JW Winco uses special elements that can easily be seen through human vision, image processing, or metal detection to identify foreign materials or unwanted fragments on handles, knobs, or levers.
Foreign materials and undesired contamination make their way into production processes repeatedly. Failing to detect them in good time runs the risk of product recalls, causing unquantifiable damage to a company’s reputation. Such contamination often comes from fragments of machine parts, such as handling elements, tools, or containers.
If these parts are extremely small, they often go unnoticed — at least by conventional means. With this in mind, JW Winco has established a new line of standard parts made of plastic that are easy to detect, even in pasty and opaque media.
JW Winco’s new range of detectable standard parts includes knobs, hinges, hand levers, cabinet U-handles, and three-lobe knobs. The visually detectable (VD) standard parts are made of solid-colored blue plastic. Blue, because it’s a color that does not often appear in food or chemical particles, making it easy to recognize by humans and camera-based monitoring systems. In addition, contaminants and residues are also easier to identify, thanks to the color contrast.
This is where JW Winco relies on visual and metallic detectability. With the appropriate sensors, both options can be used automatically, significantly increasing product safety. The metal-detectable (MD) standard parts are also made of blue plastic but contain additional additives with iron oxide. These can be detected with metal sensors at a particle volume of 0.00763 in 3 (0.125 cm3) if visual detectability is not enough.
Metal detectability has long been used in a completely different context with great success. For instance, this feature is used to feed sprue grinders in the injection-molding process to prevent unwanted metal parts like injection bushings from getting in.
JW Winco’s range of detectable standard parts are blue in color, with FDA-compliant plastic granulates (FDA CFR.21 and EU 10/2011). This means they can be used in both the food and pharmaceutical industries without reservation.
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Filed Under: Fasteners • Clamps, Fastener Engineering • Handles, Fastener Engineering • Hinges
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