Smooth pizza picking with a robot

Pick-and-place robots load three types of frozen pizzas—triangular, circular and oval—into a flowpack machine ahead of a cartoner at Italian pizza producer Panidea. The equipment also includes a vision system to collate the pizzas neatly on the line, even those that aren’t uniform in shape. The pizzas also must be handled delicately with the robotic gripper, because items on top of the pizza mustn’t be lost in the trip from the line to the package.

Staff — Control Engineering, 8/1/2007

While an expert pizzaiolo might prepare a pizza in a few minutes, an industrial pizza machine must turn out hundreds of pizzas in the same time frame. No one would claim that frozen pizza tastes quite the same as that prepared fresh in a brick oven, but frozen pizza can bring a lot of satisfaction to those who want the taste of Italy and don’t have an authentic pizzeria nearby.

For an industrial pizza producer, making the pizza is only the first part of the problem. The pizza must then be frozen, sorted, wrapped and packaged in accordance with regulations for freshness and hygiene, and must not lose its attractiveness during this process. For example, if the pizza starts out round, it should still be round when it arrives in the consumer’s kitchen. If cheese has been sprinkled on top of the pizza, it should still be there when the customer opens the package, and not be left behind on the factory floor.

Last year, Italian pizza producer Panidea asked the Vortex Systems Div. of CT Pack s.r.l. (www.ctpack.com), a system integrator, to design an automated packaging system for frozen pizzas. Pizzas coming from a freezer were to be loaded into a flowpack machine before going to a cartoning machine. The major challenge was to handle three different shapes of pizzas: triangular, circular and oval. Furthermore, the customer wanted a fully flexible and scalable system, where new products could be introduced as the capacity increased over time.

A specific challenge with pizzas is that they don’t always collate neatly on the line and may not be perfectly uniform in shape. The pizzas also must be handled delicately with the robot’s gripper. Items on top of the pizza mustn’t be lost in the trip from the line to the package. Looking at these requirements, Vortex Systems concluded that this combination of total flexibility and high capacity could only be achieved through the use of a Model RB340 FlexPicker robot from ABB, Inc. (www.abb.com), used in conjunction with ABB’s PickMaster software for vision guidance.

The FlexPicker is a parallel, kinematics robot that is said to offer a great combination of speed and flexibility. With picking rates exceeding 120 items/min, the robot can pick and place products one-by-one. Since all the motors and gears are fixed on the base of the robot, the mass of the moving arms is limited to a few kilograms. This means that accelerations above 10 gravity can be achieved.

The FlexPicker has a hygienic design, and the fact that the robot is top-mounted means it doesn’t restrict access to the robot line, a feature that is greatly appreciated by both operators and maintenance personnel.

The PickMaster vision software gives the robots “eyes.” The pizzas are arranged randomly on a conveyor belt, and the robots need to know their location to pick them up. Incorporating a vision system from Cognex Corp. (www.cognex.com), the PickMaster PC-based software package makes the programming of multiple (up to eight) robots, cameras and conveyor belts an easy task—even for an inexperienced robot programmer. The loading system contains two FlexPicker robots, each with a camera and PickMaster software. Should Panidea wish to upgrade the capacity of the system, the layout has room for a third robot at the end of the line.

The key to the success of this pizza-loading system, which is the first of its kind in Italy, is the gripper design. Although single grippers are simpler and cheaper than multiple grippers, the high capacity and product variation makes the gripping technology very important. In this project, two types of grippers are used: a finger-like gripper and a faster, vacuum gripper. Each robot has a capacity of 60 to 80 pizzas/min, depending on the type of gripper being used. If a third robot is added to the line, the maximum capacity of the system will be 240 pizzas/min.

The cameras and the Cognex vision systems locate the pizzas and feed the positions to the robot controller. The products don’t have to be guided or prearranged, as they would need to be with conventional automation systems. Instead, they can be fed on an ordinary, flat conveyor belt for all product variants; the FlexPicker robots and vision system take care of the rest. The result is a cleaner robot-based system with fewer mechanical peripherals. The flexibility provided by this approach is very valuable to the customer, since it allows the optimal mix of products to be produced, depending on consumer demand. In addition, only the grippers need to be changed to accommodate different batches, so downtime and loss of production are minimal. Also the ability to add another robot is a valuable option to accommodate future growth in the demand for the pizzas. Since the system packages open food, it is mainly designed in stainless steel to meet washdown standards—an important requirement in food production.

According to personnel at Panidea, the FlexPicker system installation went very smoothly and took only two weeks. The reliability has been very good, they say, since the installation in March 2004. According to Panidea engineers, this is probably the only way to automate this application with such a great combination of flexibility and speed. The only equally flexible alternative to the FlexPickers would have been a much more costly solution using manual labor.

The pizza-picking installation is an excellent example of how standard robots and application software result in a short payback for a food producer. Panidea says it is already planning to continue the expansion of the concept.

Quality boosted and zero rejects with vision from Cognex!

