An X-ray system for detecting dense contaminants in food
Working with a UK manufacturer of food packaging and check-weighing systems, WyeTec assisted in the development of a product to
automatically detect dense contaminants in food, in particular stones/mud within washed, pre-packed salad products.
Choice of x-ray source
An X-ray monoblock was required that was suitable for continuous operation. Once commissioned the system was intended to run a
minimum of 16 hours per day, so tube lifespan (MTBF) and servicing were key considerations. The source also needed to be protected
from external environmental factors, such as dirt and moisture, and so a source with remote water-cooling and, of course, appropriate
X-ray enegy range was selected. WyeTec provided software classes to control the X-ray source and monitor the associated safety system
that could be easily integrated into the machine's control software by the client's in-house software team.
Detection and analysis:
The product under inspection passed continually through the system, and so a linescan X-ray detector was selected for data capture, with
WyeTec again providing software services to allow for easy integration into the main product HMI. This included the contaminant detection
algorithm, as well control of detector and data capture.
Whilst normal operation of the system was not to require any data visualisation, being able to graph the detector output for
set-up and calibration purposes was invaluable. WyeTec developed a stand-alone application that could be used for system set-up,
along with tools to calibrate for non-linear response.