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Florida, Tampa, US, 6 November, 2016 – Eagle Product Inspection (Eagle), a leading provider of physical contamination detection and quality assurance equipment, is showcasing a variety of single and dual energy inspection systems, in addition to offering a cruise giveaway, at Pack Expo 2016 – commencing today in Chicago until 9 November – on stand S-1623
X-ray inspection is widely recognized as the go-to technology for contaminant detection, but are companies equipped with the correct energy levels to take full advantage of its capabilities? Eagle Product Inspection has the answers with regard to single or dual energy systems, and has experts at stand S-1623 providing advice and guidance based on customers’ unique requirements.
Many believe that dual energy is always best – however, there are five factors to consider in the equation that impact hugely on the choice of technology. Less can sometimes mean more in the world of food contaminant detection and decisions need to be based on the following; likely contaminants, product type, packaging type, production speed, and the specification requirements.
Single energy is extremely effective at identifying small contaminants, such as calcified bone, glass shards, metal fragments, mineral stone and some plastic and rubber compounds, when a manufacturer needs to inspect smooth homogeneous products like butter, cheese or deli meats at high line speeds. Dual energy is more effective where high contrasting or ‘busy’ images are presented, where lots of light and dark pixels are caused by density differences in products such as bags of lettuce, boxes of cereals and potato applications. Dual energy x-ray technology overcomes busy output images from traditional single energy systems by examining the chemical composition or atomic number to determine if a contaminant is present.
At Pack Expo, Eagle will showcase three x-ray inspection products which highlights both energy types:
• Eagle™ FA3/M (Dual Energy): a multi-application system that provides inline fat measurement and contaminant detection for fresh, chilled, frozen and hot-boned loose bulk, frozen or tempered (“naked”) meat blocks and unwrapped meat conveyed in plastic crates. The FA3/M is an excellent example of Eagle’s sanitary design and complies with IP69 ingress protection, meaning it is capable of withstanding high pressure wash-down cleaning routines.
• Eagle™ Pack 430 with MDX (Dual Energy): designed for x-ray inspection of mid-sized packaged products and multi-lane applications in the Food, Pet Food and Pharmaceutical/Personal Care industries, the Pack 430 PRO on display features Eagle’s dual energy Material Discrimination X-Ray (MDX) technology, designed to detect foreign bodies previously unseen by single energy x-ray or other conventional inspection means in difficult product applications.
• Eagle™ Tall PRO XSDV (Single Energy): Designed for the inspection of high-speed can, jar, bottle and composite lines, as well as other upright container formats that benefit from having two x-ray views to improve inspection rigor. The Eagle Tall PRO XSDV is ideal for customers with limited line space.
Kyle Thomas, Strategic Business Unit (SBU) Manager at Eagle Product Inspection, comments: “There are many variables to understand before making a decision on which x-ray system is right for individual operations, but one thing is vital to remember – there are very few instances where both a single or a dual energy system could be used for an application. Each application should be independently evaluated and food manufacturers should seek the advice of a reputable x-ray system supplier before making a final decision. We have a number of systems on display here at Pack Expo and we encourage customers who have any questions about the suitability of x-ray systems for their operation to visit us at our stand.”
In addition, visitors to the Eagle stand will be invited to enter a draw for a cruise getaway, offering them the ability to relax while their product inspection needs are taken care of by Eagle’s experts.