Preform inspection: a world first
Intravis Hall 11, Booth A 58
Intravis GmbH, one of the world market leaders of vision inspection solutions for the plastic packaging industry, will have the largest trade show presence of its more than 25-year history at this year’s K show. In addition to improvements to its well-known products, the Aachen, Germany-based company will present innovations in the field of preform inspection and analysis software.
Intravis will present eight systems and two additional new software developments. The fair appearance is thus the largest in the history of the company. Managing Director Dr Gerd Fuhrmann is visibly delighted: “We are delighted to be able to show products at so many other partner booths this year in addition to our own booth and thus present our wide range of solutions for the plastic packaging industry”.
A world first at the Intravis booth
Intravis is still holding back information about the exhibit at its own booth. Dr Fuhrmann only reveals: “We will present an absolute world novelty at our booth. The solution concerns the preform area and may be called truly revolutionary. We have worked for a long time to overcome the bottleneck in preform quality inspection; the result is spectacular and must be seen”. In addition to its own booth, Intravis will also present the new preform innovation at the booth of its longtime partner Husky Injection Molding Systems S.A. (13 A61).
The inline quality lab
One of the highlights already announced will be the CapWatcher Q-Line, which will be presented for the first time at a European trade show. The inspection system, which is optimised for the quality inspection of standard beverage closures, convinces above all with its innovative inspection solutions and the abundance of high-quality information it supplies about each inspected closure.
The CapWatcher Q-Line checks up to 60 closures per second on typical features, such as sealing elements, threads and the tamper evident band, and for the first time an inline inspection system measures the temperature of the closures. “Especially in connection with our reliable and robust cavity reading, temperature measurement generates real added value through the accurate prediction of the shrinkage behavior,” says Christoph Wynands, Product Manager Caps & Closures.
Software development in combination with CapWatcher Q-Line
In combination with the CapWatcher Q-Line, the new IntraOptimizer software is introduced, which is intended to take the idea of the closed loop of Drinktec 2017 to a new level. During ongoing production the system takes high-precision measurements, collects extensive product data, and feeds this information into the newly developed software in real time. The correlation and analysis of the product and process data now offers the unique possibility of process optimisation, controlled by the inspection system.
With the help of a well-founded database and machine learning algorithms, the operator at the production line receives a weighted selection of recommendations for action, and can work through them according to prioritisation. The CapWatcher Q-Line’s continuous production monitoring ensures that success is monitored immediately, and leads to complete automation of the optimisation process in the subsequent steps.
Strong performance in the IML segment
Intravis will be presenting the IMLWatcher at four booths with a dedicated version of the inspection software IntraVision which is completely focused on IML defects.
The new inspection software is characterised above all by a simplified setup of new products on the inspection system. The new comprehensive statistical functions enable an optimal analysis of the production line. The inspections have been improved so that the IMLWatcher can now cope with the most difficult applications.
All IMLWatchers are now equipped with the IntraVisualizer trend and analysis software. It evaluates the machine and process data of all the Intravis systems used by the customer and other machines connected to the production lines simultaneously. Furthermore, the IntraVisualizer visualises all data graphically and reveals trends and serial defects before they arise. Interested parties can view and test the IntraVisualizer on their mobile phone.
Smart camera solution for printing system
The smallest system in the long list of Intravis inspection systems is the IntraOne single-camera solution. Integrated into a printing system of the partner Tampoprint, the system inspects for the presence and accuracy of a laser engraving on the inner top plate of standard beverage closures.