Quality boosted and zero rejects with vision from Cognex!

Mayer & Co., a global leader in its field has found the solution to their production problems in Cognex vision systems. While it’s something we all do possibly several times a day - opening or tilting a balcony door or window, most of us are unaware of the technology behind it. Mayer & Co., known to experts worldwide as MACO, is one of the three market leaders in the manufacture of rotary and tilting hinges for windows and doors. Using cameras from Cognex and support from Buxbaum Automation, they were able to find the perfect solution to optimizing their production process. Rejects have been reduced to practically zero. Motivated by their success with the Cognex DVT 510 series, the MACO engineers will be relying on Cognex quality for other production areas and lines in the future especially considering they were the first company in the industry to be certified to DIN ISO 9001 by the AGQS.

The components are manufactured exclusively at the company’s main plants in Salzburg and in Trieben. MACO distributes its products through an extensive network throughout the world, although Europe is its dominant market. Both plant I in Salzburg – which houses the product development centre as well as the company’s headquarters – and plant II in Trieben have state of the art tool making facilities. Special machines such as assembly equipment are designed and produced in-house.  MACO’s success has always been based on the quality of its products. Reflecting their assumed responsibility to the customer, all products undergo stringent monitoring and improvement processes, from development to production to delivery.

The right vision system for the task at hand
The company faced a particular challenge in that they required the vision system in place to detect whether the work piece has been inserted with the correct side facing upwards. If not, the camera immediately sends an error message to the machine controller. A separate mechanism then rotates the gear to the correct position and it can then be processed as normal.  All kinds of vision systems had previously been tested underlines how difficult the problem was for MACO to resolve.  Satisfactory results could not be achieved for a period of two years.

In order to solve the problem, DVT 510 camera sensor from Cognex was recently fitted on the machine. A recess in the gears allows the camera to detect immediately whether the piece is facing the right way up.  “With the camera sensors from Cognex and support from Buxbaum Automation, we were finally able to find a perfect solution to our problem. Rejects have been reduced to practically zero. This has ultimately convinced our process managers to make further investments in this technology”, confirm the visibly satisfied automation engineers from MACO. “The technical capabilities of the Cognex DVT 510 – such as the Ethernet port, compatibility with standard bus systems, remote operation in real time, CMOS image chip, 32 MB DRAM data memory, 8 MB Flash memory and the Intellect camera software – were crucial in overcoming the issues we faced. The software is easy to operate yet provides optimum scope for adjustment. At the end of the day it was not the price that mattered most to us; it was quality and expert advice”, they continued.

Motivated by the success with the Cognex DVT 510 series, the MACO engineers will be relying on Cognex quality for other production areas and lines in the future.

About Buxbaum Automation
Buxbaum Automation is one of the leading suppliers of industrial communication technology and vision systems for manufacturing industry. With its international partners Woodhead Software and Electronics, Contemporary Controls, Trebing&Himstedt, ProSoft, Softing, Cognex, Büchner Lichtsysteme, Vision Components, Tamron and Fujinon, the Eisenstadt-based company can offer a broad range of high-quality products in the areas of network technology, field bus systems and vision.  Backed up by process know-how, years of experience and expert staff, Buxbaum Automation is ideally placed to supply complete communication solutions for industrial applications.

Defect-free packaging for distribution

Cognex vision satisfies a sweet tooth

When you are responsible for getting a popular chocolate product to its fans, you have a responsibility to ensure that all sweet tooths are satisfied! Even more so when it concerns a 100 year old chocolate wafer treat known as the ‘Mannerschnitte” or “Neapolitaner”. Only products that are in perfect condition and feature a uniform level of quality can ensure market success. Thanks to the In-Sight 5400 vision sensor, the company is now able to ensure that all Mannerschnitt wafers are thoroughly inspected before they leave the plant for distribution.

The worlds largest oven
With an annual capacity of 8000 tonnes of flat wafers and biscuits, the world’s largest wafer oven is located at Perg, near Linz. Enormous quantities of product are processed by almost 100 employees, who ensure that the portions are packed individually and put into cardboard boxes. The issue of hygiene is critical in the food industry. Products must be packed in the correct packaging and must be completely airtight.

Tough customers
Consumers of chocolate are not to be toyed with. If the expected hazelnut taste were impaired by packaging defects, the company could lose customers. Complaints mean consequences, including financial repercussions and bad publicity. Products supplied to the end customer must be 100% free of defects. This applies not only to its own branded products, but also to the products being produced on behalf of other large customers - an important market segment.

