PETpla.net Insider 07+08 / 2019

INSPECTION 29 PET planet Insider Vol. 19 No. 07+08/19 www.petpla.net Swiss Made | www.imdvista.ch Inspection Systems for the Plastic Packaging Industry Closure Inspection – 100% Inline “IMDvista INOX Line” Robust, compact and very flexible. One control center (HMI) for the whole line. Preform Inspection – Inline or Offline “IMDvista PECO V3” Less than 7m ƹ and up to 90’000 pph. Cavity reading. Preform Monitoring – Shot by Shot “IMDvista PECO LUX” Requires no additional floor space. No preform orientation. The new TQ-Lab provided by Torus Measurement Systems Finding new innovative ways to bring improvements to the quality con- trol aspect of the plastics industry has been Torus Measurement Systems’ focus since launching their first plas- tic packaging inspection systems in 2013. The customer-centric philoso- phy together with the technical exper- tise within the Torus Group has led to the latest development, the TQ-Lab. Historically, bottles and preforms have been collected from produc- tion, brought into the laboratory and checked for their conformance. Whilst there are systems used to provide faster or even line speed checks, unfortunately their accuracy is limited. Torus specialise in offering quick and efficient batch testing, where meas- urements can be taken quickly but do not compromise on the accuracy and reliability of results delivered by labo- ratory level tests. The philosophy of modularity has proved to be successful for Torus Group for over 25 years. The TQ-Lab provides an enhancement of Torus’ trademark modular approach to plas- tic packaging quality control. Cus- tomers can specify the most critical measurement modules and incorpo- rate their needs into one automated system, see. Fig 1. This could be used for qualification of new moulds or production of existing containers and preforms. Fig. 2: Intelligent neck-find system on the TQ-Lab fits include removing laborious testing and data handling processes, saving fac- tory floor space and selectable modules to suit bespoke customer requirements. The TQ-Lab also produces large measurement data sets which cus- tomers may use to analyse and reveal trends. These measurements are transferred automatically to the customer network, removing any operator influence from measurement data whilst increasing throughput and freeing up quality personnel to perform important data analysis. Through bring- ing customers specialist solutions by utilising unique expertise, Torus expect to grow further in this area.” (III) “The main challenge for Torus is developing equipment that can main- tain world class accuracy and repeat- ability whilst offering industry leading flexibity for the demanding container shapes available today. Round, oval, square and custom shaped contain- ers must all be handled, automated and measured accurately without any operator influence.” The design of such a system is the first of its kind. Currently this total qual- ity solution is available with up to three modules, including – Thickness, neck and body dimensions, internal diameter and top load & volume capacity. In total, the TQ-Lab can offer more than 40 dif- ferent measurement features without any interventions from the operator. The operator loads batches of containers onto a flexible puck system which cycles on a turnaround conveyor, the relevant program is then selected from a single centralised interface. The operator is then able to walk away and allow the TQ-Lab to take care of the rest. Programming time has been reduced to a minimum by use of a custom, neck-find vision system at the pick-up area of the conveyor, see Fig. 2. The vision system locates the neck and passes coordinates to the handling gantry which will automatically drive to the required pickup position. Torus’ B302 TBT Gauge which will carry out wall thickness, base thickness, neck finish, body diameter and perpendicu- larity measurements. Once complete the handling system transfers the con- tainer to the second module, the B309 Internal Diameter Gauge measuring internal diameter using a unique white light sensor. The TQ-Lab produces large measurement data sets which customers can use to analyse and reveal patterns or trends to make quick decisions relating to the validation of new designs or maintaining production quality. www.torus-group.com