Inspection/Detection/Vision

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The meat industry pioneered the use of X-ray technology in food production, using it to identify and remove bone fragments and to analyze fat content.

A food processor fills an average of 800 cans per minute with a wide range of products such as vegetables, fruit and soup. An important challenge for the company is ensuring that the code printed on the bottom of each can matches the product in the can. A mismatch runs the risk of creating an unhappy customer or, even worse, an allergic reaction. In the past, there were concerns that operators might accidentally set up the printer to generate the wrong code or that the printer used to apply the code on the can might fail to produce a readable code. These concerns have been overcome with the installation of a machine vision system that reads the code on the bottom of the can in just 60 milliseconds, enough time to reject cans with incorrect or unreadable codes. The vision system uses pattern matching to orient the code regardless of its radial position then uses optical character recognition to read the code and match it against the product currently being produced on the line.

Cognex Corporation has introduced new lighting and optics features for its DataMan® 300 series of industrial barcode readers. Since its launch, DataMan 300 has quickly become the preferred barcode reader due to its outstanding read rate performance and ease of use. The demand is now set to continue with the introduction of the most flexible optics and lighting features available on any image-based fixed-mount barcode reader.

Featuring the industry’s first simultaneous, two-frequency magnetic field detecting method, the Anritsu Dual Wave H Metal Detection System features unique sensing technology, such as auto-setting algorithm and tracking functions.

The Mettler-Toledo Safeline SideChek x-ray inspection system was developed specifically to deliver effective cost-effective production line x-ray inspection of products in vertical packaging such as bottles, cans and canisters. Two models are available: the SideChek 200 with a 200 mm height inspection area and SideChek 300 with a 300 mm height inspection area.

X-Rays get a power boost: Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (www.thermoscientific.com) has upgraded its popular Thermo Scientific Xpert C400 X-ray system for detecting metals and other foreign objects in food. By adding an X-ray source with twice the power of the original model, the system is better suited for thicker, denser products and high speed production. The system targets a broad range of food applications including challenging wet and semi-frozen products, as well as metalized packaging structures that do not lend themselves to metal detection.

Tabasco® brand products have been made by McIlhenny Company on Avery Island, LA, since 1868. The company is extremely quality-minded about everything from aging its product for up to three years to making sure every label is correct, straight and in the right position on the bottle.

METTLER TOLEDO CI-Vision, a global leader in the design and manufacture of vision inspection systems, has developed a full bottle inspection (FBI) system specifically for today’s high-speed beverage industry that inspects filled bottles at high production line speeds for proper fill level, cap position (missing, incorrect, skewed and under- or over-torqued cap) and tamper-band integrity. All defective bottles are automatically rejected, ensuring that only quality products reach the consumer.

Cognex Corporation, the world's leading supplier of machine vision systems, has announced the release of the new DS1000 3D laser profiling system. The system calibrates real-world units of measurement for inspections too difficult to perform with traditional two-dimensional machine vision.