Empty can inspection
HEUFT canLine II
Empty cans in top shape: safety and efficiency in the filling process of food cans.
Detecting faulty cans before they are filled and rejecting them before they can affect the productivity of complete food lines and the safety of the end product: The HEUFT canLine II realises a highly precise empty can inspection with only one intelligent top-down colour sensor camera. This protects against closer blockages which slow down productivity and at the same time prevents canned goods ending up in contaminated, defective, leaking and therefore unfit-for-market primary packaging.
Finish and flanged edge inspection
Detecting deformations, ensuring sealability: full line efficiency and packaging integrity when filling cans.
Deformed, warped, dented: Empty tin cans made of tinplate or aluminium sheet with shape deviations in the mouth area or indentations on the crimped edge jeopardise the efficiency and productivity of the filling process as well as the tightness and integrity of the full product. If, for example, the top opening of the empty can is oval instead of round, the lid will not fit. The result: blockages in the closer, which can lead to stoppages that affect the efficiency and productivity of entire food canning lines.
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And even if the closure succeeds, defects such as interrupted, indented crimped edges can jeopardise the tightness of the finished primary packaging and thus the microbial purity of the product it contains. The non-contact top-down inspection of the cans even before they are filled with just one sensor colour camera developed in-house, into which an adaptive LED illumination is integrated just as directly as a high-performance image evaluation, therefore not only realises a highly precise ovality detection in a very confined space, but also the identification of other deformations and defects around the container opening. Affected empty cans can thus be removed from circulation before they can lead to capping problems or become leaking full containers.
Inner wall and base inspection
Identifying dents, contamination and foreign objects: Compact empty can inspector for full product safety.
Complete coverage, intelligent, with a great depth of field: The new, automatically height-adjustable colour sensor camera for top-down empty can inspection not only has an integrated image converter and individually controllable LEDs for shadow- and reflection-free images and optimum viewing conditions, but also has such a depth of field that even dented or heavily soiled inner walls as well as dirt and foreign bodies on the can base can be clearly identified.
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With just a single image, the optical top-down inspection of up to 1,200 empty cans per minute covers the neck finish, flange, interior and base areas of each of them completely and in a particularly space-saving manner. At lower line speeds, even more is possible with the optional inner wall inspection (see below). Connected to the compact, highly automated HEUFT SPECTRUM II control unit with audio-visual HEUFT NaVi user guidance the clever sensor camera developed in-house realises a comprehensive empty can inspection for safe end products which can be consumed without hesitation even in high-speed lines in the smallest of spaces thanks to its depth of field.
Fault rejection
Preventing recalls: the reliable rejection of faulty containers.
Fast, careful and accurate: highest precision when detecting faults is only effective if the products in question are also removed afterwards. The single-segment and multi-segment rejection systems of the HEUFT rejector series deal with this both precisely and carefully.
Product monitoring and self-tests
Playing it safe: exact product tracking and regular self-tests.
Always knowing the current location of a particular product: each one is tracked precisely for this. This ensures that none remain uninspected.
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The integrated reject verification checks that each product identified as faulty is really removed. Standard test programs guarantee a regular examination of the detection performance. Network-based continuous documenting and long-term archiving of the results.
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Simple brand changes
Self-acting changeover: Automatic and assisted format changes.
Quick, easy, error-free: type and format changes are the order of the day in food canning lines. In order to implement them quickly, simply and without errors the higher-level HEUFT SPECTRUM II platform on which the HEUFT canLine II is based already offers full automation and support for the user: the height of the top-down colour sensor camera adapts to the changed container format just as automatically as the passage width of the guide rails in the inspection area.
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The HEUFT NaVi offers the user audiovisual step-by-step assistance which makes it easy to change the container type. The adaptive LED lighting, which is directly integrated into the sensor camera, also adjusts itself fully automatically to the changed sort, regardless of whether the cans have a diameter of 50, 90, 150 or 200 millimetres: For each type of empty can, the individually controllable LEDs automatically realise exactly the right, shadow- and reflection-free illumination of all areas to be examined. All grade settings are permanently stored in the system and can be reproduced at any time.
Optional additional functions
Detecting even more: Extensions to the range of functions.
The HEUFT SPECTRUM II systems are of modular design and can be extended very easily. For example, an even more detailed inspection of the inside of three-piece cans can be carried out with the HEUFT canLine II at lower line speeds of up to 800 units per minute: the inspection of the flanged or welded longitudinal seam for defects, leaks and the smallest impurities. An additional optical system can be connected for the marking check and code verification on the outside of the can base which scans all the empty cans from below while they float above it in the optionally available HEUFT vacuum conveyor.
