Label Placement Inspection

2009 was a remarkable year for Robovision. The customer, following the requirements of the parent company, has decided to improve the tagging control system. The thing was to make sure that each product in each line would fit the right labels. Since the beginning of the year, the replacement of old patterns based on pattern recognition began and they checked whether the label on the bottle was the right one or not.

The project was so successful that until February 2010 all production lines were equipped with Robovision optical control systems.

Each system contained two In-Sight 5100s with Patmax and a panel with a VisionView HMI panel. The front camera recognizes and verifies the unique 6-digit number on each front label. This is accomplished using the advanced Cognex reader algorithm OCR / OCV.

The back camera recognizes and verifies the Barcode, Matrix 2Dcode or both together on the back label. If any code does not match the unique code on the label, the system signals a product rejection.

A key to the success of Cognex's system was ease of management. The machine operator introduces the code of the product label that is verified by reading. The introduction is made with VisionView a user-friendly 7 inch high-definition color touch screen.

From the same panel and with great ease it is made the choice of the desired product as well as the monitoring of statistics. So we can see all the pieces that have passed from the line. The set of those that were rejected as well as photos of the last 20 pieces that were rejected along with the reason that led to the rejection.

An Inocon mount system that represents Robovision provides camera flexibility for easy placement at the exact point needed to read the labels. In product-to-product changes to find the right camera location, VisionView's "Focus" feature allows us to have a vivid image to complete the setting. This drastically reduces the time it takes to change the position from product to product.

One of the great benefits of this application is the advanced tools Cognex has created for OCR / OCV (Optical Character Recognition / Verification) Optical Recognition / Verification of Characters. These tools are essential for many applications in food & beverages, consumer products, pharmaceuticals, electronic devices, postal transactions and the automotive industry for traceability and product quality assurance. Advanced OCR / OCV tools in In-Sight Explorer software make the learning of characters easy through the panel and offer a high level of reliability in character reading and verification. By using new advanced algorithms, we are able to read today degraded and poor opposed characters printed on a dome background.

Barcode and Data Matrix 2Dcode readings are also spectacular. 2Dcode readers are becoming an increasingly important part of production processes. Unsuccessful reading of a good code may lead to successive discharges and interruption of production. And here, Cognex's know-how comes to provide the solution with the tool that is standard for most IDMax® In-Sight models. This is a breakthrough in the Data Matrix Reader based on the patented Cognex PatMax® technology. IDMax reads downgraded display codes to deliver steadily high reading rates that are the key to the success of traceability programs.

In addition, the customer decided to use the unique PatMax® tool. Performance Pattern, Cognex's patented tool, uses advanced geometric attributes of the object we have learned to accurately locate it. To locate parts or features, in this case part of the label printing, PatMax provides the maximum performance that is available to reliably locate it. The customer was totally pleased with Robovision's high level of expertise and service. After the installation, there was a thorough training with all the people involved in the system management as well as step-by-step manuals for use in the Greek language. The reliability of Cognex systems combined with our ability to meet customer needs is the reason why we decided to equip all lines with Robovision systems. The use of these systems ensures that all products will be tested one by one for the correctness of labels, thereby eliminating the likelihood of sticking the wrong labels.