Kraft Foods Canada Improves Packaging Line Efficiency
Allergen management is playing an increasingly important role in the packaged foods industry. Manufacturers are taking increasing care to avoid labeling mix-ups that sometimes lead to expensive recalls and potential liability concerns.
In order to address these concerns, Kraft Foods Canada scans each label after it has been attached on the packaging line to ensure that it matches the package contents. But the laser scanner type ID readers used in the past to inspect the company’s barbeque sauce products were subject to read failures, especially when changing over a new product with the label in a different location. A technician had to rush over to adjust the position of the ID reader to re-center the label in its field of vision.
Kraft solved the problem by switching to image-based DataMan 300 ID readers from Cognex that can read any label within their 5 inch by 5 inch field of view without requiring adjustment.
“The outstanding performance of the DataMan 300 ID readers saves the technical team a considerable amount of time while protecting customers by ensuring the accuracy of our labels,” said Dave Fortin, technician for Kraft Foods Canada, Saint-Laurent, Qubec.
Difficult Code Reading Challenge
The barbeque sauce product line at the Saint-Laurent plant produces 30 different stock keeping units (SKU) at a rate of up to 265 bottles per minute. Ensuring that each individual package has the correct label is critical because some of the products have ingredients such as mustard and egg that certain customers may be allergic to. When the line is changed over to produce a different SKU number, the proper labels are manually loaded into the filling machine.
However, the possibility exists that the person operating the machine might load the wrong labels or that a few wrong labels might be accidentally mixed in with the correct labels. To address this concern, Kraft originally used laser-based ID scanners to read the 1-D code on each label as it passed by on the line and send the results to the programmable logic controller (PLC) that runs the machine. The PLC compared the code to the proper value and if the code was wrong the package was ejected from the line.
The problem with the laser-based scanners is that they are only capable of reading codes located within a small field of view. The label design is market driven so codes may be positioned at any position depending on the designer’s decision. As a result, when the labels are changed the code may be in a different position. This required that the position of the laser scanners be adjusted whenever the product line changed to a new SKU number, taking a considerable amount of the technical staff‘s time. Yet even when the laser scanners were positioned perfectly they still often failed to read the code.
So the technical team was frequently called out to make adjustments to the 1-D code readers and often struggled to determine why they generated no read failures.
“My team was frequently called upon to adjust the code readers,” Fortin said. “These calls made it difficult for us to fulfill my other responsibilities. A considerable amount of time was also required on the part of the production team to inspect each of the packages that could not be read by the scanner to make sure it was correct.”
Move to Image-Based Code Reading Technology
The basic idea behind image-based technology is that the reader captures an image and uses a series of algorithms to process the image to make it easier to read. A typical algorithm searches the entire image for the code and identifies the position and orientation of the code for easy reading. Other algorithms handle degradations in code quality due to differences in material types and surfaces.
A key advantage of the image-based approach is that it not only reads 1-D codes and provides higher read rates, but also reads 2-D matrix codes. Because these two-dimensional codes like the Data Matrix can hold a much larger volume of data, they provide a considerable amount of redundancy that is used for error correction. So the code can often be read even when it is damaged.
The Cognex DataMan 300 image based ID reader's 800 by 600 image resolution provides a 5 inch by 5 inch field of view which is sufficient enough to capture an image of the entire label with the necessary resolution to easily read the code regardless of its position and in spite of degradation. The DataMan 300 also provides built-in Ethernet, which makes it easy to communicate with a PLC and plant network.
The DataMan 300 uses a new 1DMax+™ algorithm, which incorporates Hotbars™ technology designed to handle difficult ID code-reading applications on high speed lines. Hotbars uses texture to locate barcodes at any orientation and then extracts high-resolution 1-D signals for decoding. The Hotbars finder analyzes a raw source image and produces a list of regions where it is likely that an ID code exists along with the orientation and other properties of the code. Hotbars technology then extracts 1-D signal using as a mathematical foundation a model of the pixel grid itself that reduces blur while maintaining perfect accuracy and noise reduction.