HEUFT SPECTRUM II
Simply automating: universal device platform for maximum performance.
Highly automated, universal and powerful: the HEUFT SPECTRUM II ensures optimum detection and operational reliability during an in-line quality assurance for the sustainable safeguarding of product quality and line efficiency.
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The cross-system control unit with multiprocessing capability for different modules, systems and applications convinces due to its exceptional degree of automation. Brand and format changes can be carried out without manual intervention. The unique human machine interface of the universal device platform is self-explanatory. Human resources are effectively saved in this way. In-house developed hardware and software of the latest generation and a future-proof network connection achieve highest computing power and data transmission in real time. The result: maximum precision during purposeful product tracking, inspection and rejection.
HEUFT reflexx A.I.
Simply detecting more: real-time image processing with artificial intelligence.
The AI discipline of machine learning for targeted object classification has been mastered by our self-developed image processing since 2010! And since then it has learned a lot: intelligent filters distinguish drops of water on the container from air bubbles in the glass and even make it possible to identify tiny defects which are hidden behind ACLs or embossings. HEUFT reflexx A.I. now also uses deep learning!
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Appropriately trained neural networks are used for example to denoise X-ray images or to find dangerous foreign objects in structured products and to reliably distinguish them from good objects which are extremely similar in their shape, size and density. With true artificial intelligence, the hardware and software from our own development and production again increases detection reliability - and minimises the false rejection rate. The smart image processing can be directly integrated into the HEUFT reflexx A.I. camera which was developed in-house and which processes and evaluates its own images directly in real time and raises the adaptive image analysis to a top level.
Intuitive, individual and audiovisual: previous knowledge is not required in order to operate the HEUFT SPECTRUM II systems reliably. The HEUFT NaVi user guidance is self-explanatory and supports the respective user step by step. Read more... An RFID login with user-related access rights provides an overview and makes the respective user's work simply easy: he only sees what he really needs to on the clearly arranged touchscreen user interface with a flat menu structure, integrated tutorials and precise auxiliary tools in order to fulfil his specific tasks optimally. He is supported by a virtual assistant in the course of this. She speaks to him and clearly explains what has to be done when and where. Purposeful and focussed on the essentials – the audiovisual HEUFT NaVi user guidance makes the reliable operation of HEUFT systems simply easy! HEUFT NaVi
Simply knowing what to do: self-explanatory audiovisual user guidance.
Clear, direct and purposeful: the user can cope immediately on the rare occasions when manual intervention is needed. Because eye-catching HEUFT checkPoints make it clear at a glance exactly when it is necessary to take matters in hand in addition to the audiovisual information which the HEUFT NaVi provides. Read more... The orange tags not only flash on the touchscreen but also at the respective component if the worst comes to the worst. The problem is located without a long search. This saves time and human resources, shortens standstills and therefore increases productivity. HEUFT checkPoints
Simply seeing where what has to be done: trouble-free localisation.
Information transmission in real time, production data acquisition, line analysis and remote maintenance: networking is the answer! Read more... HEUFT systems have future-proof network interfaces (Gigabit Ethernet and TCP / IP) for an online connection via the Internet and the database interface (SQL / DDE) for top line efficiency and an optimum quality management with considerably faster and easier workflows. Therefore production data, shift records, productivity faults and HACCP limit value analyses are available network-wide. The result: early identification of quality and efficiency problems. The firewall protected direct connection to the HEUFT TeleService makes competent remote maintenance possible all around the clock. Network technologies
Networking everything: online connection for increased efficiency and quality.
HEUFT rejector
Removing faulty products: the right rejector for all cases.
The HEUFT pusher rejection system is ideally suited for the safe rejection of faulty empty cans even in the high-speed range.
- finish, flanged edge, inner wall and base inspection of up to 1,200 empty cans per minute
- optional additional detailed longitudinal seam inspection for top-down inspection of up to 800 three-piece cans per minute
- effective protection against productivity losses due to blockages in the filler-closer complex
- sustainable assurance of the integrity, quality and unhesitating consumability of the end product
- modern HEUFT SPECTRUM II control unit for full automation and simply more precision in container tracking, inspection and rejection
- fully automatic type change with audio-visual step-by-step assistance
- in-house developed colour sensor camera with adaptive LED illumination and directly integrated image processing
- safe rejection of faulty cans including rejection monitoring
- simple upgrading and retrofitting thanks to modular system design
- particularly compact dimensions