ISHIDA Europe is launching a new in-line seal tester for snacks and other dry product packs, which the manufacturer said offers ‘high precision’ seal integrity testing at speeds of up to 150 packs per minute.
The new TSC-AS is described as combining ‘high accuracy’ leak detection with ‘gentle’ bag handling.
The seal tester measures the air pressure and fill level of every pack directly from the bagmaker. Ishida explained that it can detect apertures as small as 3mm, using inline, non-destructive testing, checking each pack for leaks, incorrect inflation and double packs. The machine’s small footprint enables it to fit easily into existing lines.
As part of an integrated Ishida packing line, the TSC-AS can link both upstream and downstream to the Ishida bagmaker and casepacker. Ishida ITPS 2 software allows full in-line control and access to each machine from one single HMI. Complete line change can be performed from any of the machine HMIs within the same line.
The TSC-AS can measure and feed-back air-fill data directly to the Ishida bagmaker, allowing automatic adjustment of the jaws to maintain a constant pack thickness. The seal tester can also feed-forward air-fill data to the Ishida 700 series case packer. Ishida revealed this allows adjustments to be made to prevent the likelihood of packs being mis-fed and ensure the correct number of bags in each case.
The HMI touchscreen has been designed to resemble a smartphone for easy operation. The screen can provide real time production data, alerting operators to potential issues
The TSC-AS’s design features a new gull wing cover for fast access without interfering with adjacent equipment. An open frame construction, with the removal of any flat surfaces, aims to avoid products becoming trapped and allows ‘quick and easy’ cleaning.
Options include programmed settings of the in-feed belt, which enables it to be automatically adjusted for different pack lengths as part of a product’s pre-set. Ishida added that the independently controlled belts also ensure the packs from the bagmaker are correctly aligned and spaced prior to inspection. Conditioning brushes can be specified to ‘gently agitate and smooth out’ product inside the bag before inspection, to ensure correct thickness measurements.
“With the TSC-AS, there is no need to compromise between throughput, pack quality and thorough pack inspection,” said Jim McGregor, applications engineer at Ishida Europe. “Our new seal tester combines high accuracy leak detection with gentle handling to deliver effective quality control and minimise the risk of product recalls.”
