MultiCheck inspection system

Reliable foreign body detection, also in the field of plastics

Foreign bodies continue to be one of the main reasons for product recalls. Ensuring safe food that is free from foreign bodies is therefore one of the most demanding tasks in quality control. At the same time, production in the food industry is increasingly automated, pushing manual visual inspections to their limits. In particular, plastic fragments, which may come from packaging residues, are difficult or even impossible to detect. If these enter the products, there is not only the effort of batch tracing, but also health risks for consumers and damage to the company's image.

The optical inspection system MultiCheck reliably identifies plastic foreign bodies, a crucial advantage in the entire food industry. Especially in high-speed applications, where multi-head weighers often reach their limits, the patented MultiCheck operates in the final step before packaging within the scale.

The compact MultiCheck with its four cameras is placed directly within the multihead weigher. The installation at the top of the discharge chute allows for a 360-degree panoramic view without blind spots. This ensures the best possible visibility of the falling food items without coming into contact with them. The multiple recording of a drop ensures that no foreign object is obscured by the product. Up to 100 drops per minute can be inspected. The image processing software must communicate in real time with the machine control to ensure the immediate removal of contaminants from the production line. If the system detects a foreign object made of plastic or other materials based on its color in the product stream, it generates a signal to stop the system or optionally eject the affected subset.

It doesn't matter whether confectionery, cereals, vegetables, frozen food, or fresh products such as cheese or meat are weighed and then packaged. Thanks to state-of-the-art camera technology combined with AI-based image processing, MultiCheck identifies foreign objects to sort them out. This way, even on production lines with high quantities, up to 99% fewer foreign objects enter the supply chain.

Automated foreign bodies detection

MultiCheck recognizes a wide range of foreign objects starting from a size of 1 mm x 1 mm, especially parts made of hard and soft plastics. The system checks for defined colors (e. g. blue and red) using its algorithms: as long as the foreign object stands out in color from the product and the background, it is reliably detected. The MultiCheck complements common foreign object systems such as X-ray and metal detectors by adding plastic detection to maximize the quality of your production.

Easy handling

Selection of the current format via user input: Automation via OPC-UA is possible.

Display of detected foreign objects with an acknowledgment function for findings.

Adjustable runtime statistics according to the camera: display of system status. Error images can be saved on the system or in the network.

In case of incidents, minimal effort is required due to system support: automatic validation reminders, maintenance instructions, and clear error messages.

System protection through various password-protected levels for operation and administration.