ISHIDA has revealed that the challenge of carrying out ‘comprehensive’ foreign body and quality checks on small lightweight flow wrapped confectionery and bakery packs on high-speed packing lines has been overcome with the introduction of the firm’s latest X-ray inspection system.
The new Ishida IX-EN-2493-Compact combines an ‘ultra-compact’ design with speeds of up to 120 metres per minute.
Key to achieving these high speeds is the machine’s ‘unique’ split conveyor design. Ishida explained that traditional X-ray systems have a single conveyor with protective curtains that contain the X-ray beam within the machine. However, these curtains can interfere with the movement of lightweight flow wrapped packs, causing them to be destabilised and creating product jams.
With the Ishida solution, the curtains are raised above the conveyor so as not to impede the movement of the packs. The X-ray beam is projected through the pack as it passes over the gap in the conveyor where it is captured within two large metal plates to ensure any X-ray emissions are contained within the machine.
“Our new compact X-ray inspection system enables manufacturers to check primary packs, whereas before the fast speed of line prevented inspection at this stage,” said Glen Oxborough, quality inspection control sales specialist at Ishida Europe. “Prior to this, therefore, the only effective solution was to carry out the inspection in the secondary packaging, either when the packs were part of a multipack or in their outer case ready for onward delivery.
“However, this meant that if a sub-standard pack was detected, the entire pack or box would need to be rejected, leading to unnecessary – and expensive – product and packaging waste.”
The IX-EN-2493-Compact features Ishida’s Genetic Algorithm (GA) technology that enables users to optimise the X-ray inspection process for greater sensitivity to specific foreign bodies. As well as detecting items including steel, aluminium, tin, glass, stones, dense rubber and Teflon, the machine can identify quality issues such as broken or mis-shaped items.
Another design feature are the two separate bins for foreign bodies and quality issues, both of which can be accessed from one side of the conveyor.
“Food quality and safety are key issues that can adversely affect brand image and consumer loyalty,” Glen Oxborough added. “Our new IX-EN-2493-Compact delivers peace of mind for manufacturers with a solution that can handle the fast line speeds of flow wrappers to enable primary packs to be inspected.”
