With the installation of a UniPrint 130M UV Web Inspection System from Unilux Europe, Illert has expanded its shrink sleeve production to include automatic UV inspection. The system for optical web inspection visualises both the image of the shrink sleeve and the fluorescent adhesive seam in high resolution.
Shrink sleeves have become an integral part of the world of product packaging. The versatile shrink film not only offers product manufacturers the opportunity to, Packaging with a wide variety of geometries The packaging is not only easy to decorate, but also serves as tamper-evident protection or as an attractive marketing tool for duo, on or added value packs.
Made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET), oriented polystyrene (OPS), PLA (polylactide) or polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a central step in the production of the „second skin“ is the gluing of the film in a sleeve laying machine. The process Endless glued seam is a key quality feature of the finished shrink sleeve and the most demanding aspect from a quality control perspective.
One (camera) eye sometimes sees more than two
The glued seam is checked using UV light. Previously, this essential quality control process at Illert was exclusively manual. During the process, the machine operator had to inspect the seam of the continuous film tube at regular intervals using a UV hand lamp. Despite the high level of routine and expertise of the employees in charge, the the time-consuming, purely manual process is no longer up to date in the long term and in need of optimisation.
Illert therefore decided to install a UniPRINT 130M UV Web Inspection System from Unilux Europe GmbH for a newly purchased machine. The system for optical web inspection consists of from a high-resolution UV camera, which is mounted on the sleeve-laying machine via a traverse and transmits the camera image to a monitor installed in the area of the machine's operating unit. This simultaneously visualises both the image of the shrink sleeve and the fluorescent adhesive seam in high resolution.
The new system has obvious advantages for the machine operator: The manual process of spot-checking is no longer necessary. The operator does not have to leave the control unit to check the glued seam, which means that Response times, for example in the event of a recognised malfunction in the bonding process, are significantly reduced can be monitored. In addition, camera monitoring enables uninterrupted monitoring in parallel with the operation and monitoring of basic machine functions.
By significantly increasing the inspection frequency, the consistent quality of the bonded seam can be guaranteed and the likelihood of subsequent complaints significantly reduced. Furthermore, the simplification of the inspection process provides the operator with additional safety and enables Increased production speed with consistently high quality. As a result, optimising the process is also an economically justifiable decision in the long term.
Source: Illert
