Vision System Also Allows for Future Growth
At a facility where finished food product packaging is performed in a Clean Pressure Vessel for Human Occupancy, EAD developed a vision system to reliably inspect incoming empty cans.
The cans are required to pass through an airlock prior to entering the filling process. Upstream of the airlock is a depalletizer for new empty cans. The depalletizer operator previously had visually inspected the cans, but the inspections were not repeatable and largely depended on the operator’s judgment. Cans that were out of specifications (i.e. out of round) were causing jams at the seamer, resulting in lost production.
EAD worked with the client and vendors to specify and design the resulting vision inspection system. The system control panel included an HMI with real-time images. The reject mechanisms used air nozzles triggered by the output of the camera. This method was chosen so any false rejects wouldn’t be damaged by an actuated arm. Rejected cans were discharged onto a can rail to minimize body damage and to reduce the system’s footprint.
Highlights
The final system run rate was set to 100 cans per minute with the ability to scale up to 500 cans per minute for future growth.
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https://eadcorporate.com/project/eads-help-doubles-production-rates/