The fastest food combi metal detection system?

17 May 2021

The Cerberus Combination Metal Detector and Checkweigher from Sparc Systems is believed to be the fastest food inspection machine on the market today. Capable of checking for metal contaminants, checkweighing and rejecting out of tolerance packs simultaneously at speeds exceeding 200 packs per minute, a special version was recently created for a UK dietary weight company that accurately inspects a record 350 ppm.

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A fully-integrated unit comprises a metal detector to identify ferrous and non-ferrous particles down to 1.5mm, and stainless steel down to 2.0mm in packs weighing up to 3kg.

Built from stainless steel, the Cerberus’ robustness is said to deliver exceptional digital weighing performance as it doesn’t pick up vibrations from the outside environment. Even using a standard load cell, Sparc processors achieve reliable weight accuracy of ?0.025 grams.

The solution promises productivity gains. “In some cases, our customers have reported a 55% reduction in product giveaway resulting in an extremely rapid payback,” said Charlie Graham, european sales manager at Sparc Systems.

By optimising the processing electro servo drive, Sparc weight sensors can be quickly reset, allowing for rapid and precise weight checks of individual packs in real time. Trend feedback is instantly fed upstream to filling, portioning and packing automation equipment. Signalling when to increase or decrease fill quantity.

Keeping quality control front of mind, the system utilises a precision metal detector to inspect packaged meat, dairy, convenience meals and frozen products. Identifying metal contaminants with high sensitivity drives increased security and reduces the risk of costly recalls.

Two reject bins are located beneath an innovative and ultra-fast three-position dipper conveyor. Rather than a standard pusher or air blast reject mechanism, the Cerberus all-electric direct drive dips 90°and 45° to segregate metal contaminated products from weight rejects.

Rather than slotting two systems together, the Cerberus provides complete mechanical and electronic integration with single point controls and trend feedback. To ensure traceability and compliance with retailer Codes of Practice and QA protocols, the Cerberus features a single swipe HMI touchscreen with live OEE data and paperless audit software. Food factories simply select and bring to the HMI foreground their preferred operational parameters.