100% defect free – how?
The company needed a new solution to cope with the increased quality demands. It was decided that a vision system would provide the answer but it was clear that this vision system would have to meet the challenge and cope with the following requirements :

- reliable inspection of all packaging at production speeds of up to 400 packages per minute
- flexibility to cope with many different product variants
- easy operation and programming
- the aim was to use the new checking station to make the whole production process smoother

Many different characteristics to be inspected simultaneously and these need to be easily taught to the system:

- 25 different packaging colour variants
- 100 texts in different languages printed on the packaging
- inspection of label positioning
- ensure there are no dents or defects in the packaging
- verify presence of picture and text

Integrating the solution in record time
Schmachtl Gmbh from Linz, a Partner System Integrator (PSI) of Cognex impressed Manner with the results of their feasibility study done for the Perg plant. The solution took advantage of the In-Sight® 5400 vision system from Cognex to keep the design of the inspection station simple allowing the mechanical set-up and installation to be done internally by Manner’s own engineering/maintenance team. The inspection station checks whether the label is equally positioned from the left and right edge of the packaging, whether there are dents or defects in the packaging, which picture and text is on the packaging and much more.

The order was placed at the end of April 2006 and the quality control station was already put in place by the end of May. To ensure operator and production efficiency right from the start, the Linz-based company, which is, had already performed the programming of the customer-specific vision tasks for a wide range of packaging variants. The extent of the different component characteristics meant it was important for operators to be able to easily manipulate the inspection station.

Product location regardless of orientation and position
The high-performance In-Sight 5400 vision systems combined with the capabilities of PatMax® vision software allows many different characteristics to be checked simultaneously and quickly. The key advantage of Patmax in this application is that the individual packages of Mannerschnitt wafers can flow through the inspection station on the conveyor belt without needing to be fixed in a particular position. The vision system also detects any faults in the packaging supplied by external suppliers and this has allowed the company to eliminate the occurrence of rejected product.

12 “windows” ensure no defect is left unseen
In order to take advantage of the processing power of the In-Sight 5400 to achieve the high levels of production output that the company is aiming for, Schmachtl divided the entire image area for packaging into 12 individual PatMax windows in order to detect packaging characteristics more quickly, more flexibly and more efficiently. When combined, the characteristics indicate whether the product is free of defects. For example, two windows are used solely to determine whether the packaging is centred properly. Another field is used for pattern matching. It could mean determining whether the picture of the hazelnut is present or checking the corners for dents and tears.

5% production increase and no more complaints
Simple to use and easy to operate, Manner employees are able to easily train various characteristics on the vision system for the entire range of packaging. This enables the staff to react quickly to various types of fault. For example, if a package is dented it may become jammed further down the production line resulting in additional unnecessary product rejects. Now incidents such as this are at a minimum and the company is able to guarantee that the packaging is airtight and flawless in appearance The most noticeable effect of this improvement is that the company no longer receives any complaints which in turn eliminates the cost that would have been incurred finding the problem. By keeping interruptions in the production flow to a minimum, productivity has increased by around 5%.

Reinhard Gassner, plant manager at Perg, said “If the conveyor belt is operating at a speed of, for example, 270 packages per minute, then just a few seconds of defective production means several dozen rejected packages. This is not just a question of cost, it also has a negative effect on the production flow. Problems like this are now in the past.”

Visionary production
Based on the success of the first inspection stations, the company is now looking at whether other areas of production could benefit from a vision system. The 100% quality checking of each package has also helped guarantee large customer orders and improved quality certification. The Perg plant has become recognized as a centre of competence for all types of technology within Manner AG for its expertise in combining the best engineering with effective vision technology.

Precision inspection for white goods

Precision inspection for white goods

Prettl
Appliance Systems Deutschland GmbH (PAS) is using In-Sight vision
systems from Cognex to guarantee quality in their production process.
Every control panel manufactured at their plant must first be put
through its paces in an intricate production process as they are
destined for the world’s white goods industry. Not an easy task
considering the reflective surfaces, variety of colorus and multiple
features needing to be fully inspected. In-Sight vision systems proved
up to the challenge.

In-Sight meets the colourful challenge posed by white goods

Prettl
is one of the world’s leading suppliers of system control panels and
cables for white goods. They develop state-of-the-art control panels
for washing machines and driers. The front control panels for high-end
washing machines manufactured by Prettl are masterpieces beautiful,
multifunctional and reliable. With stylish curves, and glossy finishes,
they come in many different colours. Equipped with a wide range of
variable functions, the company’s control panels are ideal for any type
of application; coloureds, whites or delicate fabrics.  Quick wash
cycles, gentle wash cycles and spin-drying at any speed are also
standard features.

Two companies who have been implementing
projects in tandem for many years were charged with creating the
inspection station and developing and assembling the production plant:
Weber Konstruktion Maschinenbau GmbH, Aschaffenburg (Germany), and
Weber Systemtechnik, Wetzlar, who is a member of the specialist global
Cognex partner integrator network (PSI) in Germany.

