SICK, a German producer of sensors and solutions for industrial applications, has developed a sensor called Glare that detects glossy materials in pharmaceuticals packaging and helps deter product tampering and reduce counterfeits.
European regulations are driving tough new requirements for packaging and demanding the use of high-gloss or transparent materials, including tamper-evident seals. However, in production and product handling, high-gloss packaging materials can cause conventional optical sensors to trigger incorrectly. For most sensors, shiny objects are difficult to detect, the company says.
'The innovative detection concept of Glare turns a weakness of most sensors into a strong function for packaging production lines,' said David Hannaby, Product Manager at SICK for Presence Detection. 'Instead of the sensor being dazzled by glare, it uses glare to do the sensing to achieve a highly-reliable process for detecting and assessing the gloss properties of shiny materials.'
When detecting transparent tamper-proof seals, for example, Glare distinguishes between the reflection from the label and the scattered, diffuse reflections from the rougher surface of the packaging material.
'It can easily be configured to discriminate between different degrees of gloss to obtain precisely the required results,' said Hannaby.
The innovative detection concept of Glare turns a weakness of most sensors into a strong function for packaging production lines
Following in-process trials, the new SICK Glare is being used by Bosch Packaging Technology in its CPS serialisation solutions achieving 100% reliability in detecting machine-applied transparent tamper-evident safety labels.
The SICK Glare is a compact (42.5mm x by 44mm x 43.4mm (width x height x length), all-in-one IP67 unit. It delivers robust presence detection and exceptional gloss optical property and discrimination performance even with high ambient light levels, deep colour, transparent tape, text and shiny or holographic finishes.
Primarily designed to detect and discriminate between gloss levels on flat surfaces, the SICK Glare is able to cope with ±5o misalignment and variation, adding to its effectiveness.
The SICK Glare consists of a central strip of eight LED emitters surrounded by two receiver lines, which enable its unique misalignment and tilting tolerance and vibration resistant performance, backed by the patented Delta-S sensor technology.
Installation and configuration are easy with the integral three button pad, allowing simple teach-in on the spot with typical objects, and several operating modes; a security key prevents operative override to eliminate ‘false nuisance’ readings. Alarm levels can be set to indicate contamination, declining standards and other parameters.
Light levels and sensing modes are adjustable to suit the application. As required in a pharma environment, the configuration data is stored centrally in the machine controller. SICK Glare settings and programming are remotely held on PLC, enabling rapid switch-in if the sensor needs replacing.
