EIP Solution for Testing of Cigarette Packaging

System Introduction

The tobacco industry is a very big part of the world economy, and it creates large tax revenues for the governments as well as many job opportunities. In order to facilitate tracking and controlling product quality, many large tobacco firms are keen to choose the finest automated equipment to raise the quality of their products, the completeness of the items tested, and their advanced testing methods. The manufacturing process involves seven major steps: initial baking of the tobacco leaves, threshing and redrying, fermentation, blending, cutting the leaves into strips, rolling the tobacco, and packaging it. Only then are cigarettes a commodity which can be distributed to the consumers. The packaging of cigarettes is an important step in this process, and it has a great impact on product quality and a firm’s reputation.

Two sets of video sensors capture images from each of five surfaces of the cigarette pack (front, back, left, right and top). The captured images are sent to the computer for comparison, and at the same time sub-standard products are rejected. Because the speed of the production line is extremely fast ¬¬– the soft package is assembled at 360 cigarette packs per minute – therefore a high-speed camera must be utilized. The main computer must not only be able to handle on-site industrial applications, it must also be capable of high-speed graphics processing. The system adopts the EVOC IPC-810A computer, plus a video capture card, and a PCL-725 I/O control card, which generates the signal to remove sub-standard products. EVOC’s FSC-1812V2NA motherboard, featuring 256M dynamic shared video memory onboard, is capable of high-speed image processing.

 

Block Diagram

 

 

System Configuration

1) Main Computer: IPC-8422/PS-7270 ATX/6114P7
2) Motherboard: FSC-1812V2NA
3) Configuration: Core 2 Duo E6400/E4300/ 2GB DDRII/ 250G SATA HDD
4) I/O Card: PCL-725

System Evaluation

The system reduces product turnover costs, shortens machine downtime, improves product quality, enhances product quality and guarantees that sub-standard products do not enter the market. It can raise product grade, improve customer satisfaction, boost potential brand value and reduce product return costs.