Texts - Batch information

Products:

Important inline printed text information often expiry dates, batch numbers, manufacturing dates, price information etc. Printing done with hot-stamp, thermo-transfer, ink-jet, lasers etc. Printing onto products and their packaging material.

Inspections:

The system reads the text using a master font and alpha numeric entry. Any type of font can be specified even non Latin fonts. The system inspects for missing print, partly missing or defect letters, wrongly placed print, wrong content in print, low contrast prints.
Characters that do not match the specified font character sufficiently well or can be confused with other characters in the fonts are rejected. The confusion check eliminates any possibility for misinterpretation even with low quality prints.

System:

Standard in VisioRead / VisioRead Colour and DATEmark.

Speed:

VisioRead < 10mS. DATEmark < 100mS, total number of characters to inspect has only insignificant or no influence on inspection speed.

Advantages:

Making sure that the inline printed information is 100 % legible for every product.

Note:

This application is one of the most commonly seen and one that our systems do very well. Often with a second camera doing another inspection on the same product in a different inspection position.

Texts - Item numbers & simple codes   (top)

Products:

Numbers and simple codes (like pharma-codes and similar) on products or packaging material identifying the actual product component being used. Often the numbers / codes will identify the product content and information like product, strength, county etc.

Inspections:

The system reads the text using a master font and alphanumeric entry. The font used is the font taken directly from the component. In the case of simple codes the font is created using aliases for thick bar / think bar and combinations. The system verifies that the correct item number is being used in turn verifying that the correct product and packaging material is used. The confusion check eliminates any possibility for misinterpretation of the number / code.

System:

Standard in VisioRead / VisioRead Colour and DATEmark.

Speed:

VisioRead < 4mS. DATEmark < 40mS, total number of characters to inspect has little or no influence on inspection speed.

Advantages:

Making 100 % sure that correct products and packaging material are used.

Note:

This application is often done in combination numbers / codes when customers want to move from big bulky and sometimes exceeded codes to the more pleasant, human readable alternative with more information - plain text.

Texts - Incremental numbers and lotteries   (top)

Products:

Numbers printed in process that identify the individual product such as serial numbers, time stamps, and other texts like you win /you loose. Normally printed on products packaging material, bank notes, passports and lottery tickets.

Inspections:

The system reads the text using a master font and alphanumeric entry. The font used is the font taken directly from the component.
In this reading style the system cannot use optimised reading but must search for every individual character position and find the sequence, making it a difficult application to do fast.

System:

Standard in VisioRead / VisioRead Colour.

Speed:

VisioRead < 40mS.

Advantages:

Making 100 % sure that all in process printed serial or random numbers are correct.

Note:

This application is often done with flexible printing devices like ink-jet and lasers.

Texts - Numbers on circular surfaces   (top)

Products:

Numbers printed in process that identifies either the individual product or the batch number. Normally printed on products like injection bottles, plastic cylinders etc.

Inspections:

The system reads the text using a master font and alphanumeric entry. The font used is the font taken directly from the component.
The system will take several images around the surface and relate the information form on picture to the next like a film.

System:

Standard in VisioRead / VisioRead Colour.

Speed:

Depends on integration toward machine normally < 500mS for a 360 degrees view.

Advantages:

Making 100 % sure that all in process printed numbers on a circular surface is correct and legible.

Note:

This application is often done with flexible printing devices like ink-jet and lasers.

2D - Code reading and verification   (top)

Products:

Datamatrix codes printed either in process or pre printed on product components and packaging material. The codes are used instead of normal barcodes since they can contain much more information and take up much less area. They are mostly used with small parts like pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, electronics and aircraft and car parts.

Inspections:

The system can read and verify codes based solely on the image content. In verify mode the read code is compared to alpha numeric entry.
The system reads ECC200 standard code with Reed-Solomon error-correction. Maximum code matrix size 26 x 26 points. Matrix must be square with one data region. Maximum error angle between 'legs' of 'L' of 15 degrees. Maximum height/width difference 10 %.
The system can decode codes coded with: ASCII, C40, EDIFACT and Base 256(AIM spec.). Code can be read at any (random) rotational angle, any scale and size (nothing need to be specified in advance). Best results are achieved for point sizes bigger than 9 pixels.

System:

Standard in VisioRead / VisioRead Colour and DATEmark.

Speed:

VisioRead / VisioRead Colour < 10mS; DATEmark < 100mS.

Advantages:

Reading and verifying 2D code even under less than perfect conditions such as in the bottom of aerosol cans, through plastic foil, printed with 1 ink-jet dot per point, etc. Making this code substitute linear codes with possibility for both in process printing and in process reading. The code's internal error correction makes false reads impossible.

Note:

Verify applications most often with packaging material where the user wants to read both simple codes and 2D codes. Read and verify applications are found mostly ink-jets. 'Super-market' applications exist where products are merged and then afterwards split in different product streams depending on code content.

Colour identification and verification   (top)

Products:

Coloured product components. The colour is normally used to identify content of the product the state of the product or is a feature of the product itself. The consumer often uses colour for recognition and identification.

