A labeling system was added to a mixed nut packaging line. A single line can process 16 different product lines at 120 - 150 jars per minute. Some products use very similar labels, with differences attributed to what country the product is being shipped to. Occasionally the wrong labels are loaded into the labeling system. If this goes unnoticed, a large number of jars need to have their labels removed, and new ones applied.
Cognex InSight cameras were mounted downstream from the labeler to view the front and backside of the jar. Multiple pattern matching zones were established to ensure no two different labels would generate a false positive and stored in a lookup table. Ethernet/IP communications was established between the PLC and the smart camera for effortless product changeovers via a PanelView HMI.
Ice containers getting filled with the wrong product, if uncaught until later can create a costly recall.
Prior to filling multiple Cognex barcode readers oriented around the ice container looked for a 2D barcode and verified that it matched the SKU provided by the PLC
Ice containers getting filled with the wrong chocolate-covered ice cream nuggets, if uncaught until later, can create a costly recall.
Two Cognex InSight cameras were set up on opposite sides of the oval container. Pattern matching was done on the picture label to verify the match based on the SKU. On the ingredient label, the UPC code was verified against the SKU.