Multipix, MVT Win Machine Vision Award

Multipix Imaging Components Ltd. of Petersfield and Machine Vision Technology Ltd. of Royal Leamington Spa recently received the Most Innovative Machine Vision Project award from the Processing and Packaging Machinery Trade Association (PPMA).

The companies created an inspection system for a range of counting and bottling machines from Pharma Packaging Systems Ltd. The system checks for broken or partially formed tablets and cross contamination. It also measures tablets' length, width area and completeness.

The system includes cameras that are placed above the final vibrating trays that feed and separate the product for inspection. Each camera images six lanes of tablet with a feed rate of up to 2,500 tablets per minute. Eighty images per second are captured across 24 lanes of continuous tablet flow. Each tablet is inspected 10 times as it passes through the cameras' field of view. Software tracks each individual tablet, building up a tracing history.

"This project was a worthy winner and reflects the high level of industrial vision expertise within the UK," said Ian Alderton, chairman of the U.K. Industrial Vision Association (UKIVA). "The development effort that went into the system is impressive, and the fact that a dedicated inspection system was built meant that this entry excelled above the others."

Multipix Imaging distributes machine vision products to manufacturers around the world. MVT provides machine vision systems and smart cameras across the U.K.

The PPMA is a trade association for suppliers of processing and packing machinery to the U.K. market, representing more than 400 member and associate companies.