Inspections:

The system identifies the colour using a master colour set and often a reference colour in the image. For verification the colour is referred by name (red, pink, orange etc.) The master colour set is sampled directly from the components.
The system verifies that the colour is correct and that no other colour in the set describes the presented colour better- crosscheck.

System:

Standard in VisioRead Colour.

Speed:

Typical < 20mS for colour identification/ verification including reference colour.

Advantages:

Making 100% sure that all coloured or colour-coded products in the process are of correct colour and cannot be confused with any other colour product.

Note:

This application is most often seen in connection with coloured plastic parts, coloured prints, painted products etc. The tool is sometimes combined with other measurement tools to give assembly verification including verification of colour.

Colour code reading   (top)

Products:

Coloured rings or bars normally printed or painted onto the product or its components. The colour codes are used to identify the content of the product or the processes it went or the way it has been assembled. Colour codes are most often seen on ampoules, wires and some electronic components.

Inspections:

The system identifies the colour using a master colour set and often a reference colour in the image. For verification the colour is referred by a sequence of colour names (red, pink, orange etc.) The master colour set is sampled directly from the components.
The system verifies that the colour code sequence is correct in turn verifying that the correct component or assembly is being used.

System:

Standard tool in VisioRead Colour / ColorVision.

Speed:

Typical < 20mS for colour identification/ verification including reference colour.

Advantages:

Making 100 % sure that all colour ring/bar coded products in the process are of correct code and that the correct components are being used.

Note:

This application is most often seen on ampoule filling and labelling equipment and with blister packs containing multiple products.

Assembly verification   (top)

Products:

Any product or subassembly that has been assembled from several components or products that have been machined, painted etc.

Inspections:

The system has a whole range of tools that can be used in combination to solve the task. Often check points, counters, measure and colour tools are used in combination.
The verification often reports quality as a combination of similarity of parts distances between parts and coloration of parts etc.

System:

Standard tools in VisioRead / VisioRead Colour & DATEmark.

Speed:

Normally < 10ms for VisioRead / VisioRead Colour and < 100ms for DATEmark

Advantages:

Making 100% sure that all parts have been assembled in correct quality, quantity, position, size, colour etc.

Note:

There are countless applications of this type all similar but with different critical features. Often several cameras are used to give several views of the assembly.

Defect inspection   (top)

Products:

Any product or subassembly that needs to be checked for defects before the next step in the process. Often done with the individual product component before it is used in assembly, machined, packed etc.

Inspections:

The system has a whole range of tools that can be used in combination to solve the task. Often check points, counters, measure and colour tools are used in combination to verify complex part. Other tools like uniformity are also commonly used for less complex parts.
The verification often reports quality as a combination of similarity, dimensions, coloration, surface uniformity etc.

System:

Standard tools in Visioread / VisioRead Colour & DATEmark.

Speed:

Normally < 10ms for VisioRead / VisioRead Colour and < 100ms for DATEmark.

Advantages:

Making 100 % sure that all parts are in correct quality, size, colour etc. before they are used in a subsequent process.

Note:

There are countless applications of this type all similar but with different critical features. Often done in parallel with several simultaneous inspections on a number of parts often using several cameras.

Positioning - Reporting positions   (top)

Products:

Positions on a product or product component. Positions are reported to other equipment forming a closed loop. Often products need to be picked-up, aligned, rotated, etc. to allow further processing.

Inspections:

Normally the system will use a combination of checkpoints, calculated points and point-to-point tools to report positions.
The positions are calibrated to real world units and are reported with sub-pixel accuracy.

System:

Standard tool in Visioread / VisioRead Colour & DATEmark.

Speed:

Normally < 10ms for VisioRead / VisioRead Colour and < 100ms for DATEmark.

Advantages:

Determine the position of products using visual input.

Note:

This application is often done with flexible machines like robots, X-Y tables and servo-controlled equipment. Sometimes used with multiple exposures of the object in a coarse-to-fine positioning or as 'go until position ok'.

Blister inspection   (top)

Products:

Tablets, dragées, oblongs, multi-coloured capsules, chewing gum, ampoules etc. of different sizes, shapes and colours. Packed in different patterns with any combination of different products. Most often found on blister machines and similar thermoforming equipment.

Inspections:

The system has a wide of tools designed for this type of application among them are size, shape and position, verification colour and colour distribution verification, colour pixel counters and automatic teach in functions.
The system has several special functions to cope with 2-coloured capsules, products with 2-coloured surfaces etc.

System:

Standard in VisioChrom / VisioPan & Colorvision / Pacvision.

Speed:

All systems meet the requirements of any blister machine known to VA both in multi-image intermittent operation and in continuous operation.

Advantages:

Making 100 % sure that all products being packed are filled with acceptable products of correct size and colour.

Note:

This application is a special variation of defect inspection that facilitates easy handling of multiple products. This type of systems is used also for inspection of other products produced or packed in patterns like in moulds or packed in product-shaped material.