GOOD
BAD
X-Ray Product Verification
A New and Unique Application Framework
Bob Ries, Lead Product Manager, X-Ray Inspection
and Metal Detection
Pack Expo 2014
The world leader in serving science
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The World Leader in Serving Science
Global Scale
• 50,000 employees in 50 countries
• $17 billion in annual revenues
• Unparalleled commercial reach
• 10,000 employees working with
customers every day
Unmatched Depth
• Innovative technologies
• Applications expertise
• Lab productivity partner
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Premier Brands
A Mission We’re Proud Of
We enable our customers to make the world
healthier, cleaner and safer
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Product Inspection History  One Brand
2007
2002
2000
1998 Thermo Electron acquires Goring Kerr
1994 Thermo Electron purchases Ramsey
1985 Ramsey Purchased ICORE
1947 Goring Kerr founded
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On-Line Inspection Solutions for Food and Pharma
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Why Food Safety is More Important Today Than Ever
• Incidents and recalls are more public
• Mass, easy communication via the internet
• Consumers are more educated and concerned
• Detection systems more capable and less costly
• X-ray systems can find more types of objects
• Typically smaller metal can be found too
• Systems are very easy to use and own
• Heading toward zero tolerance
• 3-5 mm was OK, now 1mm can be detected
• Recognition that all hazards must be detected, they can
never be eliminated completely
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Thermo Scientific™ NextGuard™ X-ray
• The next generation in
the X-ray inspection
market
• Unique value
proposition
1. Detects more
2. Simple-to-use
3. Easy-to-own
• Makes the migration
from metal detection to
X-ray more compelling
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Some Sample X-Ray Images/Contaminants
>= 0.8mm metal spheres in
cheese
>= 2.5 mm ceramic spheres
(rocks) coffee beans
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Random shape glass pieces in cans
Plastic gasket pieces in pies
1 mm metal sphere at bottom
of juice bottle
>= 1 mm metal spheres in cookies
(edge mask shown)
Common Quality Checks Customer Ask For Next
• Gross under/overfill
• When a checkweigher is NOT present
• Missing products or components (counting)
• Did everything end up in the bag/box?
• Cracks
• Rigid products that are damaged in handling
• Incorrect size and/or shape
• Misformed products
• Presence of dense objects (e.g. dessicants)
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Why Simple Menu Driven Systems Won’t Work
• The software provider can’t foresee all the
applications so they must make constant
enhancements
• Many image processing and analysis steps are
“hard wired” together so flexibility is limited
• New applications require new addition(s) to the
menus, dialog boxes, parameters, etc.
• Sometimes hidden parameter changes are
needed so you must wait for the manufacturer to
help you
• Why are spreadsheets so useful?
• Flexible, powerful, extendable, easy to use
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The NextGuard Approach to Product Verification
• Flexible vision tools you
can apply to x-ray images
• Dataflow model: image
processing, thresholding (if
needed), image analysis
• Immediate feedback during
set-up
• Multiple inspections
(individual or linked)
possible
• Dual rejection systems for
root cause determination
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Sample inspections with NextGuard
The world leader in serving science
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Checking Count: Detect a Missing Chocolate
• Problem statement: Screen for
random, missing chocolates in a
closed box.
• The NextGuard solution:
• The product verification tool with
minimum area and counting
• Application considerations:
• Package and product consistency
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Finding Quality Defects: Crack in a Granola Bar
• Problem statement: Find large
cracks in cereal bars after packaging.
• The NextGuard solution:
• The product verification tool with either
minimum area measurement or the line
profile tool looking for white spaces.
• Application considerations
• Consistent placement with guiderails (line
profile)
• Multiple layers and orientation?
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More Complex Counting: Missing Sticks of Gum
• Problem statement: Determine if gum
sticks are missing in a 2D matrix (3 X 2)
• The NextGuard solution:
• Product verification tool with precise threshold
setting, min/max area and counting.
Good
• Application considerations:
• Consistent product density and size
Bad – 1/6 Missing
Bad – 2/6 Missing
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Verifying Assembly: Ice Cream Bar Stick Presence
• Problem statement: Detect random
missing wood sticks
• The NextGuard solution
• Product verification with either area
measurement or line profile
• Application considerations
• Product orientation/position and density
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Detecting Pattern Differences: Stacked Cookies
• Problem statement: Determine if a
cookie is missing in a stack
• The NextGuard solution
• Product verification line profile tool,
thresholding not possible for blob counting
• Application considerations
• Product density and angle/stacking
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X-Ray Mass Estimation: Detect Gross Under Fill
• Contaminant detect AND look for 5% underfill errors in
1.5 oz peanut butter packs
• Must consider accuracy (offset) and repeatability (std
deviation) for total precision
SCALE
WEIGHT (g)
48.3
47.87
48.06
46.59
48.85
NEXTGUARD WT (g)
Min
47.8
48.7
47.8
46.3
47.4
Max
49.3
49.7
49
47.5
48.8
Average Across Samples
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ACCURACY
STANDARD
DEVIATION (g)
REPEATABILITY (g)
PRECISION
(Offset + 3σ)
Average
48.3
49.1
48.6
46.8
48.2
Offset (Ave Expected) (g)
0.0
1.2
0.5
0.2
-0.7
3σ
1.7
1.3
1.4
1.5
1.6
Range (g)
1.5
1
1.2
1.2
1.4
3σ
3.6%
2.6%
2.8%
3.1%
3.2%
Absolute value
%
3.7%
5.1%
3.9%
3.5%
4.6%
48.2
0.3
1.5
1.26
3.1%
4.2%
Next Steps for Your Applications
• Determine what products could benefit most
from X-ray detection and inspection
• Ask Thermo Fisher to recommend a system
• Aperture size, X-ray power beam orientation
• Send samples and your requirements in for
testing
• 5-10 of each type/size
• Receive a report stating feasibility and
performance
• See a live demo either in person or via the web
• Ways to deploy a system
• Purchase, Lease, Rental/Test Drive, PASS (Product
Assurance Solutions and Services)
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Food and Beverage Resources
Food and Beverage community
www.thermoscientific.com/foodandbeve
rage
Videos, webinars, audio
podcasts, white papers,
case studies, and more!
Examining Food Blog
www.acceleratingscience.com/food
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Questions?
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Thank you
Bob Ries
[email protected]
www.thermoscientific.com/productinspection
Your partner in product and process improvement