Crest Solutions in Food & Beverage Industries

Crest Solutions has implemented several innovative vision-based solutions to facilitate the packaging requirements of internationally recognised Food & Beverage producers. Examples of these are as follows:

1)  Implemented a system to verify text presence, placement and correctness on keg production lines producing brands such as Heineken, Beamish, & Carling. The system verified that a cap was present, that the cap colour was correct (different cap colour for each brand prevented incorrect cap & brand combinations) and that the text was placed correctly, legible and complete. 2) Developed a system for detection of leakage from the valve at the top of kegs.  Where leakage occurs it appears in the form of foam bubbles at the top of the keg. This foam, when captured in an image for a vision camera, would obscure the view of the circular shape of the valve ring that should be visible.  By checking for this obscuring of the valve ring in the image, Crest Solutions made it possible to have an automated system that would identify kegs with valve leakage on a high-speed keg production line.

Designed and Implemented Label Inspection Systems for filling lines to eliminate the risk of product mixes by verifying all the relevant label information. The systems inspect both the pre-printed label and confirm the overprinted information by reading the printed 1D barcode and verifying the presence of the corresponding human-readable print. Separate confirmation of the correct hazard label is also carried out. The system integrates with Pepsi’s ERP system for fully automatic product changeover.

Installed a Print Inspection Solution for a Pfizer (formerly Wyeth Nutritional) plant producing various infant nutritional products for the export market.  Batch product expiry information is laser printed on the base of each can and the downstream inspection system verifies the presence of the four lines of print at high speed.