Company: Minebea Intec

Website: www.minebea-intec.com/en/

Equipment Snapshot: With the two side shooters Dymond DSV and Dymond D Monoblock, Minebea Intec presents two new products for its premium portfolio in the field of horizontal X-ray inspection. As a provider of weighing and inspection solutions, Minebea Intec ensures the highest quality with its solutions, thanks to innovative technology.

Both the Dymond DSV and the new Monoblock option of the renowned Dymond D are destined to become critical control points for quality assurance in the food, beverage, and pharmaceutical industries. Having full control of all packaged products provides a valuable opportunity to reliably detect foreign objects such as glass, stones, metal foil, or plastic parts to avoid contaminated product reaching the customer. With the new models, Minebea Intec offers its customers a tailored solution for a wide range of applications.

The Dymond DSV impresses users with multi-sided radioscopy of the products, with just a single X-ray source. The system can look for foreign objects in a food tin, for example, at a rate of up to 650 pieces per minute. The natural expansion of the X-ray beams is used with this ‘dual split view’ (DSV) method. The X-ray image of the product is captured both when it enters and exits the radiation cone. The X-ray inspection system generally detects even the smallest foreign objects measuring up to 1 mm in the event of perspective uncertainties, such as in rounded glass bottoms or at the edge of a container in the case of tall, standing products, and it excels whilst boasting compact dimensions. This allows the system to be optimally integrated into existing production facilities. With the Dymond DSV, one of the first products in the world with this technology, users gain double benefits: the precision and accuracy of two X-ray beams with the maintenance commitment of a simple, single-beam solution. Owing to its reduced technical complexity, the Dymond DSV requires simpler maintenance.

Cleaning is just as easy: like the other models in the Dymond series, the device is manufactured according to the specifications of the hygienic design. That means it's easy to clean and features fewer edges or folds in which residues can build up. This is underlined by the protection class IP65. The use of resilient materials also means greater resistance to strong cleaning agents. This pays off for the user, as cleaning requires less time and fewer cleaning agents, thus saving them money. However, the Dymond DSV is not the only new product in the range; another model is now available as well.

Minebea Intec presents a new monoblock option for the X-ray inspection solution Dymond D. This options eliminates the need for active water cooling and therefore guarantees easier installation and maintenance. The high output of 2x500 W associated with the source enables greater throughput and even better inspection of products with higher X-ray attenuation than with the Dymond S.

The high sensitivity of its powerful image processors, combined with intelligent image processing, means it is able to detect even those foreign objects that are positioned vertically or lay hidden at the edge or at the bottom of the container. Even raised glass bottoms are no problem for this detection solution. A large selection of feed systems, separators, and other options is available for each model.

The two models complement the previous products in the Dymond family. Together with the Dymond S, the single-beam version and the original Dymond D with double-beam technology, the X-ray inspection solutions guarantee reliable inspection. All systems have been developed for use in highly automated processes and to meet the challenges of Industry 4.0.

For maintenance communication, statistical process control and optimisation of automated production processes, all side shooters of the Dymond series are available with Ethernet, OPC-UA, Modbus, and SPC@Enterprise connection. Thanks to horizontal communication, these systems represent a first step towards Industry 4.0. For example, the side shooters communicate with other systems along the production line to coordinate regular, automated and timely calibration.

To ensure easy and environmentally friendly cleaning, the design of the X-ray inspection systems already complies with the strict hygienic design directives of the EHEDG to continue the success of the Dymond series. 

“With the two new side shooters, we are better catering to the needs of our customers. Simpler situations often arise where a single-beam system like the Dymond S would be sufficient. However, when talking to Production Management and Quality Assurance, we found that greater safety with respect to foreign objects is desired, [although] users want to avoid the higher resulting costs of a larger solution. The jump to a large machine like the Dymond D is thus often too big. In this case, the two machines Dymond DSV and Dymond D Monoblock offer a great alternative with which most of the applications can be covered. The Dymond D with 2x1000 watts remains the right solution for glass-in-glass detection for particularly tightly sealed vessels and for very high throughput rates,” says Dr Thorsten Vollborn, global product manager at Minebea Intec about the expanded product range.

“Together with the flexible operating software for fill quantity and volume control, this technology opens up more design options for glass containers and vessel sizes without sacrificing the safety of consumers. We are also glad to facilitate the decision-making process for food manufacturers regarding whether glass or other materials for their product packaging are sustainable and effective.”

More information is available at www.minebea-intec.com.