Pouch Seal Inspection

April 2015

Are customers complaining about open pouches?

Nobody likes to open a carton to find spilled product inside. Worse yet, spilled food can invite infestations in the home or restaurant. What can you do?

i4 Solutions has developed new technology to prevent shipping open pouches. Our online inspection system inspects every pouch. It detects open and narrow side seals, as well as open top seals, so that bad pouches are rejected before being put in a carton.

Pouch Seal Inspection

How does it work?

Our innovative approach verifies that the two surfaces of a seal are in contact. The width of the left and right side seals are measured at multiple points as the pouch travels down a conveyor. The top seal is checked for continuity across the pouch’s width. These measurements are not affected by whether any gaps between the seal surfaces are filled with product, or just air.

How fast can pouches be inspected?

Our inspection system will keep up with any rotary knife we’ve ever seen. Current installations inspect 6000 seal points per minute, but are capable of running much faster. Pouches on multiple adjacent conveyor lanes can be inspected simultaneously.

Will it work on every type of pouch?

Our technology can be applied to most paper and plastic pouches. Pouches may be of any size. Pouch papers and films can be decorated with ink, so long as there is not black ink in the seal area. (A small black registration mark can be ignored.)

How is it configured?

We deliver every system preconfigured for your specific needs. But of course you can change the configuration and train new product types yourself. The system includes a touchscreen display panel, and a setup wizard will help you train product types.

Is it easy to operate?

Absolutely. Use the touchscreen to select a product type from the list. Give the software a few seconds to configure itself, then start making pouches. The number of good and bad pouches is displayed in real time.

What’s the next step?

We’d like to confirm our technology will meet all of your requirements. Send us samples of each of your pouch types, and we’ll test them, for free.