The CUBE EYE, a 3D eye capable of executing complete X-ray tomography of plastic or aluminium caps and the bottle, has arrived. A development of the preceding SURVEYOR unit, CUBE EYE is Sacmi’s response to the need to execute complete lab testing of caps and bottles using a method that is quick and non-destructive.
To get an idea of the importance of the proposed innovation, just compare it with traditional test lab quality control methods, which necessarily involved cooling of the cap-bottle body by applying special resins and then manual cutting to test for any deformation and/or cap seal problems. Completely different, then, from the method adopted by Sacmi: CUBE EYE effectively executes a ‘CAT scan’ by scanning the object in every direction, even by mere fractions of a millimetre, thus inspecting the entire profile of the cap, the bottle neck and the bottle itself.
The main advantage of this system is being able to simulate real stress/strain on the whole cap-bottle setup with no need for manual tasks. It also allows manufacturers - using special Sacmi-supplied modules - to test cap behaviour under increasing pressure, a key factor with CSDs. Numerous improvements have been made to the previous SURVEYOR unit (which was already able to X-ray specific sections of the cap): with CUBE EYE, inspection has now become fully three-dimensional, making it possible to analyse cap behaviour when it is screwed on and identify, without any possibility of error, any cap or bottle neck sealing problems.
Featuring a mechanical rotating plate, which allows the object being tested to move around 3 axes (x, y and z) and spin, this solution has already been supplied to some of the major players in the international beverage industry. Another step then, by Sacmi, towards an era of total inspection: this solution joins others already widely appreciated by the market on account of their direct, online all-round quality control.
