Guidelines to X-ray Inspection of Glass Containers

As a leader of the X-ray Inspection Solutions for Food and Beverage Industry, Peco InspX condensed all pertinent information regarding X-ray Inspection of Glass Containers into a one-hour presentation. This blog post will briefly cover the topics discussed during the presentation. If you want access to the full recorded webinar visit this page

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