Guidelines to X-ray Inspection of Glass Containers

About Peco InspX

Peco Inspx is an expert in x-ray system design, application engineering, and operations. Peco InspX has tremendous experience in demanding, high-performance applications.

Peco InspX was Built on material experience in Silicon Valley and design of Air Traffic control systems and has a deep background in data-driven operational optimization. Peco InspX has been designing solutions for Food and Beverage Customers since 1953. Peco InspX has extensive experience in high-performance x-ray applications but also does vision, seal inspection and product handling operations.

Why Inspect Glass With X-ray?

Source Manufacturing Contamination:  While manufacturers use specialized inspection equipment, the process isn’t perfect resulting in recalls.
Neighbor Contamination:  During operational product handling, fragments can land in open jars
Filling and Capping Contamination:  Fillers can score glass bottles – breaking off chips, capping machines can break off the top of jars. Filler/capper rinsing is not a 100% effective way of ensuring these contaminants are removed.
Very High Rate of Technical Change:  Advances in imaging hardware and software are dramatically improving the capability of x-ray systems.
Quality Management Systems Versus an X-Ray Machine:  A more sophisticated way of doing inspections and ensuring everything is properly inspected.  Images can be serialized to match a physical product

X-ray Inspection Performance

X-ray Inspection machines have conditions and capabilities that are interdependent of each other. The following components and their relationships are described below: The type of data the machines produce, and under what conditions, as well as the capabilities of machines and limitations to inspection.

The type of Data parameters X-ray machines can provide include the following:

• Container Integrity: Find container imperfections including thin sidewalls.
• Foreign Material Detection:  Detect glass, metal and other foreign material.
• Fill Volume Measurement:  Much more accurate than simple fill level measurement.
• Filler Valve  Monitoring:  Get very precise insight to fill level performance.
• Cap/Crown Presence:  No external hardware needed

Certain conditions determine the accuracy and effectiveness of X-ray inspection these include:

• Glass Constituency:  Glass consistency negatively correlated with inspection sensitivity
• Speed:  Very high-speed applications lose inspection some degree of inspection fidelity.
• Product Noise:  How clean is the image?
• Image Signal to Noise Ratio:   Measure of the quality of the image (mainly determined by an X-ray tube and imaging detector)
• Level of Image Contrast:  Driven by current load on the X-ray tube
• Density of Contaminants

In addition to conditions determining accuracy, there are also conditions to consider for the best applications of when and where to use an inspection machine including:

• Contaminant Types and Likely Location in Container
• Conveyance: Can the containers be transferred or is a “non-contact” solution better?
• Container Spacing:  Can containers be reliably spaced?
• Line Space:  How much room is available?
• Budget/ROI:  How sophisticated of a machine is required
• Operational Capabilities:  How would this get operated in the plant?

How do X-ray Machines Work?

Physics of Operation is Simple:  Looking for differences in density; food is mostly water and so things are more dense than water are  generally detectable
4 basic components:

600 W Metal Ceramic X-Ray Tube

• X-ray source
• Imaging detector
• Analysis computer
• Image Storage device

2 Basic Approaches

• Linear Diode Array (0.4 mm and 0.8 mm pitch)
• 2 D Imaging Sensor

Basic Machine Design Approaches

Side view of Multi-Beam

Geometry Based Solution To Handle Container Push Up

• Multiple Beams
• Special Location to See Over Push Up

Multi-Beam Approach to Address  Asymmetric Contaminants

SHIELD Solo and Solo Plus

Shield Solo Machine

Advanced Side-View X-Ray designed to inspect rigid containers (metal cans. composite cans, plastic containers). Also available in a Solo Plus configuration for larger containers. Mounts over customer conveyor system.

SHIELD Trio

SHIELD Trio Machine

X-ray View of SHIELD Trio Machine

Advanced Triple-Side-View X-Ray system designed to inspect glass containers for glass and steel fragments. This machine mounts over the customer conveyor system.

SHIELD Glissando Machine

X-ray view of SHIELD Glissando

SHIELD Glissand0

Advanced Dual-Side-View X-Ray system designed to inspect glass containers for glass fragments.
Utilizes a unique “see-thru” conveying system for high-resolution base inspection.

Fill Level Monitoring

More accurate than commercial fill level monitors, Detect Fill Weight By +/- 0.5 %

• Replace existing stand-alone fill level monitor with more capable x-ray
• Easily detect low fills and empty containers
  

  Machines have different data storage options

Image Management

• Place a “cause of reject” identification mark on every rejected container to assist with visual reject analysis
• Store every reject image, can be viewed off-line
• Store every good image, provides robust consumer complaint analysis data
• Re-run all good images off-line, basically facilitates the inspection of all product in the warehouse without a physical re-run on the production line

If you still have questions regarding X-ray Inspection after reading this blog post, we highly recommend watching the full version of the Webinar here, and scheduling a time to talk with a representative from Peco Inspx.

If you want more helpful resources from Peco InspX visit https://www.peco-inspx.com/lp/resources