PETpla.net Insider 01+02 / 2021

INSPECTION 22 PETplanet Insider Vol. 22 No. 01+02/21 www.petpla.net come up with complex outside hinge structures, we simply need to add our AI software tool IMDvista Neuron. PETplanet: What must users be prepared for? Are the new systems easy to integrate into existing pro- cesses? What is the technical and financial expenditure? Our customers can continue work- ing with existing standard IMDvista vision inspection equipment with- out expensive system modifications for a wide range of tethered closure designs. Our IMDvista Neuron soft- ware is much more cost-efficient than a custom-made mechanical orienta- tion station, especially for closure designs with special hinge structure designs. The IMDvista Neuron is able to inspect the closures much more precisely without any risks of closure jams or false rejects within the whole process! www.imdvista.ch Intravis, Mr Christoph Wynands, Productmanager for Preform and Closure Inspection systems PETplanet: Has your company already developed inspection systems for tethered caps? If so, what were the particular challenges during develop- ment and what are the new para- meters of the inspection? Yes, with the Cap- Watcher Q-Line we responded very early - in spring/summer 2019 - to the first indications of expected changes in closure design. Since then, we have been in close contact with our customers and partners. In addition, as an active member of the Cetie, we are always up to date with the latest developments and thus learn very early on what requirements can be expected from our partners. About our solution: The Cap- Watcher Q-Line is an inspection system for the end-of- line inspection of closures, which is also ideally equipped for the requirements of tethered caps. Three inspec- tion stations with different optics for inspecting the inside of the closure, as well as five cameras for inspecting the closure from the outside, provide a complete all-round view of every detail - at produc- tion speeds of up to 3,600 closures per minute. The special features of tethered caps pose no problem for the Cap- Watcher Q-Line. Take, for example, the closure aids/ CAM’s located inside the closure: With our patented non-contact microhole inspection, we do not have to dip into the closure to be able to exclude microholes with 100% certainty. A normal HV inspection dip- ping into the closure quickly reaches its limits of reliability here. The exter- nal shape and dimensional stability of tethered caps are also challenges our CapWatcher Q-Line can handle. Our form-fitting, lateral star wheel separa- tion copes with external features such as hinges as well as with the increasing sensitivity of the ever thinner closures - and does so with high precision even at the highest speeds. And for our soft- ware, the rotationally invariant tethered caps do not need to be aligned either - our software logic masters any align- ment for a reliable inspection. In addi- tion, temperature measurement, cavity reading and testing of the slitting quality of the guarantee band are some of the other advantages of the CapWatcher Q-Line, which has now proven itself in various applications for over two years. PETplanet: Can any design of tethered cap be inspected with one inspection system? Basically, there are no limits to what the CapWatcher Q-Line can do. We have solutions for injec- tion moulded as well as for closures from compression moulding; inspect closures with cut as well as closures with moulded tether features; inspect standard PCO1881 beverage closures as well as multi-part closures for bev- erage cartons in assembly handlings. PETplanet: What must users be prepared for? Are the new systems easy to integrate into existing pro- cesses? What is the technical and financial expenditure? Customers with a CapWatcher Q-Line are already well prepared today. Here, the technical and finan- cial effort is very low and an adapta- tion can be implemented very quickly. Customers with older system genera- tions have to invest more effort here. But we also offer options and solu- tions for this. Customers who do not yet have an Intravis inspection system have a wide choice of solutions. Here, we are happy to support you in selecting, setting up and implement- ing a complete downstream concept tailored to your specific needs. www.intravis.com