CAPS & CLOSURES 22 PETplanet Insider Vol. 24 No. 03/23 www.petpla.net The closure inspection allrounders CAPS & CLOSURES In the last decades, variations in closure designs have increased more and more. Nowadays, the market demands one-piece or multi-piece closures, sizes from 20 to more than 60mm in diameter, with or without printing, slitted closures, flip-top closures, tethered caps and much more. This wide variety of closure design variations poses different challenges for the inspection. In order to ensure high-quality vision inspection, Intravis GmbH developed a variety of different technologies for all types of closures. Standard closures The term “standard closure” is deceptive. Even though these closures are standardised and therefore produced in large quantities, they also have important elements on which the producers of the closures put a special focus. One priority of closure producers is, of course, the flawless functionality of the closures, especially in the thread area. Accordingly, Intravis has focused on a comprehensive inspection of the thread, for example with its CapWatcher Q-Line vision system. Thanks to special imaging developed in-house, the entire thread is captured with one camera and then inspected for defects in a roll-out image. Another crucial point in the production of standard closures is the closure dimensions. Intravis uses the CapWatcher Q-Line to inspect the external and internal dimensions, such as the height and diameter of the closure or even the diameter of internal sealing elements. Additionally, the CapWatcher Q-Line inspects defects like contamination, colour deviation and many more. Intravis also developed a patented temperature sensor that records the temperature of every single closure that is produced. It presents essential data for the CapWatcher Q-Line. Based on the temperature information, conclusions can be drawn about the shrinkage behavior of the closures which allows for the implementation of a precise capping process. A closure manufacturer can ensure that the closure has exactly the dimension that is needed at the planned time of application. The operator is able to monitor the cooling of individual cavities and ensure process stability. The next essential element of closure functionality is a flawless tamperevident band, which makes sure that a closure has not been opened already. Therefore, Intravis has created a technology to inspect the quality of the tamper-evident band. For slitted bands, additional attention is paid to the quality of the slit. For example, the technology inspects for deviations of the cutline or if the form is wavy. This makes it possible to detect worn knives or problems with the temperature of the blade at an early stage. Moreover, general defects like long and short shots or broken bridges are inspected at the tamperevident band. Multi-part closures In terms of inspection requirements, these multi-part closures (eg. push-pull or flip-top closures) are more challenging than standard closures. The production of the closures is significantly more complex and creates several challenges such as protruding flaps, damaged pull tabs, special geometries, and assembly faults. Each individual element of the multi-part closure as well as the assembled closure must be inspected in order to be able to guarantee 100% safety. To address this, Intravis has built up a team of qualified mechanical, electrical and software engineers who develop inspection solution for Flip-top closures present several challenges for inspection systems. The announcement of tethered caps prompted Intravis to develop some new technologies.
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