The challenge - accurate inspection of multiple positions and colours

The
project team decided to use Cognex In-Sight technology on this project
because it has already proven itself in many other large projects
previously carried out together by the two companies. “It was essential
that the quality inspection system be able to cope with the
multifaceted and high-quality design of the Prettl control panels”,
says Alexander Kobras, managing director (technical) of Weber
Konstruktion. “The control panel is bent into shape and the lettering
is then applied but the critical point is that the controls, the LED
indicators and the lettering can all be positioned differently on
different product variants and, above all, there is a wide range of
product colours, which makes an intelligent inspection station with
reliable camera technology essential,” continues Kobras, an expert in
the field of production technology.

This was made possible by the
use of a six-axis robot arm which holds the control panel and moves it
into all of the checking positions required by the camera. “In-Sight
not only checks that the various features are present and positioned
correctly, it also checks their quality,” says Thorsten Rauber, head of
the measurement and checking systems division of Weber Systemtechnik.
The inspection criteria include the position of the features, their
completeness and the quality of aspects such as the pad printing. There
can be occasional problems with lettering that is not complete, is
smeared or is applied twice.

A vision solution for multiple inspection scenarios: reflective surfaces and colours
The inspection system, consisting of Cognex In-Sight technology and the
user interface of the flexible inspection software from Weber
Systemtechnik, can easily adapt to a wide variety of colour and
brightness contrasts. The surface finish of the control panels ranges
from black, white, red and blue through to silver and many other
high-lustre finishes, which sometimes cause strong reflections. One of
the specifications for the development of the inspection station was
that the checking process should be performed as quickly and easily as
possible without the need for extensive training of staff. “Inspection
of all of these different scenarios with just one hardware
configuration, one camera and one source of illumination was one of the
main challenges,” says Thorsten Rauber.

The
vision system also needs to be capable of detecting any surface damage
present, such as paint scratches, which was a real challenge for the
Weber team due to the wide variety of possible surface damage.

Complete product traceability included!
In addition and depending on the model and customer requirements, the
system can read a barcode and a data matrix code and this product data
can then be used for internal process-related tasks such as ensuring
maximum traceability of production results.
The functions of the control panel are simulated by means of electrical
communication between the vision system and the circuit boards of the
control panel and the LEDs are activated so that a visual check can be
performed. When a defect is recorded by the In-Sight system, the system
stores the picture with the associated data on the internal database. A
worker can then access the picture and the data and decide on the next
steps to take even before he or she takes a look at the individual
item. This saves time and speeds up working processes.

In-Sight
demonstrates its strengths impressively. Both Alexander Kobras and
Thorsten Rauber appreciate the development efforts made by Cognex. In
particular, the algorithms work much better than those of competitor
systems. Real-time process control, high-speed image processing, highly
precise object localisation and easy operation without programming
expertise have made the control station created by Weber Konstruktion
and Weber Systemtechnik a trusty assistant of PAS.

Verification and inspection of parts

Robot cell equipped with Cognex vision keeps knives sharp

SIR, an Italian machine builder specialized in robotics, has created a special cell for knife grinding and surface finishing using powerful PatMax® tools from Cognex

SIR is an Italian machine builder located in Modena. They have recently conceived and produced a cell that is dedicated to metalworking. The objective is to re-work worn out knives, which after being grinded and used have lost their original shape.

The peculiarity of this application is that it allows the refurbishing of different types of knives, whose blade shape is unknown, to their original conditions. In order to carry out a correct grinding, it is not possible to do a rough estimate of the degree of the knife’s usage and to assume a calculated path starting from the original one. Knives are usually grinded manually and the theoretic shape does not correspond with the real one. For this reason the use of a vision system has become necessary in order to estimate in real time the right profile of each knife.

The cell working process consists in the robot’s taking the knife and positioning it under the vision system in order to get the shape. Then both sides of the blade are grinded separately. Subsequently the knife is scoured in order to make the blade edge smoother and homogenous. At the end, the cold trimming operation eliminates any tailings due to the grinding from the blade. When this is over the knife is placed in a basket that is similar to the one from which it was taken.

The vision system cycle consists of a first recognition of the type of knife handle, as not all handles are the same even for the same kind of knives. Afterwards the blade is scanned in order to calculate all the necessary points to reconstruct the original shape. After getting the profile, the execution of the first analysis of the blade serves to discriminate all the anomalous points and verify the presence on the same blade of too many deep niches in order to continue with the normal working cycle.

Once the first analyses are finished, the profile is standardized in order to bring the knife back to its original shape. Once the standardized profile is obtained, the execution of the second analysis cycle allows verification of the degree of blade use in order to correct the working parameters such as speeds and incidence angles. Next step is to decide what point to start the work from in order to avoid ruining the knife handles, in case of very damaged blades.  Even the finishing points are decided from time to time, after having taken into consideration the angles and the shape of the knife tip.

The robot is made up of a Cognex VPM-8501 image acquisition card with VisionPro® using PatMax software tools. An analogical resolution standard camera is connected to the card and the front or back system. Lighting can be driven alternatively depending on the analysis type to be carried out. The communication with the robot is via Internet and thanks to the transmission of files, quotes and angles in which are described all the processes of grinding, scouring, cold trimming that he have to be carried out as well as the beginning and the end of the working process. The software leverages simple screenshots for the regulation of the research parameters.

