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A syringe inspection system like no other

PC-based control helps this OEM reduce cost and streamline design because it centralizes logic, motion, HMI, and vision system data collection in one controller.

The PIL-30 particle inspection and labeling machine is shown here with a remote inspection table for two operators.
The PIL-30 particle inspection and labeling machine is shown here with a remote inspection table for two operators.

Spun off from custom packaging machinery manufacturer Luciano Packaging Technologies, Particle Inspection Technologies specializes in particle and vision inspection systems for the pharmaceutical industry. Among its most recent developments is the PIL-30, which uses camera systems and software to inspect filled and sealed syringes at 30/min. Syringes having particles outside predetermined size parameters established by the FDA are rejected.

At the heart of the sophisticated system is a single centralized controller: TwinCAT automation software from Beckhoff. In addition to being able to run PLC functions, this PC-based platform also handles motion and HMI. Moreover, because it’s PC-based, it has a number of communications benefits inherent in it. The cameras in this application, for example, are communicating with the TwinCAT automation software via standard Windows protocols. The USB3 connectivity between the cameras and the PC-based software is built right into the software. In this particular case, the TwinCAT control software is running on a standard non-industrial PC, which is perfectly suitable in the pharmaceutical environment where the machine will be running, a setting where everything is super clean and temperature controlled.

According to Beckhoff’s Doug Schuchart, Regional Sales Manager, PC-based control is especially helpful in a system where vision and cameras are involved. “When capturing images and then analyzing them in order to make decisions on the machine control based upon what’s in those images, having a PC-based control platform offers huge advantages. Combining the PC used for vision and the PLC into one centralized CPU provides significant cost savings. Plus, by having a large hard drive to store many large image files, the PIL-30 is able to quickly react since the images are on the same PC as the machine control software—in this case, TwinCAT,” says Schuchart.

Another key Beckhoff contribution to this machine is the EtherCAT industrial Ethernet system. The I/O system on the PIL-30 is networked via EK1100 EtherCAT Couplers. Also from Beckhoff are the servo drives and motors that actuate the syringe inverter wheel, the main starwheel that takes syringes through all the inspection stations, two syringe-spinning stations, and finally a label application drum that rotates the syringes so that the pressure-sensitive labels can be smoothed out on the syringe body.

“I’ve been using Beckhoff controls for some time now,” says Jerry Wierciszewski, the PIT engineer principally responsible for the design of the machine. “The main reasons are flexibility, speed, and efficiency of communication.

Big improvement
To appreciate the quantum leap forward this equipment represents, it’s important to realize that the customer to whom it will soon be shipped is currently conducting particle inspection manually. Moreover, to meet the inspection requirements dictated by FDA, it takes 10 or 12 people working 20 hours/day. The PIL-30 will get the job done with two operators in an eight-hour shift.

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