April, 2011
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Page 61 Better Inspection at Lower Cost By Jeff Schmitz, PPT Vision, Bloomington, MN F
rom surface mount IC chips, to potato chips, customers are demanding higher quality and
lower costs. That places the responsi- bility totally on manufacturing machine designers to use innovative tools that both inspect for 100 per- cent quality and increase the product throughput rate. An example of delivering quali-
ty and faster throughput comes from food manufacturers — held to strict agency regulations regarding prod- uct quality and consistency. Repeatable visual inspections
are critical to ensure that consumers receive a consistent and safe product. As regulations have increased, ma - chine vision technology has necessari- ly become more intelligent to follow suit — a trend that some machine builders are using to their advantage. The Budé Group (Masstricht,
Netherlands) selected the PPT VIS - ION IMPACT® M-Series Embed ded Vision System for this new equipment offering, called the Multi packer®. This vision system can incorporate up to four of the company’s M-Series smart cameras — each capable of performing its own independent inspection task — utilizing a single M40 processor, reducing the cost per inspection point. These inspections can be initiated independently at different times or simultaneously, increasing applica- tion flexibility, yet the shared proces- sor allows communication among all cameras.
Inspecting for Quality The Multipacker system is used
to inspect a product’s quality, includ- ing how a product is shaped, oriented and sized, before it is packaged for distribution. In one application of this technology, Budé used the Multi - packer system to inspect hamburger patties — which are fried, then frozen for preservation — to verify product quality and consistency in color. To complete this inspection, the vision system utilizes IMPACT software, which allows users to develop custom graphical user interfaces and create complex inspections via dragging- and-dropping icons and simplified programming. The IMPACT M-Series platform also supports Power over Ethernet (PoE), reducing cabling. “We have worked with other
machine vision systems in the past, but we have never had a system that offers as much value and flexibility as the M-Series,” said Mr. Marcel Budé, Director of the Budé Group. “PPT VISION’s M40 system allows us to provide visual inspection for all types of food applications, including high- speed robot sorting or multi-camera inspections, while reducing production costs and ensuring highest quality.”
Helping in Deployment Vision Competence Center (VCC),
the distributor for PPT VISION in Heerlen, Netherlands, helped to deploy the M-Series Embedded Vision System in the Budé Group’s new equipment offering. VCC assisted in quickly solv- ing the company’s vision inspection requirements for the food manufactur- ing process by providing a simple setup and economical solution. “Utilizing the same powerful software as current IMPACT smart
ISO 9001:2008 ITAR RoHS
Toll Free: 888 722-5310 Fax: 586 294-5999
33041 Groesbeck Hwy., Fraser, MI 48026
www.circuitboards.com Array of precision vision equipment for
inspection can be added to any production line.
cameras, the M-Series requires no additional training to program the unit,” said Mr. Marcel Heugen, Director of VCC. “Additionally, we were able to keep sys- tem costs down because of shared processing capability and multi- camera expandability: It allows us to inspect and reject the product at multiple locations in the production line and helps reduce adding any
value to bad product.” Equipment using
smart cameras and ma chine vision systems is applied in both food pro- cessing and food packaging. Smart cameras, such as PPT
VISION’s IM PACT vision system, in - spect for food and food packaging qual- ity to verify correct product shape and size, as well as to verify correct pack- age markings. Smart cameras also guide food products through the pro- duction process and identify barcodes and human-readable text on food packages. Contact: PPT Vision, 6301 Old
Shakopee Rd., Suite A, Bloomington, MN 55438 % 952-996-9500 E-mail:
info@pptvision.com Web:
www.pptvision.com
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