The 2-DMax+ algorithm is also an upgrade from existing 2DMax technology offering tremendous enhancements in handling damaged codes at high line rates and poorly marked or extremely damaged codes. The DataMan 300 series offers the flexibility of integrated and controllable modular lighting and optics. The user can purchase just one model and choose the appropriate lens for their required working distance and field of view. The controllable, field changeable lighting modules allow the user to create the best possible lighting for their part, ensuring optimal read rates.
Near Perfect Code Reading Accuracy
Fortin started by replacing a laser scanner with a DataMan 300 ID reader in one of the barcode reading positions on the barbeque sauce line. From the moment it was installed, the image-based reader virtually eliminated read failures, providing more than 99.9 percent read rates. Kraft made the decision to replace the three other ID readers on the barbeque line with the DataMan 300. Four ID readers are required on the line because it has four spurs. Since then the company has also replaced the laser scanners on three additional lines with the DataMan 300. Read performance has continued to be outstanding with more than 99.9 percent accuracy. No adjustment is required so the technical staff has been freed from the need to adjust the position of the reader.
Fortin does the installation and setup of the DataMan 300 code readers himself. He uses APG pan-and-tilt brackets that he buys with each code reader to mount the readers in place. He connects the reader to a personal computer and adjusts the light and focus on the camera. He connects the reader to a PLC via an Ethernet connection. The camera supports all popular PLC communications protocols. A photodetector in the inspection station provides a signal to the PLC that a bottle is in the station ready for inspection. The PLC instructs the ID reader to capture an image and the ID reader sends the code to the PLC. If the code does not match the product that is currently being run on the line, the PLC transfers the bottle to a reject conveyor. Fortin can install a DataMan camera in about two hours.
“DataMan 300 ID readers have significantly improved the efficiency of packaging lines at Kraft Foods Canada,” Fortin concluded. “In the past our technical team had to spend a considerable amount of time adjusting ID readers on various packaging lines. The production staff also had to spend time dealing with the many bottles with good labels that the laser scanner ID readers were not able to read. The new image-based ID readers have solved these problems by providing near-perfect read rates. They are also economical to purchase and easy to maintain.”
In order to address these concerns, Kraft Foods Canada scans each label after it has been attached on the packaging line to ensure that it matches the package contents. But the laser scanner type ID readers used in the past to inspect the company’s barbeque sauce products were subject to read failures, especially when changing over a new product with the label in a different location. A technician had to rush over to adjust the position of the ID reader to re-center the label in its field of vision.
Kraft solved the problem by switching to image-based DataMan 300 ID readers from Cognex that can read any label within their 5 inch by 5 inch field of view without requiring adjustment.
“The outstanding performance of the DataMan 300 ID readers saves the technical team a considerable amount of time while protecting customers by ensuring the accuracy of our labels,” said Dave Fortin, technician for Kraft Foods Canada, Saint-Laurent, Qubec.
Difficult Code Reading Challenge
The barbeque sauce product line at the Saint-Laurent plant produces 30 different stock keeping units (SKU) at a rate of up to 265 bottles per minute. Ensuring that each individual package has the correct label is critical because some of the products have ingredients such as mustard and egg that certain customers may be allergic to. When the line is changed over to produce a different SKU number, the proper labels are manually loaded into the filling machine.
However, the possibility exists that the person operating the machine might load the wrong labels or that a few wrong labels might be accidentally mixed in with the correct labels. To address this concern, Kraft originally used laser-based ID scanners to read the 1-D code on each label as it passed by on the line and send the results to the programmable logic controller (PLC) that runs the machine. The PLC compared the code to the proper value and if the code was wrong the package was ejected from the line.
The problem with the laser-based scanners is that they are only capable of reading codes located within a small field of view. The label design is market driven so codes may be positioned at any position depending on the designer’s decision. As a result, when the labels are changed the code may be in a different position. This required that the position of the laser scanners be adjusted whenever the product line changed to a new SKU number, taking a considerable amount of the technical staff‘s time. Yet even when the laser scanners were positioned perfectly they still often failed to read the code.
