In the beverage industry, as well as the food industry as a whole, the necessity to meticulously inspect products is ever increasing. To meet these demands of food safety, many facilities will have to refit older production lines with modern measurement and testing equipment. One problem is that there is not always room for additional hardware, especially in older plants. An ideal solution is now available with the development of smart cameras and vision sensors. Integrated inside these small cameras are a sensor and the electronic evaluation and image processing software needed for inspection.
The EyeSens Family of vision sensors by EVT are perfect in retro-fit situations, as well as new production lines. With its compact housing of 65 x 45 x 45 mm, the EyeSens contains the lens and LED light sources. In addition, there is a C-Mount version available should special optics be required. The EyeSens has a web interface which can have prefabricated inspection programs. Those programs can be configured on an object utilizing the intuitive self-explanatory command icons – no advanced programming skills are needed. The IP address of the camera is entered into a web browser which opens the user interface and the vision sensor is ready to perform inspections.
EyeSens for Bottle Inspection has been specifically designed to be used in the beverage industry. This vision sensor contains preinstalled programs to inspect bottles to determine if the cap is closed, open, askew or missing. For wine bottles, there is also a program to check bottles with cork. Additionally, the position of the label can be checked as well as checking for the appropriate label for the batch.
The EyeSens can also be used to inspect the bottles in the early preform stage of the production. EyeSens can inspect the bottle neck, finish and thread for damage such as holes, cracks, scratches, etc., or if there are inclusions or particles in the material.
Of course the fill level of the bottles can also be checked. For this type of inspection, the C-mount version would be the best choice. The liquid in the bottle should be illuminated with a transmitted light in order to have a good contrast.
The EyeSens Bottle Inspection as described here is available in three different resolutions: 736 x 480, 1024 x 768 and 1280 x 1024 pixel. The vision sensor contains a 1/3” CMOS sensor and has Ethernet, RS232 or optionally RS422 interfaces available. The lens is available in 6, 12 and 25 mm focal lengths.
The web-user-interface of the EyeSens is based on the EyeVision image processing software by EVT,(EyeVision Technology), and the commands are extendable for the needs of individual user.
FSI Technologies Inc. is proud to be partnered with EVT. For more information about the EyeSens or other EVT products, contact FSI Machine Vision at 800-468-6009, or www.eyespectorus.com