This unique application is having great success as it allows the system to acquire an outstanding decision skill level, which is demanding, considering that the production is random and that no knife will be like another.

Part measurement, inspection and quality control

IN-SIGHT VISION SENSORS FROM COGNEX ENSURE 100% CONTROL AND A FAILURE RATE OF LESS THAN 10 PPM AT PHILIPS

The Philips factory at Chartres, France, specialising in automotive lighting systems, is one of the biggest factories in the world to manufacture indicator lamps.  It supplies bulbs throughout the entire world.
Philips Chartres subjects its production to 100% inspection and control. Each element of the bulb (the base, the filament, the glass and so on) is checked both for dimensional accuracy and appearance.  Philips’ aim is to achieve a failure rate of less than 10 ppm. With a production rate of 8,000 bulbs per hour, only an industrial vision system would be capable of reliably carrying out this type of control.

Vision system control applications for glass products are always complex, because of the natural variations in shape of such components.  As its industrial vision system requirements increased during 2000, Philips decided to test a number of different vision systems on the market, with the aim of selecting a solution that would become the standard for all future applications.  The target was to cut training and maintenance costs for these systems.  Philips eventually decided on Cognex In-Sight® sensors, because of their ease of implementation and the performance of the vision tools.  Today over 20 In-Sight systems have been installed at the Chartres factory.

Due to the cost of each of the bulb components, there is good financial justification for implementing an inspection system part way through the manufacturing process, to identify defect parts before additional value is added to them.  This limits the reject rate of complete bulbs.  For this reason the Chartres factory is equipped with both in-line and end-of-line inspection systems.
In 2003 the T10 lamp production lines were equipped with a final inspection system to control lamp appearance. The initial objective was to guarantee that lamps have an optimum service life.  A secondary aim is to ensure that these lamps during operation, have the perfect shape and geometry, enabling the OEM or automotive manufacturing client to fit them into vehicles automatically.

For this reason every part of the lamp has to be positioned within precise tolerances.  The vision system must be capable of carrying out this inspection, but at the same time taking into account normal variations in the glass components.   These variations can sometimes be fairly major, due to the nature of the glass material.  The way the glass, the filament and the metal filament supports are assembled, means that each bulb has its own characteristics.  At the inspection point each one will differ from the previous one, and from the following one.  The bulb image will also vary depending on the colour of the glass used, or reflections from its metal parts.  So it is a real challenge to the system to accept these major variations caused by the nature of the product, and to reject only those bulbs that really are faulty.

The application uses two Cognex In-Sight systems:
- the first inspects the lamp cap,
- the second inspects the cap + bulb assembly. (Here the camera uses a clever prism system, which means that the product can be inspected from two aspects.)

The images shown below illustrate how the products being inspected can vary.  The bulb shown in the left hand image is faulty, because it is too far out of centre.  But, even though the metal filament is barely visible, the bulb inspected in the right hand image is OK.  The full capability of Cognex vision tools, such as PatFind®, are required to reliably locate these check points and to make the right accept/reject decision.

Cognex vision tools meet the requirements of this application perfectly.  The geometric tools (the detection of edges – straight line or arc of a circle – segments, construction lines, circles and intersections, the calculation of distances between points or between a point and a straight line) are used many times in this example.  They allow the symmetrical axes of the product and the distances in relation to the axes to be calculated.  They also enable many set-up operations to be made in an extremely flexibly manner, and the item’s dimensions to be recorded.  The flexibility and robustness of the PatFind tool means that variations of the glass can be correctly taken into account, both with regard to geometry and the shade of colour.

Philips really appreciates the fact that Cognex systems are so easy to use.  It has meant that their staff have mastered the vision systems quickly, and maintenance costs have been cut.  “There’s no need for us to employ a machine vision system expert” said Jean Leriche, Industrial Projects Manager - “Our knowledge of the process has enabled us to optimise the application.”

Now that the system has been running for a few months, Philips is very satisfied with the operation of the system, and is encouraged to expand the vision system applications at its site.  One example, is the use of networking facilities provided by the Ethernet interface incorporated into In-Sight 1000 and In-Sight 4000 sensors for tool optimisation, image recording of faulty products, and traceability.  Projects are currently under way to study new applications on other products.

Quality inspection and sorting

Cognex vision guarantees perfect pizza
Ensuring the quality of the worlds favorite food is no laughing matter. When you supply over 110 000 units of pizza everyday, you need to make sure that each product is fully inspected and of the utmost quality. Gunnar Dafgård AB is Sweden’s largest family business in the food sector. They manufacture and distribute frozen and chilled products to food services and retail outlets all over Sweden and beyond. Dafgård now has around 1000 employees and a turnover of approximately 200 million euros.

In order to improve high quality and confront increasingly tough competition within the food industry in Sweden, each freshly baked pizza is inspected with vision from Cognex.

