Product inspection equipment is vital for maintaining product quality in manufacturing. It verifies that products meet quality standards before leaving the production facility. These inline inspection systems perform several important functions during production:

• They prevent consumers from receiving products that may be contaminated with foreign materials like metal, glass, plastic, stone, or calcified bone.
• They check that packaged products are filled correctly, preventing underfilling or overfilling.
• They reduce common errors associated with human oversight.
• They verify label quality and accuracy, lowering the risk of recalls due to labeling issues.
• They conduct end-of-line completeness checks to confirm that final products are correctly weighed, labeled, and packaged.
• They automate quality inspection processes, which helps to improve production efficiency.

Many industries use product inspection systems for quality assurance in manufacturing. The most common industries include food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, chemical, and cosmetics.

• Food and Beverage
  Product inspection plays a crucial role in promoting manufacturing quality and safety in the food industry. These inline inspection systems offer automated solutions for facilities that process and package a variety of food types, including wet, dry, fresh, and frozen products. They help prevent foreign material contamination and check for underweight or overweight items before they reach consumers. Additionally, these systems verify that products are free from defects, packaging issues, and label errors, for confidence that they meet visual standards before leaving the production facility. They also assist businesses in complying with industry regulations and standards, such as IFS, BRCGS, SQF and FSSC 22000.
  

• Pharmaceutical and Nutraceuticals
  In the pharmaceutical sector, product inspection equipment is crucial for maintaining high quality and integrity standards. These pharmaceutical quality control systems can be used for in-process checks or end-of-line applications. This promotes the efficient removal of contaminated, underweight, overweight, incomplete, or damaged products. Our x-ray inspection solutions also support the quality inspection of medical devices.

• Chemicals and Cosmetics
  METTLER TOLEDO Product Inspection systems can be customized to meet very specific chemical, cosmetics, and personal care manufacturing challenges. Our advanced inline inspection systems provide reliable quality inspection, weighing, and detection of physical contaminants in bulk liquids, powders, or granules, across a wide range of packaging types, shapes, and sizes. End-of-line quality inspections of final packaging, such as cartons and cases, provide confidence that products are complete and correct before they leave the facility.

To improve quality control in the production of food, pharmaceuticals, and other products, consider the quality issues you are facing and the type of product you are producing. METTLER TOLEDO Product Inspection systems provide several quality control inspections - without slowing down production - to suit a variety of needs. These include:

1. Physical Contamination Detection: Products contaminated with foreign materials can cause serious harm to consumers and create problems for manufacturers. If these products reach consumers, it can result in costly recalls, retailer fines, and damage to the brand reputation. To comply with industry regulations and retailer standards, manufacturers must have contamination detection capabilities. Product inspection systems can automatically detect a variety of contaminants, including metal, glass, plastic, mineral stone, calcified bone, and rubber. Depending on their specific needs, manufacturing facilities may need a metal detection system, an x-ray inspection system, or both.
   
   
2. Package Fill Control and Inspection: Losses from overfilling can reduce profits, while underfilling can lead to fines or recalls. Therefore, it is essential for production and packaging facilities to have a method for verifying that the correct amount of product is present within its packaging. Inline checkweighing systems are often used to verify the weight of each product on the production line. They can provide real-time filling system feedback and control to help avoid repeated filling errors in accordance with applicable weights and measures regulations. X-ray systems can also perform fill-level checks and verify the completeness of packages with multiple components. Vision inspection systems can inspect the fill levels of products with translucent packaging materials and verify label quality and accuracy.
   
   
3. Product and Package Integrity Inspection: Product integrity refers to the completeness or wholeness of a product. This includes checking for all expected pieces in a kit or identifying damaged or broken items in cases. Product inspection equipment can be used to identify damaged, underfilled, or incomplete products, allowing manufacturers to correct issues before shipping. Identifying errors or damage early in the manufacturing process protects product safety and quality, enhances brand reputation, and reduces waste or rework requirements. X-ray inspection systems check the contents of packaged products to make sure they are complete and undamaged, while vision systems can inspect the exterior of packages to verify their integrity and quality.
   
   
4. Label Inspection: Product labeling is the final line of communication between the producer and the consumer, and is a common source of recalls. Vision inspection systems check every package for the presence, accuracy, and readability of product labels. They inspect barcodes, expiration dates, and other labeling information. This helps to prevent recalls due to mislabeling, incorrect or missing allergen declarations, missing labels, or smeared prints.
   
   
5. End-of-Line Completeness Checks: At the end of the production line, quality inspection equipment such as dynamic checkweighers or x-ray inspection systems can verify that each package, product, or carton contains the correct amount of product and an accurate count of components.

For Statistical Process and Quality Control: 
Product inspection systems generate runtime data which can be transmitted to central control systems. This allows for a real-time view of system performance. ProdX productivity software from METTLER TOLEDO generates comprehensive reports to help ensure compliance with national and international laws and standards. It can be an essential part of your digitalization strategy.

For System Integration and OEM Partnerships: 
Many industries are seeing an increase in the use of System Integrators to manage partial or even full line installations. To provide product quality inspection solutions that are fit-for-purpose, METTLER TOLEDO Product Inspection will work closely with other OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) and System Integrators to design and build production equipment with fully integrated product inspection capabilities. This approach maximizes the efficiency of available space and enables smooth integration within the production line.

Choosing the right product inspection solution is a significant investment, and it is important to gather as much information as possible before making a decision. METTLER TOLEDO Product Inspection provides several options for manufacturers to Test Before You Invest, including:

• Free product testing
• In-person or virtual demonstrations
• Global testing and support centers
• Rental systems for short-term contracts providing flexibility to quickly scale up production

Using these resources, manufacturers can make a well-informed choice that works best for their specific requirements. For more information about our Test Before You Invest program, please visit the link below.