Vision Systems for Pharmaceutical Machines: Types and Applications

January 2025

Vision Systems for Pharmaceutical Machines: Types and Applications

In the pharmaceutical industry, precision, reliability, and compliance are paramount. Vision systems integrated into machines play a crucial role in ensuring product quality, regulatory adherence, and operational efficiency. These systems provide automated visual inspection capabilities, improving accuracy and throughput. This article explores the various types of vision systems suitable for integration into pharmaceutical machinery and their applications.

2D Vision Systems

Overview: 2D vision systems capture flat images of objects and process them to extract critical information, such as dimensions, orientation, and surface features. These systems are commonly used for applications that require inspection of labels, packaging, and surface defects.

Applications and Benefits: Label Inspection involves ensuring the presence, accuracy, and clarity of product labels, including text and barcode verification. This enhances product identification, reduces mislabelling errors, and ensures compliance with regulatory standards. Packaging Quality Control detects defects in blister packs, vials, or cartons, such as misalignment or missing components, preventing defective products from reaching consumers and reducing product recalls. Surface Defect Detection identifies scratches, dents, or other surface anomalies on tablets or capsules, maintaining product integrity and aesthetic appeal.

Cognex’s In-Sight 2800 system combines AI with traditional rule-based vision tools, enabling error-proofing applications like presence/absence detection and sortation. (Cognex)

3D Vision Systems

Overview: 3D vision systems create a three-dimensional representation of objects using techniques such as laser triangulation or stereo vision. These systems are ideal for applications where depth, shape, and volume measurements are critical.

Applications and Benefits: Volume Inspection measures the precise volume of powders, liquids, or semi-solids in containers, ensuring consistent dosing and adherence to pharmaceutical standards. Shape Verification ensures tablets, capsules, or components conform to specific geometrical tolerances, improving product uniformity and quality. Assembly Validation verifies the correct assembly of complex pharmaceutical devices, such as inhalers or syringes, reducing assembly errors and ensuring device functionality.

Hardware such as the Keyence XT-024 3D camera allows for extremely accurate inspection and positional accuracies on high-precision devices and components with repeatable accuracies down to ±10 µm. Over the years, SP Automation and Robotics has integrated these types of cameras into their machines to ensure the devices that are being assembled are tested to the highest level as required by their customers.

Infrared (IR) Vision Systems

Overview: Infrared vision systems use infrared light to inspect features not visible in the standard visual spectrum. These systems are useful for non-destructive testing and inspections involving concealed components.

Applications and Benefits: Seal Inspection checks the integrity of seals on blister packs or sterile packaging, ensuring product sterility and preventing contamination. Fill-Level Detection monitors the fill levels of liquids in opaque or semi-transparent containers, preventing underfilling or overfilling and ensuring accurate dosage. Thermal Analysis identifies heat patterns to detect anomalies in heating processes or energy dispersion, enhancing process control and energy efficiency.

Hyperspectral Vision Systems

Overview: Hyperspectral systems capture a broad range of wavelengths across the electromagnetic spectrum, allowing for chemical and material analysis. These systems are vital for advanced quality assurance tasks.

Applications and Benefits: Ingredient Verification detects and quantifies active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in formulations, ensuring product efficacy and safety by verifying composition. Contaminant Detection identifies foreign materials, such as glass or metal, within products, protecting consumers and reducing the risk of contamination-related recalls. Coating Thickness Measurement ensures uniform coating on tablets or capsules, enhancing product performance and compliance with regulatory standards.

Smart Cameras

Overview: Smart cameras integrate imaging, processing and communication capabilities into a single compact unit. They offer a cost-effective and flexible solution for simpler inspection tasks.

Applications and Benefits: Code Verification reads and verifies serialisation codes for compliance with track-and-trace regulations, facilitating traceability and combating counterfeit products. Component Presence Detection confirms the presence or absence of components during assembly, improving assembly accuracy and reducing downtime. Basic Defect Detection identifies surface defects or inconsistencies in packaging or product appearance, ensuring aesthetic consistency and reducing consumer complaints.

Keyence’s Vision System, equipped with built-in AI and optical zoom, delivers efficient inspections suitable for diverse applications, simplifying setup and implementation. (Keyence)

Deep Learning-Based Vision Systems

Overview: Deep learning systems leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to learn and adapt to complex inspection tasks. These systems excel in applications where traditional rule-based algorithms struggle.

Applications and Benefits: Pattern Recognition detects subtle defects, such as irregularities in printed patterns or textures, enhancing defect detection accuracy and reducing false positives. Adaptive Inspection handles variations in products that naturally occur during production, increasing flexibility and reducing the need for reprogramming. Classification Tasks sort products into categories based on visual features, streamlining sorting processes and improving operational efficiency.

Cognex’s In-Sight D900 vision system uses AI to solve advanced vision applications, combining deep learning with platform-independent visualization. (Cognex)

Integration Considerations

When integrating vision systems into pharmaceutical machinery, several factors must be considered:

• Compliance ensures vision systems meet stringent pharmaceutical industry standards, such as those outlined by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or European Medicines Agency (EMA).
• Scalability allows the system to accommodate production line variations and future capacity expansions.
• Data Handling involves securely managing and storing inspection data to support traceability and audit requirements.
• Environment reliability under conditions such as vibration, temperature fluctuations, and humidity must be ensured.

Conclusion

Vision systems transform pharmaceutical manufacturing by enhancing quality control, reducing waste, and ensuring compliance. Selecting the right type of vision system depends on the specific requirements of the application, such as inspection complexity, precision needs, and production environment. By integrating advanced vision systems, SP Automation & Robotics can deliver cutting-edge solutions tailored to the pharmaceutical industry’s exacting standards.

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