So the technical team was frequently called out to make adjustments to the 1-D code readers and often struggled to determine why they generated no read failures.
“My team was frequently called upon to adjust the code readers,” Fortin said. “These calls made it difficult for us to fulfill my other responsibilities. A considerable amount of time was also required on the part of the production team to inspect each of the packages that could not be read by the scanner to make sure it was correct.”
Move to Image-Based Code Reading Technology
The basic idea behind image-based technology is that the reader captures an image and uses a series of algorithms to process the image to make it easier to read. A typical algorithm searches the entire image for the code and identifies the position and orientation of the code for easy reading. Other algorithms handle degradations in code quality due to differences in material types and surfaces.
A key advantage of the image-based approach is that it not only reads 1-D codes and provides higher read rates, but also reads 2-D matrix codes. Because these two-dimensional codes like the Data Matrix can hold a much larger volume of data, they provide a considerable amount of redundancy that is used for error correction. So the code can often be read even when it is damaged.
The Cognex DataMan 300 image based ID reader's 800 by 600 image resolution provides a 5 inch by 5 inch field of view which is sufficient enough to capture an image of the entire label with the necessary resolution to easily read the code regardless of its position and in spite of degradation. The DataMan 300 also provides built-in Ethernet, which makes it easy to communicate with a PLC and plant network.
The DataMan 300 uses a new 1DMax+™ algorithm, which incorporates Hotbars™ technology designed to handle difficult ID code-reading applications on high speed lines. Hotbars uses texture to locate barcodes at any orientation and then extracts high-resolution 1-D signals for decoding. The Hotbars finder analyzes a raw source image and produces a list of regions where it is likely that an ID code exists along with the orientation and other properties of the code. Hotbars technology then extracts 1-D signal using as a mathematical foundation a model of the pixel grid itself that reduces blur while maintaining perfect accuracy and noise reduction.
The 2-DMax+ algorithm is also an upgrade from existing 2DMax technology offering tremendous enhancements in handling damaged codes at high line rates and poorly marked or extremely damaged codes. The DataMan 300 series offers the flexibility of integrated and controllable modular lighting and optics. The user can purchase just one model and choose the appropriate lens for their required working distance and field of view. The controllable, field changeable lighting modules allow the user to create the best possible lighting for their part, ensuring optimal read rates.
Near Perfect Code Reading Accuracy
Fortin started by replacing a laser scanner with a DataMan 300 ID reader in one of the barcode reading positions on the barbeque sauce line. From the moment it was installed, the image-based reader virtually eliminated read failures, providing more than 99.9 percent read rates. Kraft made the decision to replace the three other ID readers on the barbeque line with the DataMan 300. Four ID readers are required on the line because it has four spurs. Since then the company has also replaced the laser scanners on three additional lines with the DataMan 300. Read performance has continued to be outstanding with more than 99.9 percent accuracy. No adjustment is required so the technical staff has been freed from the need to adjust the position of the reader.
Fortin does the installation and setup of the DataMan 300 code readers himself. He uses APG pan-and-tilt brackets that he buys with each code reader to mount the readers in place. He connects the reader to a personal computer and adjusts the light and focus on the camera. He connects the reader to a PLC via an Ethernet connection. The camera supports all popular PLC communications protocols. A photodetector in the inspection station provides a signal to the PLC that a bottle is in the station ready for inspection. The PLC instructs the ID reader to capture an image and the ID reader sends the code to the PLC. If the code does not match the product that is currently being run on the line, the PLC transfers the bottle to a reject conveyor. Fortin can install a DataMan camera in about two hours.
“DataMan 300 ID readers have significantly improved the efficiency of packaging lines at Kraft Foods Canada,” Fortin concluded. “In the past our technical team had to spend a considerable amount of time adjusting ID readers on various packaging lines. The production staff also had to spend time dealing with the many bottles with good labels that the laser scanner ID readers were not able to read. The new image-based ID readers have solved these problems by providing near-perfect read rates. They are also economical to purchase and easy to maintain.”