SEAM360 - A 360 degree view of the seam - thickness & length (height)
Conventional seam scan technology allows for measurement of 2-3 points around the can's seam. This includes seam thickness tests with a micrometer or seam thickness gauge and destructive tests with a seam scope. These types of destructive tests are perfect for getting a close-up look of the seam section, but they are fundamentally flawed. If there is a problem in the seam, it might not be at any one of those measurement points! How can you be certain that the rest of the seam is fine.
There are many seaming issues that can appear at only one point around the seam, such as a compound buildup, seam skids, bumps and dimples, and there are other issues that become visible only if you have an all-around view of the seam, such as wrinkle or a bad bearing. Until today, it has been impossible to catch many of these critical issues.
In addition to the destructive seam test, most plants tear down cans and check for wrinkle using a seam stripper. The reason for this test is that sometimes, cans that passed the seam inspection could still leak, due to wrinkle. Although the wrinkle is located within the seam, it effects the outside of the seam and can be seen by having fluctuations in both seam thickness and length.
Using non-destructive optical technology, Quality By Vision's new SEAM360 is capable of detecting all of these issues in a fraction of the time it takes to do a seam test and with no operator influence on the results! SEAM360 is the first system capable of checking every point on the seam, so there's no chance of missing anything. For example, click here to see what a wrinkle looks like in SEAM360. Click here to see what a bad bearing looks like. In a study conducted at one of our customers to evaluate the causes of a product recall, SEAM360 predicted with 98% accuracy which cans were likely to leak or susceptible to foreign materials. The intuitive software clearly pointed out what the problem was (loose seam, wrinkle, bump, bearing, etc.) and where it occurred. These problems can usually be fixed using the Clearance Gauge.
Modes of Operation
- Laboratory - SEAM360 tests one can at a time in a lab environment.
- Continuous - SEAM360 grabs a number of cans off the line every X minutes, tests them, and alerts when there is a problem.
- Manual - Bring cans to the machine, line them up and start the test - SEAM360 will produce a report and statistics graphs at the end of the measurement process.
- Automatic - SEAM360 grabs one can from each head every X minutes and tests all of them. If one of the cans is marked by a dimple as being from Head #1, SEAM360 will detect it and match that can with the correct head on the report!
Advantages to conventional seam testing methods
- Tests for seaming problems all around the seam, not just at 2-3 points
- Detects and locates hard to find errors that can be easily missed in a seam test, such as compound buildups, variations around the seam, skids, wrinkle, and more!
- An affordable alternative to X-ray based systems
- Much faster and more reliable than conventional external seam gauges
- Less expensive than other fully-automatic seam testers and NON DESTRUCTIVE!
| Resolution | 4-5 microns for seam thickness and length |
| Interface | USB2 |
| Optical units |
Laboratory (manual) |
| Scan time (one can) | about 5 seconds |
| Measurement cycle time (12 cans) | about 2 minutes |
| Resolution | 0.0002" (two ten-thousandths) or better for seam thickness and length |
| Interface | USB2 |
| Optical units |
Laboratory (manual) |
| Scan time (one can) | about 5 seconds |
| Measurement cycle time (12 cans) | about 2 minutes |
Public files
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