A fully automated, smart vision inspection system for printed coding and marking on food, pharmaceutical and general consumer goods packaging has recently been launched.

The 4Sight automatic print inspection system from SICK Automation, in collaboration with AutoCoding Systems, is said to be a world-first solution that delivers error-proof, high-speed inspection for printed codes such as dates, batch and line numbers.

The innovation uses AutoCoding 4Sight software operating a SICK InspectorP two-dimensional (2D) vision camera that enables direct closed-loop communication of the printed message from any brand of printer using standard inkjet, laser or thermal transfer technologies.

High-speed Inspection for Printed Codes

Conventional systems may take time to learn thousands of images and fonts as well as the surrounding packaging design context, resulting in a lengthy process before production inspections can take place. The direct communication ability of the new system aims to eradicate costly downtime and save production time.

The system is one of the first to be developed using SICK’s AppSpace ecosystem, which enables a directly networked connection between the printer and the 2D vision camera, coupled with the software’s ability to self-optimise the code inspection process.

As the artificial intelligence is already pre-trained in the application, the AutoCoding system can detect the exact printed message it is looking for. This means the system adjusts automatically when the printer changes to a new job.

Good Read, Bad Read or No Read

The software is able to simultaneously check whether the printed code is correct, present and legible, whilst giving users the flexibility to define what is recognised as a ‘good read, bad read or no read’ on a per product basis.

The application does not require font-teaching, alongside configuration features, regions of interest on the packaging, or fixturing against an edge or logo. A user-guided, self-set-up process configures the optimal camera settings according to a customer’s needs.

Processing Inspection Images

The high-resolution and processing power of the SICK vision technology means that the solution is capable of processing inspection images with extremely short cycle times, allowing it to operate in high line speed applications such as bottling and canning lines.