Labelling, printing and inspection via one user interface

MULTIVAC Marking & Inspection will be showing at Fachpack in Nuremberg its MR335 SQ conveyor belt labeller with integrated MULTIVAC TTO printer and vision system for inspection tasks. The highlight: the labeller, printer and inspection system are operated centrally via a single user interface.

<xml></xml>The conveyor belt labeller is equipped with MULTIVAC's HMI 2.0 human-machine interface, in which the MULTIVAC vision system for quality control and the MULTIVAC TTO thermal transfer printer are also integrated. "Both the operation of the labeller and the printer, as well as the operation, parametrisation and display of error graphics and diagnostic functions for the vision system, are carried out via one and the same HMI 2.0", explains Daniel Siegenbrink, the Control Technology Manager at MULTIVAC Marking & Inspection.

Simple communication

The HMI 2.0 offers users the opportunity to track the entire program sequence in real time. The HMI 2.0 also has some special features, which make working with the labelling and inspection system particularly ergonomic: the functions are shown grouped together for better overview and they can be displayed in greater detail by touching the particular graphic icon. The clear structure of the user interface and the self-explanatory icons enable the user to navigate easily within the control system.

Pictograms assist the user in the operation of the machine. If for example the labels have to be changed, the HMI 2.0 displays the individual stages of the operation in pictures. This provides the operator with the means of being able to perform the label changing process quickly and easily, without first having to refer to the operating instructions.

Details of the exhibits at Fachpack

The conveyor belt labeller is suitable for both top and bottom labelling of products, such as thermoformed packs, folding cartons or trays. The label can be printed and, if required, sequentially coded with the thermal transfer printer. Thanks to the integration of the printer, MULTIVAC Marking & Inspection has been able to reduce the number of connection cables per printer and thereby increase hygiene. The centralised operation via one terminal also means that the handling of the printer is simplified, so that for example the print layouts can be loaded together with the recipe selection for a specific batch. The backup and restore functions, as well as the data acquisition, are performed centrally via one panel.

The MULTIVAC vision system consists of a high resolution line scanning camera and a vision PC, which is housed in the control cabinet of the labeller. It can be taught for countless inspection tasks for quality control. The product is matched against a so-called "fault-free image" or checked for the presence of certain characteristic features: the system asks questions such as "Is there a label on the product?", "Is the label in the correct position?" or "Is the right batch number or code or the correct text on the product?" If the product is not correct, it is rejected from the packaging procedure.