Weighs and means

The principle of ‘never mind the quality, feel the width’, that is, the supposition that added quantity could ever compensate for shoddy workmanship is about as outdated as the ‘60s TV sit-com that bore the same name. Today’s supply chain operates on high standards, low margins and absolutely no tolerance of mistakes; especially so in terms of delivering consistent product reliability. Should the content fail to meet increasingly exacting inspection criteria, then packaging is likely to find itself squarely in the firing line.

Up until comparatively recently, although the lack of automation across the production line would have been unthinkable, manually carrying out quality checks has often been the norm. While that might pick up superficial faults – for example, incorrect artwork; as in the case of Morrisons own label Chicken Chow Mein, which failed to mention the inclusion of fried rice - it has no way of detecting the presence of foreign bodies mixed in with the actual contents; for example, Hovis Hearty Oats loaf, which possibly contained small fragments of glass. Both recalls took place on 16 June last year.

What the eye doesn’t see

The recent Interpack exhibition saw the introduction of a number of quality control systems and technologies designed to optimise consumer confidence in products delivering precisely what is claimed on the pack.

In addition to glass, metal is the other most common contaminant likely to damage brand integrity. Separation and sorting systems developer S+S has introduced new metal detection solutions representing three different technologies: magnet, X-ray, and inductive.

The redesigned Magbox food inline magnet separator is said to guarantee efficient separation of fine ferrous and magnetised stainless steel contaminants from bulk food materials. Recent updates have focused on detail improvements, for example, a latched catch for removing magnet cores from the stainless steel casing, and stainless steel star screws with captive swing bolts for opening the system.

Also redesigned is the Raycon X-ray scanner product inspection system, which will consistently and precisely detect a multitude of contaminants such as magnetic and non-magnetic metals, glass, ceramics, stones, raw bones, and some types of plastics, even when products are packaged in aluminium or other metallic foils. Raycon will also inspect for other product defects such as broken, deformed or missing products.

The completely new Solutor HF metal detector head’s three operating frequencies (low/medium/high) make it suitable for universal application; particularly for high sensitivity detection tasks in the food industry. Its sturdy and compact design with smooth surfaces and the proven Genius + control unit integrated into the detector housing is said to guarantee compliance with the most demanding hygiene standards.

Loma’s IQ³+ metal detector technology has been extended into two new formats: a conveyor that operates at any frequency between 40kHz - 900kHz, with the ability to select the ‘correct’ operating frequency in seconds; and the PipeLine system for pumped liquid and semi-liquid products, including ground and chopped meat. Both formats comply with IP69K standards, meaning that the machines can withstand the harshest environment, cope with high-pressure wash-down and be easily dismantled and cleaned.

Designed for use equally in the pharmaceutical sector as for food applications, the new Insight range from Lock Inspection Systems incorporates a number of performance enhancing benefits such as higher sensitivity to all metal types along with improved stability to vibration and complex product signals; the result of the integrated digital head and the patented Optix detector management software including direct digital signal (DDS) viewer.

Now a division with the Körber Medipack group, Seidenader has developed a system with a new approach to inspect highly potent or cytotoxic products as used in cancer therapy: the RIM robot supported inspection machine, specially designed for small batches, such as for research and clinical trials, or where automatic inspection is preferred because of the nature of the product or the documentation required.

The core of the inspection machine is a six-axis robot arm which picks up container by container from a buffer table and places them into appropriate inspection stations. Upon completion of all inspections, it separates defective from good products. Three inspection positions can be equipped with different cameras providing more flexibility of inspection views and an increased number of images. The base module inspects up to 15 liquid filled vials/min for particles, fill level, cracks or defective closures, and checks lyophilised products for overall appearance, particles and other cosmetic defects.

Seidenader’s new HVLD inspection machine for vials, ampoules, cartridges and syringes uses high voltage to check for leaking parenteral containers and closures. The machine uses high precision electrodes to inspect the full circumference of the containers including the closure zone at speeds up to 600 containers/min.

All containers are presented individually to the electrodes in a horizontal rotation. Any moisture which has penetrated through capillary forces through a crack or pinhole will be registered as a change in resistance. All products with a measured voltage higher than a defined maximum value will be separated from the good products.

Weighing up the options

With weighing the other side of the QC coin, Loma has linked its CW³ checkweighing system with the IQ³+ metal detector to deliver a compact and versatile next generation combination machine that can be engineered to suit individual application requirements and weigh a wide range of flexible and rigid packs up to 6kg – with packer fillers taking this route achieving substantial cost savings.

OCS has further extended its own range of checkweighers via the introduction of the HC-M series designed for speeds up to 250 pieces/min and positioned as a linking technology between the already established EC-E (Essential) and HC-A (Avant-garde) models. Operated via a 10.4 inch mobile touch display, the HC-M also shares a new control concept, patented belt technology and servo motors with those other two systems.

Multipond’s new DW 6100/2500-H multihead dosing weigher, available in up to six heads, is suited for free-flowing products in powder or granular form. The target weights are achieved using a single weigh hopper rather than several as is more usual for combination systems, and means that all units operate as independent weighing and dosing systems that are engineered to perform at up to 30 cycles/weighing head, regardless of product and target weight, up to a maximum of 2,500g/head.

Bilwinco’s new Revolution series of multihead weighers has been designed to process wet and sticky edibles such as fish fillets, as well as fragile products such as crumbled chicken that are normally beyond the capability of most weighing systems. The key point of difference is in controlling the vibration rate of the radial feeders in order to overcome the potential for product to adhere to the trays. Furthermore, Bilwinco has substantially reduced the number of recesses within which product debris can become lodged.

Leading the rest of the pack in multihead weighing technology is Ishida Europe, whose estimated 40% share of the worldwide market totals over 40,000 machines installed. Its new CCW-R-236 multihead weigher (36 heads) can undertake up to 360 weighs/min for single products, and is capable of handling and mixing up to eight different products at the same time.

The system can be specified with different contact parts for each mix section to cope with difficult products, such as sticky items including raisins or jellies. The mix weighing process means each section of the machine acts as an individual weigher, allowing each ingredient in the mix to be given a specific target weight to ensure that the final product contains exactly the right proportion.

Whilst Ishida’s core competence is firmly based in the QC equipment sector, around 15% of its €100 million annual turnover is being generated via the installation of fully integrated lines.

The latest of these is a high performance dual-lane tray packing system for fresh foods that runs at 150 packs/min (75/lane), comprising interlocking functionality including tray denesting; multihead weighing; tray filling and sealing; foreign body detection; checkweighing; seal testing; label inspection and end-of-line packaging, which was shown for the first time at Interpack.