What Can Vision Inspection Systems Do For You?
By Karen Mills, director of quality assurance, High Liner Foods Inc.
As explored in my first two articles, robust inspection systems are most successful when they are designed with many support methods and principles. My article from September 26 describes a second such inspection method with metal detection. This article will explore vision inspection systems and how they can help your company improve its food safety program, maintain or improve your brand’s reputation, and even save your company a few bucks.
Automating The Tedious Inspection Tasks
Machine vision technology has come a long way in the last 20 to 30 years. They have evolved from simple systems that allow for the detection of open flaps on packaging or holes in cartons, to now being able to detect incorrect ingredients, liquid levels, or color variations… to name only a few of their capabilities.
This technology is vital in verifying assembly and tracking, eradicating defects, and can capture essential data at every stage of production processes. Further, vision systems can verify products and labels, label position, open flaps on packages, holes, presence of safety rings, tightened caps, and so much more. Additionally, they can be used for tracking quality, uniformly-dispersed ingredients, consistency in liquid levels and color, as well as diverting flawed products. One such example is with improperly sealed or open flaps on packages. The machine will “see” the flaw and automatically eject the product at a designated spot in the line.
Any of the above uses can save manufacturers time, money and even more critically, potential product withdrawals or recalls. In addition to use in the food industry, vision systems can implemented and used in the agricultural sector, packaging manufacturing, and pharmaceuticals.
There are varied uses and other valuable practices for vision systems, not just directly in food plants, but also in the agricultural field. Sensory and vision systems to inspect food products, such as field beans for the presence of pest and larval damage, is just one such example of what is being developed and trialed. Damage and rot spots on potatoes are another example of use of vision inspection in the agricultural field.
Typical applications include:
- Date, lot, and part number verification
- Branding and symbol checks
- Seal inspection
- Film and label inspection
- Outer-case label inspection
- Automatic tray checking
- Print quality inspection on labels
- Bottle fill and cap closure
- Damaged carton inspection
- Packaging measurements and verification
- Color inspection and processing
- Surface inspection and contamination
- Label verification
- Size and feature inspections
In addition, quality checking of food items is also possible. This may involve presence and/or absence checks of a number of items or checks on the color, size, or shape of items. With cooked items, color may indicate burnt or uncooked areas; size and shape measures can indicate mishandling. All of these checks can help to improve quality and reduce wastage. The food industry may find all of these areas important for efficiencies, as well as quality, and food safety considerations.
Some vision system examples are:
- Non-contact container inspection
- Rogue can detection
- Hard glass inspection
- Process monitoring
- Inside can inspection
- Direct product inspection
- Carton/ case inspection
How Do These Systems Work?
For any machine vision system to work well, reliably, and generate repeatable results, it is important to understand how its components interact. Machine vision systems consist of several critical components, including sensors (cameras), processing hardware, and software algorithms to automate complex or mundane visual inspection tasks and precisely guide handling equipment during product assembly. The sensor captures a picture for inspection which is sent to the processing engine itself (vision appliance) where it renders and communicates the results. Applications include positioning, identification, verification, measurement, and flaw detection.
The following shows the lighting, staging, optics, and camera image(s) that are the critical pieces of vision machine(s).
In summary, a machine vision system in conjunction with other inspection system components, will work tirelessly performing 100 percent online inspection, resulting in improved product quality, higher yields, and lower production costs. For all industry players, consistent product appearance and quality, as well as proven food safety, drives customer satisfaction, protected company branding, and ultimately market share.
About The Author
Karen Mills is Director of Quality Assurance for High Liner Foods Inc. (Canada) and operates out of High Liner's processing facility in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. She leads teams that are responsible for internal food safety and compliance, as well as supplier/ vendor import and regulatory compliance. She and her team members work corporately with other High Liner facilities based in the U.S. Karen received her B.Sc. in Animal Science from the Nova Scotia Agricultural College in Truro, Nova Scotia.