There are special requirements for the packaging of products in tubes, which scanware manages with various systems. While the SPECTRA blister & product inspection systems are used to check the presence of the tubes and their caps, the SIGNUM print image inspection systems prevent product mix-ups by detecting the presence and reading printed codes. The code readers used can inspect even the smallest code dimensions in the form of DataMatrix codes located on curved surfaces.
During a running production, movements of the individual tubes within the cups can occur, so that skewed positions of the DataMatrix codes to be inspected can arise. This can lead to the individual tubes within a blister showing different representations of the codes and a perfect alignment of the inspection objects cannot be guaranteed.
scanware has developed a reliable solution for reading distorted DataMatrix codes on tubes and uses a frame grabber for large inspection areas, on which two high-resolution 12 megapixel black and white cameras are operated.
With this solution, elements are searched for in a predefined large-area inspection area which, despite distorted representations, correspond to the characteristics of a DataMatrix code and resemble it visually. After successful localisation of the individual codes within the blister, identification then takes place so that the DataMatrix codes are inspected for presence and then read.