The quality control challenge:
Dafgård installed vision in order to inspect the different varieties of pizzas produced and marketed under the common brand “Billy”. Production is ongoing in the largest pizza bakery in Sweden, located outside Lidköping in the west of Sweden. Every day 110 000 units of Billy’s pan-pizza are manufactured and distributed frozen, to food services and to retail outlets in Sweden and beyond. Each individual pizza must be inspected to ensure correct form, size and look, all vital statistics for the success of a brand on any tough consumer market. In order to maintain high production levels as well as reliable and consistent quality control, a robust and highly automated solution needed to be found.

An improved production environment thanks to vision
The decision was made over 5 years ago to install vision systems as Dafgård began the automation of their food-production. Previously, manual inspection was done under complicated circumstances with random sampling that made it difficult for the company to secure reliable quality control of production on the pizza-line. The In-Sight® 5100 vision sensor from Cognex inspects the position of the pizzas on the production line ensuring the look, the size and the form of the pizzas are correct. Even the coverage of cheese on the surface of the pizza is inspected. Any pizzas not conforming are rejected. The vision-system was installed by a Cognex’ Partner System Integrator, AVT Industriteknik AB. AVT developed a user-friendly interface which made it possible for the employees on the pizza-line to make choices of different vision applications and make adjustments of the vision-program without any previous experience in machine vision.

According to Ove Rydberg project leader of Dafgårds; “Our use of vision-systems for automatic inspection is an integrated part of the job for improved quality and a better working environment for the employees on the pizza-line. Cognex was chosen based on the fact that Cognex have in-depth knowledge of the food industry worldwide”.

Inspecting juice bottles

SciTech and Cognex enable Original Juice Co. (Golden Circle) to achieve Total Quality inspection of Bottle Products after filling process

Original Juice Co. found itself with a challenge when it came to achieving consistent results in the placement of a bottle cap onto a product bottle after the filling stage. It wanted every bottle cap that gets twisted onto all of their different product bottles to be applied fully, to be applied straight and not skewed, and to be sure that the tamper-band is not broken on those particular products that require one.

The company looked to install a state-of-the-art vision systems that could inspect a variety of imperfections not tolerated on high-speed lines and filling equipment. The shoulder strength of the various bottles is very important and must withstand significant head pressure and torque in capping and filling stages of operation. Any defect that could compromise the integrity of this area is an inspection attribute of the vision system.

In addition to performing reliable and repetitive applications, the vision system chosen would need to inspect at a high-speed rate of up to 300 bottles per minute to accommodate the high production requirements of Original Juice Co. To address this, Original Juice Co. began working with SciTech Pty Ltd, which has a long history of machine vision experience as a Cognex Integrator.

The process began with SciTech performing an on-site trial. The results met the satisfaction requirements of all involved and proved that this project was feasible and would be of enormous benefit in ensuring that every bottle leaving the Original Juice Co. plant is entirely free of imperfections. The trial focused on one bottle product only. On conclusion of the trial period, work began on implementing a full system that would cater to all current bottle products and also be scalable in order to accommodate any new bottle and cap types in the future.

SciTech chose to use the industrial-grade In-Sight® machine vision sensors from Cognex. In-Sight 5100 and 5400 vision sensors are the highest performance models of the industry-leading family of In-Sight vision sensors. SciTech was confident in choosing the In-Sight 5100 to satisfy the inspection requirements involved.

The In-Sight 5100 incorporates a die-cast aluminum housing and sealed industrial M12 connectors and achieves an IP67 rating for dust and wash-down protection on the factory floor. These environmental attributes would prove to be crucial in withstanding the wet, citric-acid environment of the inspection site as a result of the juices produced as well as the cleaning chemicals used in the area.
This also required that the fixtures and fitting to be built using only stainless steel material.

Two cameras are better than one

The overall system consists of a touch-screen industrial PC incorporated into a stainless steel enclosure. The enclosure also houses the Ethernet hub, the digital power supply of the lights, a PLC and various power distribution components. After bottles have been filled and capped they travel down the conveyor line, where two cameras sequentially inspect the bottles.

The first camera looks directly at one side of the bottle and inspects the bottle cap at this side only. A red LED backlight provides the camera with a silhouette image of the bottle. Back lighting provides maximum contrast between the product outline and its background and is ideal for measuring external part edges. This results in images that work extremely well for the vision sensor’s measurement and inspection tools.

When the bottle comes within the camera’s field of view, a sensor is triggered and an image is taken. Cognex In-Sight vision software tools then analyze the image for defects and determine whether a bottle is flawed or not. In the event of a failure being detected, a fail signal is sent via one of the camera’s outputs to the PLC. The PLC then triggers a reject mechanism, which removes the bottle from the line. After passing the first camera, the bottle will travel a little further before the second camera acquires another image of it.

