MACHINERY | PELLETISERS
The Inspection Technologies system software provides comprehensive trending analysis
Image: Inspection Technologies
can be missed, according to the company. Continuous in line monitoring, by contrast, gives an immediate alert of any problems. Roter says Israeli compounders such as Tofrat,
Kafrit and Polyram have implemented the company’s technology in some of their operations in Israel and several major global compounders started implementing the system in their production lines in Europe and in the Far East during 2021.
Recycling variation The inline inspection system is also beneficial for pelletising recyclate, which is more prone to contamination, according to Nadav Leshem, founder and CEO of Inspection Technologies. “A major constraint of using recycled material is quality of product and variability of quality; online inspection systems can help narrow down the quality variation,” he says. The Inspection Technologies vision system is designed to withstand the harsh environments of plastics production, which can include high temperatures, dust from antiblock additives, and abrasive or corrosive materials such as glass-filled masterbatches and coupling agents. The equipment uses area cameras (rather than linescan cameras). These incorporate a matrix, rather than a line, of pixels that allows different illumination to be used in different parts of the image frame. “You can have several inspection tasks in one frame with different illumination types in the upper and lower parts,” says Leshem. “For example, for size you need to see good contour, so you need a high contrast with the background. For impurities such as black specks detection, the
50 COMPOUNDING WORLD | January 2022
system will use a different type of illumination.” The smallest system is designed for a
throughput of 1,000 kg/hr but the company has customers using the technology at up to 2.8 tonnes/hr. A system offering twice that capacity is also available, with equipment capable of three times that capacity available soon. Aside from impurities detection, the system also analyses pellet size and pellet contour to detect improper cuts such as ‘tails’. “The system shows the distribution of size and shape, and it indicates if this distribution is changing. You can see immediately if you’re beginning to get angel hairs or tails, and you can set up a real-time alert if a control limit is exceeded,” says Roter. When inspection tasks related to pellet colour are needed, colour cameras can be added to the system.
In addition to in-line continuous monitoring, a
sorting unit can be added to sort out poor quality pellets. Leshem says that application of both monitoring and off-line sorting can be used to help better plan and implement maintenance. “You don’t need to do preventive maintenance at predefined time, but instead you can do it if and when the monitoring gives you a heads up that there is a problem,” he says.
CLICK ON THE LINKS FOR MORE INFORMATION: �
www.maag.com �
www.coperion.com �
www.bayplasticsmachinery.com �
www.nordson.com �
www.econ.eu �
www.pelletizing.de (IPS) �
https://sikora.net/en/ �
https://sheetinspection.com/ (Inspection Technologies)
www.compoundingworld.com
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