It is only in recent years that vision systems have been used to check whether the actual product packaging is clean and safe before toothpaste tubes are filled. Previously, filling systems that were not equipped with a machine vision system could not completely guarantee that particles of dirt from the preliminary tube production stage would not be inside the tube after the filling and sealing process
IWK Verpackungstechnik GmbH, based in Germany relies on vision systems from Cognex in its newest packaging machine, the TFS 80-6 for 19mm to 40mm wide tubes. During the course of the filling process, the In-Sight® vision systems check that the tubes are round, clean, and firmly sealed. In-process inspection has allowed the number of cameras to be reduced from the six conventional units required in the old process, to just two In-Sight systems per checking station.
With a capacity of up to 500 tubes per minute, the high-performance TFS 80-6 production line inspects, fills, and seals toothpaste tubes in record time. Compared to conventional tube filling machines which operate using a turntable, the TFS 80-6 has a conveyor circuit with a diagonal layout. With the process lines positioned at 90° angles to each other, the tubes are picked up horizontally, cleaned, filled, and sealed vertically and then placed back down horizontally on a conveyor belt which takes them to a cartoning machine for final packaging.
Even though materials of high quality are used, there can still be contamination by small dirt particles, tubes may be deformed when the outer packaging is applied or there may be faulty seals at the base of the tube. To ensure that their production processes are fault-free, IWK collaborated with Octum Electronic GmbH, a member of the Cognex specialist partner integrator network, to install two In-Sight 5100 and 5400 cameras on each of three inspection stations. Each camera monitors a set of parallel conveyer rows with offset tube holders.
Complete inspection
During the first operation step, a six-axis robot with an expanding gripper arm takes the tubes out of the boxes. The robot places them into the tube holders of the conveyor system with the open base of the tube pointing upwards. The robot arm is equipped with a special tool with pins which fit precisely into the partition in the box and picks up two rows with a total of 30 tubes each time. The screw cap is already in place at the top of the tube and the lower end is open for the filling procedure. The conveyor system moves the tubes clockwise towards the cleaning and filling station. Before they reach the cleaning and filling station, a scanner checks that the tubes are aligned correctly so that the printing is in the correct position when the base is sealed later. Two successive inspection stations check that the tubes are round in shape and clean before they go through the cleaning and filling stage.
Two In-Sight 5100 cameras installed above the conveyor and the work areas evaluate the tube ground coat, the shoulders of the tube, and the inside of the tube cap during the particle check. Any undesired particles cast a shadow which is detected by the Cognex cameras making it possible to detect objects which are the same colour as the tube itself.
During the subsequent inspection, two In-Sight 5100s check whether the tubes are of the required shape. If the tubes do not have the specified roundness, the nozzles stay at the edge during the cleaning and filling process and ram the packages into the tube holders. The high-performance technology from Cognex ensures that the nozzles enter the tubes accurately to within a tolerance of three millimetres. If a tube is outside of the tolerance range, it is identified as faulty and is not filled.
Seal verification
After cleaning and filling, the laminated plastic tubes are sealed with hot air and are then pressed together by cooled stamping jaws. The seal is either stamped smooth or in a corrugated pattern and may feature a serial number or code. In the trimming station, two In-Sight 5400 cameras ensure that all faulty packages are detected without fail. The cameras also check the seal itself, which if not complete, or if the printing is not properly aligned with the specified parameters, the faulty tube is ejected from the process.
Saving time and reducing costs
The In-Sight vision systems are networked to a central panel PC which records all of the images of faulty pieces. This makes it possible to detect faults quickly without having to recheck the actual item of packaging that has already been ejected from the process. The packaging process of IWK is thus very reliable in terms of the quality standards achieved.
One outstanding advantage of Cognex vision systems is their integrated structure, which the automation specialists of Octum Electronics GmbH have customised for IWK. Whereas conventional packaging machines require a separate step for inspection, resulting in time delays, the Cognex technology installed by Octum Electronics is integrated directly into the production process thus saving time and reducing overall costs. This is because a machine with a separate checking module would require one camera for each tube. With six tubes being processed in each filling step, a total of six cameras would be required for each checking station and a total of 18 cameras would be required for three stations. The Octum/Cognex system is capable of meeting the inspection requirements with just six cameras over three inspection stations, thus maximising process reliability and optimising product quality.
