This four-camera, machine vision setup uses specialized software to develop a digital 3-D image so that the entire label of each is checked at high speeds. Photo courtesy of Cognex Corp.

People and packaging production lines are not always perfect. When a mistake inevitably occurs, the best kind of problem is one that is detected, identified and corrected. Helping operations check, detect and respond quickly, effectively and continuously can be done by a range of inspection methods, including those that take a literal look at-and inside-packaging: machine vision and X-ray systems.

For Carl Bonnan, general manager at Heuft USA Inc., automated inspection is all about protection: “More companies are starting to invest in technologies to better protect the consumer in addition to providing increased protection to their brands.”

He points to the effects of recent food safety legislation. “Inspection technology will play a key role in food safety, especially now that the Food Safety Modernization Act was recently signed into law [by President Obama in early January 2011],” he says. “We anticipate more demand for machine vision applications, including label verification, code scanning, contamination inspection and data collection systems, to support quality assurance record compliance. We also anticipate more demand for automated sampling systems.”

“Food safety and general product quality have become increasingly important to our customers,” says John Duffin, vice-president at Acquire Automation, an independent automation solutions provider that integrates vision technology from Matrox Imaging. “More stringent requirements with quality and accurate labeling have made it not only economical, but nearly essential in guaranteeing 100% accuracy. Many customers are also looking for that competitive edge-taking quality to the next level for the brand.”

That can mean a wider breadth of protective measures. Duffin notes that vision inspection has made considerable inroads within the food and beverage packaging market in the past few years, and is deployed throughout customers’ entire packaging processes. Inspections may now include material and component check-in, product fill level, label verification, lot and expiration date verification, label quality and  position, cap and closure inspection, allergen and label mix-up prevention, product counting, product gauging, 1-D and 2-D bar code verification, color verification, and case count and orientation.

John Petry, Cognex’s vision software marketing manager, cites a trio of trends in inspection: product quality, traceability, and correctness. As the fastest growing driver among the three, correctness is closely associated with product recalls and lawsuits related to improperly labeled products including for allergens.

“Another big driver within correctness is the increasing use of bar codes, and especially 2-D codes, on food labels,” Petry says. “Companies need to ensure that the code matches the product label, since the code is what’s used for tracking, stocking and pricing the product.” OmniView uses four cameras and software to produce full-surround, 3-D rendering and subsequent analyses. Notably, it was developed for food and beverage markets about three years ago in response to customer requests surrounding liability issues.

Jam and fruit spread maker Zentis in Germany has had three production lines of its jarred products examined by X-ray inspection systems since mid-2008. Zentis reports that the systems have detected faulty jars during use. Photo courtesy of Heuft.