Ishida Versatility On Display At All4Pack

A selection of recently-launched models from Ishida Europe at the All4Pack exhibition in Paris will underline the company’s position as the leading supplier of complete packing line solutions across a wide range of markets and applications.

Among the highlights on show will be models from its brand-new X-ray range, a special line for the precise and fast pick-and-place packing of cut-ups into trays and subsequent quality inspection, and the latest developments in multihead weighing and checkweighing technology.

Ishida’s new IX series X-ray range raises the bar in performance and usability, offering customers easy maintenance and stress-free operation, and a robust fail safe system that prevents a contaminated product reaching the consumer in the event of a power outage or breakdown, thereby minimising the potential for costly recalls.

Two models will be displayed at All4Pack. The IX-GN-4044 is ideal for manufacturers looking for the highest level of certainty and the best possible performance for a wide range of products. Able to detect pieces of stainless steel as small as 0.3mm in diameter, plus aluminium, glass, stones, rubber, dense plastic and shell at high speeds, it is suitable for a wide variety of packed and unpacked products and includes a built-in air conditioning unit.

The GN-4044 uses Ishida’s patented Genetic Algorithm (GA) image processing to deliver superior inspection capabilities, with many standard GA settings already stored in the machine’s memory.

The second model on show specialises in bone detection in meat. The IX-G2-4027 uses rays of two different energies to produce two images. These images are then compared, which helps to eliminate the background effect caused by the product itself and improves the detection of lower density foreign bodies such as fan bones in chicken, bone fragments in meat, or glass and stones in added value meat products.

The centrepiece of the dedicated line for meat and poultry cut-ups is Ishida’s unique RobotGrader, which combines weighing and pick and place technologies to grade products of varying piece weight and place them into a fixed weight pack. The filled trays are subsequently sealed by Ishida’s mid-range QX-775-Flex tray sealer before undergoing leak detection in Ishida’s brand new AirScan, which uses advanced laser technology to detect the smallest leaks in trays packed in a modified atmosphere.

The line delivers significant savings in labour, ergonomics, downtime and consumables, with a top speed of 50 trays per minute

The two multihead weigher models on the stand highlight the versatility of the technology to meet the weighing requirements of many different product types. The 32-head mix weigher from Ishida’s RV range is capable of mixing up to eight different products for discharge into the same bag or for discharging a single product into a high speed packaging machine at up to 320 weighments per minute, and is therefore ideal for confectionery, nuts, frozen food or high-speed multi-compartment applications.

At the other end of the scale, the Ishida Micro multihead weigher has been designed to handle high-value, ultra-low target weight applications (down to half a gram target weight) with accuracy and efficiency levels close to 100% at a top speed of 120wpm. This makes the Micro ideal for products such as spices and herbs, tea, soup ingredients, nuts and dehydrated vegetables. A small footprint of just 650 x 650mm, and maximum height of only 970mm, means the weigher can fit into any factory, saving valuable floor space.

The Ishida DACS-G checkweigher is being demonstrated with a fully integrated CEIA metal detector and with full reject failsafe specification to help food manufacturers meet the latest retail codes of practice. The DACS-G can handle a wide spectrum of weights in two, easily switchable ranges. It is available with Ishida’s pioneering Ishida Data Capture System (IDCS II), a powerful software that captures the data from every pack that passes across the checkweigher and generates real-time displays and reports. IDCS II focuses on two major benefits- the identification of cost-saving opportunities and an increase in Overall Equipment Efficiency (OEE) to help reduce costs and improve overall product margins.

For more information, visit www.ishidaeurope.com.