Product traceability systems are an essential part of the food and beverage manufacturing sector. The presence of best before dates on PET bottles must be consistently checked to ensure regulatory compliance.
Manufacturers in the F&B industry face significant challenges, including the high costs of recalls and product withdrawals, as well as changing regulations surrounding plastics and recyclable packaging. Inspecting shiny plastics can also be particularly difficult due to their reflective properties, which may impact inspection accuracy.
Product traceability systems are an essential part of the food and beverage manufacturing sector. The presence of best before dates on PET bottles must be consistently checked to ensure regulatory compliance.
Manufacturers in the F&B industry face significant challenges, including the high costs of recalls and product withdrawals, as well as changing regulations surrounding plastics and recyclable packaging. Inspecting shiny plastics can also be particularly difficult due to their reflective properties, which may impact inspection accuracy.
Challenges
- Fast speed of the conveyor belt – more than one metre per second
- Shiny surfaces used on the bottles, making it essential to reduce glare & reflections
- Variety in the exact location of dates printed on the caps
Solution
- The high brightness of the MR-Dome was able to counteract the motion blur caused by the fast-moving speed of the bottles. Due to its high intensity strobe OverDrive illumination, the MR-Dome is capable of illuminating high-speed applications requiring a short exposure time of <100µs.
- Homogeneous illumination of the dome light ensured that reflections would not affect the read rates and provided excellent contrast for the best results.
Why is dome lighting suited to shiny or uneven surfaces?
Traditional dome-shaped lights are a highly diffuse and homogeneous source of illumination. They are often referred to as "cloudy-day illumination" due to the reflected light they produce, which makes them an excellent choice for the imaging of shiny surfaces. As seen in our example below, dome lights can help reduce glare and eliminate shadows, which is why they are commonly used to illuminate curved objects like cans and bottles at a close working distance.