The second camera, mounted similarly to the first camera except at the opposite side of the conveyor, focuses on the other side of the bottle cap. The same inspection criteria apply equally to this camera. All defective parts are knocked off the conveyor line into a reject bin. A red beacon also becomes illuminated for 5 seconds when a bottle defect is noticed, notifying the operator.

Good parts are simply allowed to continue unhindered on the production line.  During this inspection a pattern of lines is projected onto the bottle cap and bottle, and the vision system is used to detect any deformity in cap height on the bottle, cap presence or absence, tamper-band presence and quality, and cap skew. To complete these tasks the vision system uses edge detection and histogram software to measure the cap, analyze the angle of the cap and determine cap presence.

Operator-Friendly

Because of the number and variation of bottles involved, the system would need to be able to accommodate easy product changeover. The mechanical fixturing was designed with this specific requirement in mind. The cameras, backlights and sensors were mounted onto one fixed bracket that could be moved vertically via a turn wheel by the operator to accommodate the different height requirements of the bottles involved.

The changeover procedure requires a height-determining tool to be temporarily attached to the fixture. Using a turn-wheel, the operator screws the tool down to a position whereby the tool rests gently on top of the bottle lip. When the tool rests on top of the bottle lip, the correct camera/light/sensor position for that product has been set. On completion, the operator removes the height-determining tool from its slot.

The final step in the changeover procedure is the operator makes a selection, via a custom application, using touch commands on the computer’s screen. This screen uses a tab-style interface to segregate the different bottle types appropriately. Each tab has a descriptive name indicating the different bottle categories.

On selecting the appropriate tab to the bottle type being run, a corresponding button appears that when pressed loads the correct vision file associated with the new product being run on the line. On successful completion of this step, the main software interface screen will contain the descriptive name of the bottle type selected. The changeover procedure is now complete and the line is ready to run.

When the line is running, a custom application on the VGA touch-screen monitor shows the last failed image acquired from each camera. The cameras also FTP their data back to the PC which is stored in text files. This provides Original Juice Co. quality engineers with more information about their process.

The vision system’s key asset is preventing defectively sealed bottles from being shipped to customers. Most importantly, the vision system has ensured that every bottle leaving the Original Juice Co. plant is free of imperfections.  This has allowed Original Juice Co, to adhere to their pledge in high-quality products.

About Golden Circle/Original Juice Co.

Golden Circle’s main factory is located at Northgate, a northern suburb of Brisbane. Golden Circle also owns the Original Juice Co. plant at Mill Park, on Melbourne’s northern outskirts, and a fresh fruit packing operation in Griffith, NSW. Sales offices are located in every Australian state and New Zealand.
Golden Circle is an unlisted public company proudly owned by 700 Australian farmers. These farmers, plus others, supply more than 180,000 tonnes of fruit and vegetables every year to the factory for processing. The fruit crops, of which pineapple is the largest, come from the Sunshine Coast hinterland, Maryborough, Yeppoon and further north and the vegetables largely from the Lockyer Valley region, south-west of Brisbane. Crops not grown in Queensland are sourced from southern states.

VisionPro makes a famous Dutch blonde even more attractive…

VisionPro makes a famous Dutch blonde even more attractive…

The Grolsch brewery in the Netherlands, one of the largest Dutch breweries, relies on the expertise of two German companies who built them a machine with one simple goal - to sell more beer! The machine in question is not a mere beverage dispenser but a system relying on VisionPro from Cognex which uses special grippers to rotate and align the bottles so that they are in the best position with optimum visibility. Tradition, innovation and business thinking are all combined into a beverage machine which promotes sales.

Improving presentation at the point of sale
As one of the leading companies in the brewery industry, Grolsche Bierbrouwerij Nederland B.V. does not only concentrate on optimising its logos, labels and other advertising media. The company thought about how it could improve the presentation of its product at the point of sale. As a result, Grolsch rotates the bottles which are visible through the opening in the crate so that their labels point symmetrically towards the outside, thus allowing them to project the optimal image to the beer connoisseur in the supermarket. Bottles are rotated rapidly at a rate of 400 per minute with the end goal of influencing the customer. It’s subtle but the effect is clear - customers pick up a crate of Grolsch beer more often than they would have otherwise.

The challenge - ensure a premium beer is in a premium position
The experts who make sure that the Grolsch swing-top bottles are in the correct position before they start their journey to the customer come from a company which has specialised in sophisticated beverage and packaging machine solutions for over 35 years: the German company RICO-Maschinenbau GmbH & Co. RICO was supported in designing the system by fellow Germans aku.automation GmbH, a member of the Cognex partner integrator network, who specialise in ensuring that machines are in harmony with their production environment: The two companies developed a pioneering solution which combines the latest automation technology with intelligent vision technology and the software solutions of Cognex to accurately move the Grolsch bottles into the desired position.

