Needle Inspection of syringes with X-ray
There are increasing requirements for the quality of empty primary packaging, such as pre-filled syringes. A conventional camera system is unable to detect defects because often they are invisible. Assembling machines can also create defects meaning that ideally the syringes must be inspected after assembly.
The challenge to integrate a quality inspection to a production line of pre-filled syringes
Our customer needed an inspection system which would be integrated into their production line. It was required to have a small footprint and a test speed of 500 test samples per minute. It also needed to be capable of testing multiple sizes and installed into class A environment.
Our pre-engineering approach as a key for success
It was crtitical that an analysis of process was carried out to identify the defects the customer had been experiencing and would expect to experience in the future.
The first stage was for our technical experts to perform a series of tests on the customer`s product samples on our X-ray lab unit. We defined sample manipulation and components.
What followed was the defining of the interfaces of the component to fit into a production line.
Our X-ray inspection solution for 100% inline inspection of pre-filled syringes
A module which is integrated into the production line and allows the rotation of the samples was designed. The module allows 100% inline inspection of needle geometry which is integrated into the syringe processing line. It is a high resolution X-ray system which inspects the needle geometry for hooks, bent needles and other critical defects. The system has a complete enclosure of the area in which X-ray beams occur and the radiation dose is limited via an additional shield.
Benefits of our X-ray based visual inspection solution
- System is flexible for current and future tasks
- Compact design
- No extension of the entire machine footprint
- Accessibility in the machine
- Inspection speed up to 500/min
