Sensors monitor labelling

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Jul 31, 2007

Checker's part finding sensor proved very powerful in determining the text patterns printed on the CD boxes, ensuring that French labels weren't sent to Germany or vice versa.

When Reconcile Engineering was faced with challenges from customers in the CD/DVD manufacturing sector and in the pharmaceutical sector, it needed to find a viable solution.

The first challenge iinvolved verifying that the right language is present on the printed packaging for CDs.

The second challenge involved the counting of complex pharmaceutical labels.

The only solution for both applications was Checker from Cognex.

Reconcile Engineering is based in Dublin, Ireland.

Its label inspection and reconciliation systems can be found in many high-speed automatic packaging lines in major optical media manufacturers throughout the world.

Manufacturers have zero-tolerance for faulty packaging because consumers have become increasingly aware and demanding when it comes to what they purchase.

Suppliers cannot afford to provide a faulty product and need to be sure of content for every product leaving their premises.

One of the challenges faced by Reconcile came from a leading CD manufacturer.

The company needed to guarantee the inspection of their printed packaging verifying that the correct language is present on the inlay.

Mix-ups could cause costly recalls and delays.

The customer's objective was to ensure that CDs with French language inlay cards are not sent to Germany or vice-versa.

The customer also wanted to verify that the inlay cards were properly aligned and oriented in the right direction.

Reconcile investigated the options available for this kind of inspection and tested Checker from Cognex alongside competing systems.

Checker was the only one to perform successfully.

Checker's part finding sensor proved very powerful in determining the text patterns printed on the CD boxes and as a result Checker was retrofitted onto the printing line by engineers from Reconcile.

The installation was complete within two hours and even in this short time a mix-up successfully detected and rectified.

With Checker there is no need for an external trigger so different colours or products can inspected on the machine, giving the end-user complete flexibility.

Checker is particularly useful in packaging applications because it synchronises part rejection on variable speed lines using encoder counts instead of time to accurately track flawed packages between the inspection and rejection points.

Checker's ability to determine what it is seeing allows it to precisely assert its output at the proper encoder position for each piece.

Being faced with some particularly complex pharmaceutical labels for counting resulted in Reconcile taking the decision to include Checker as an option for all clients on its label counting machine.

These clear labels with clear backing are marked with a text and a batch number.

The fact that they are transparent and are a two-tier layer means that they pose a particular challenge for the counting machine.

Previously, Reconcile would have used an optical or ultrasonic sensor, but neither of these options could have coped with such complex labels.

Checker was quickly installed and is now fully operational counting labels at a rate of 100 per second.

The customer is fully satisfied - not only is Checker easy to use and very stable, but the counting speed is unprecedented.

A laser pointer connected to a PLC is mounted on the Checker permitting the operator to align the lens with the product to be 'learned' by Checker.

All the operator has to do then is press a green button, 'teach' and Checker is ready to go.

According to Des Farrelly, Managing Director of Reconcile Engineering, "It would have been impossible to solve this label counting application without Checker's part-finding sensor".

"With a successful counting rate of 100 labels a minute, we intend to include Checker as an option on our label counting machine from now on".