Lights, camera, action!
The system operates with two parallel conveyor belts transporting up to 3000 crates per hour through the bottle alignment machine, with each crate holding 16 swing-top bottles. However, only the eight bottles in each crate with labels that are visible through the side opening have to be rotated. 10 crates are processed per cycle. Two industrial cameras are positioned approximately 1.5 metres above the conveyor belts with each camera monitoring the five crates on its respective belt. The two cameras are intelligently embedded into homogenous area lighting units, which provide optimal illumination without casting undesirable shadows.

VisionPro from Cognex tackles bottle alignment
Two factors make it easy for the machine to identify the position of the total number of 80 bottles. Firstly, the swing-top cap with Grolsch logo - the alignment of the cap is used to ensure that the bottle labels are always applied at the same position ahead of the rotation process. Secondly, VisionPro, the PC vision platform from Cognex is well suited to the bottle alignment machine because it was specially designed for multi-camera applications with low cycle rates and large numbers of evaluation targets. To date, the VisionPro tool library has proven its capabilities in over 400,000 systems worldwide.

24,000 bottles rotated per hour in a tough environment
After the object localisation step, the bottles are then aligned. Special pneumatic grippers from RICO for swing-top caps grip the bottles and lift them up slightly. Small servo motors then convert the previously identified values into the target positions. They rotate the bottles to the correct position based on a rotation angle in degrees which is individually determined for each bottle. This is an enormous job considering that 24,000 bottles have to be rotated every hour. In addition, all of this takes place in an area where the technology is permanently at risk from one of the substances it tolerates the least - water!
Meeting factory floor needs
aku.automation was actively involved in the project right from the system planning phase, which put the company in a position to develop a reliable and robust inspection system. The experience of this specialist in object-oriented checking has been combined with RICO’s comprehensive knowledge about the special requirements of the beverage industry to produce solutions which are more than capable of meeting the practical requirements of the industry. For example, both the illumination systems and the cameras are accommodated in very sturdy, watertight stainless steel housings. This was necessary because although these components are installed above the production line and do not come into direct contact with the beverage already inside the bottle, the experts from RICO know that cleaning operations in beverage production plants always involve plenty of water spray and that cleaning staff cannot be expected to avoid sensitive components.

A great deal of experience, tradition and specialist knowledge have been combined with the latest technology and innovative vision software to produce a system which shows the Grolsch brand and the companies involved in the best light imaginable - a true marketing machine!

Vision – the innovation necessary to sort 180,000 parts per day

Vision – the innovation necessary to sort 180,000 parts per day

Innovative German machine builder, Schuster-Präzision found themselves faced with the challenge of providing a customer with a machine that could accurately sort 180,000 drill parts every day. They chose Cognex vision systems as the robust and innovative component that would make the difference on their sorting machines.

Many metal processing companies use their specialised machines for the production of what accounts for approximately 97% of all drill components produced globally. These range from large masonry and metal drills right down to fine drills for medical use. As a manufacturer of special machines, Schuster-Präzision, Germany, ensures that their customers can assure the smooth running of various processes such as sorting, turning, milling and cutting parts to the correct length. Quality assurance and automation technology are of the highest priority. When it comes to the sorting of large numbers of parts, it is essential that the systems performing the task are completely reliable and capable of enduring the rigors of continuous operation.

Key component – In-Sight vision systems

One of the most important components of these special machines are In-Sight vision systems from Cognex. For example, one of Schuster’s largest customers, who manufactures 180,000 drill pieces per day, can count on 100% accurate sorting thanks to these precise sensors.

In the first step of the sorting process, the container of the machine, which is equipped with an In-Sight 5100 from Cognex, is filled with several thousand drill components. A sliding mechanism then moves the individual pieces down a ramp and on to a conveyor line.

In-Sight guarantees correct part positioning and orientation

The In-Sight and a special gripper ensure that the heads of the drill bits point in the correct direction. With its precise sensors, the system detects the positions of the parts and transfers this information to the microprocessor of the container. If a drill component is positioned correctly, it is simply transported further on towards the output area. If a drill piece is not positioned correctly however , the In-Sight informs the gripper who grabs it and positions it correctly so it can continue to the output area with the other pieces. This is a simple process but it requires reliable machine components because of the large numbers of parts being processed.

In-Sight - robust vision for a tough industrial environment

As in many other areas of the metal processing industry, machines must be robust in order to achieve required precision, reliability and to operate round-the-clock. The vibrations caused by mechanical conveyors, jolts from pneumatic systems and the dust in the production areas present quite a challenge to precision machinery. Vision systems from Cognex are built to be particularly robust so that quality standards are always maintained, even under the most difficult conditions. Equipped with die cast housings, lens protectors and M12 connectors with seals, they can withstand even the roughest industrial environments.

The indispensable tool

Today, the In-Sight 5000 family is indispensable for Schuster-Präzision because it guarantees high-quality production systems. General manager and company founder Helmut Schuster can no longer imagine his special machines without Cognex systems, “With Cognex, complete reliability, innovative technologies and excellent service allow us to meet our quality standards 100% of the time and allow us to plan our business effectively. Another benefit is that In-Sight can be operated simply and reliably.”