation samples. The system performs optimal anomaly detection along all contours. It has also been designed to
Having an inspection system at your disposal gives you the benefit of a higher accuracy rate compared to manual inspection. A superior quality product is produced, which provides better brand integrity. It also frees up resources from additional areas of the line and lowers costs owing to less product recalls.
inspect a variety of sizes through the same unit,’ he explains. The rugged, aluminium and stainless steel housing protects the cameras and optics. There is an air cooled stainless steel cabinet for electronics within the machine. A six camera view provides images at a 60° separation. The inspection capability
system has consecutive rejects. This
for the detection of holes decreases rapidly over the final 10° of the curvature. In addition, the changeover process takes
assists in preventing the production of The All Surface Bottle Inspection system
about 15 to 20 minutes.
INSTALLATIONS TO DATE
HOW THE SYSTEM WORKS
contamination, flashing, colour, short
Bottles that have been produced are
moulding, cavity numbers, damage and
placed on an existing conveyor. They
measurements. Faulty or imperfect bottles
are then fed into the inspection system
are rejected from the line at a rejection
via a set of horizontal conveyors. The
station. Images of the last 50 defects are
conveyors transport the bottles past a
stored. These highlight areas that are
base camera for base defect inspections.
out of specification. A red circle appears
These are then placed on a vacuum
on the screen indicating each defect,
conveyor, which carries them past a
keeping the operator informed on the
series of strategically placed cameras for
types of rejects occurring.
further inspection. All bottles are examined for a range of defects including ovality, holes,
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| FEBRUARY 2018 | Packaging Review
unnecessary scrap.’
Fitzpatrick says this is very handy for set up and maintenance of the manufacturing equipment. ‘The
According to Fitzpatrick, a number of inspection systems have been installed at a Sweden facility whilst one was ordered from the UK. ‘We just received an order for three more systems, which are currently in production and should be ready to be shipped in less than two months. We have also sold this technology in South Africa to a cosmetics manufacturing customer.’ •
Intelligent Inspection Systems – www.i2systems.co.za