Fast, accurate and fully automated, the Cerberus Combination Metal Detector and Checkweigher from Sparc Systems is claiming the title as the fastest food inspection machines 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, Sparc recently created a special version for a UK dietary weight company that accurately inspects a record 350 ppm.
Specifically designed to meet global food safety standards in high care production environments and drive down production costs, the Cerberus by far exceeds manufacturers’ inspection expectations of the conventional 120 to 150 ppm. Delivering repeatable brand protection and fast rejection, a standard off-the-shelf Cerberus easily inspects up to 200 out-of-tolerance or contaminated packs per minute. Even at this spec, few other inspection OEMs attempt to compete. However, Sparc has, with some special adaptations reached a reliable 350 ppm – close to six packs every second.
A fully-integrated unit, the Cerberus comprises a sensitive 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. An XL version is available to inspect products weighing up to 6kg and the size of tinned bread.
European Sales Manager Charlie Graham reiterates: “Designed, engineered and constructed to the highest engineering standards, no other food inspection machine in the world comes close to the performance and sensitivity of our Cerberus Combi systems.”
Sparc’s paperless audit software with unlimited pre-programmed COP and step-by-step process is a unique QA feature.
Tackling unpredictable downtime
The impact of machinery downtime alone costs British manufacturers more than £180 billion every year.[i] Each time a machine is out of action, manufacturers lose £12,042. This equates to £60,210 every year, with some of the larger companies losing over half a million per annum, suggests a recent report by Oneserve. Given current volatile market fluctuations and rising input costs squeezing already fragile margins, the reliable Cerberus can help to drive out these unplanned costs, increase output and maintain productivity.
Built from stainless steel, the Cerberus’ robustness delivers exceptional digital weighing performance as it doesn’t pick up vibrations from the outside environment. Even using a standard load cell, Sparc processors – which is where all the clever stuff happens – achieve reliable weight accuracy of ±0.025 grams. This is well within the e-mark rules, states Charlie, especially given that most food manufacturers work in grams not milligrams.
Manufacturers can rapidly achieve productivity gains and save thousands of pounds a week in product giveaway. “In some cases, our customers have reported a 55% reduction in product giveaway resulting in an extremely rapid payback,” highlights Charlie.
By optimising the processing electro servo drive, Sparc weight sensors reset rapidly, 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 degrees and 45 degrees to segregate metal contaminated products from weight rejects.
“As a high-end combination metal detector and checkweigher, the Cerberus was engineered to eliminate emergency product recalls with minimal operator intervention at inspection set up or product changeover,” adds Charlie.
Rather than slotting two systems together, the Cerberus provides complete mechanical and electronic integration with single point controls and trend feedback.
To ensure absolute traceability and compliance with retailer Codes of Practice and QA protocols, the Cerberus features a single swipe HMI touchscreen with easy to read live OEE data and paperless audit software. Food factories simply select and bring to the HMI foreground their preferred operational parameters.
Charlie adds: “By generating constant feedback on operational statistics such as volume, weight and speed, downtime is reduced. And, the data capture element is fully integrated, making it simple to send information direct to the server or wireless devices.”
Every standard (200 ppm) and special edition (up to 350 ppm) of the Cerberus can be pre-programmed with up to 500 different weight and product categories.
[i] https://www.oneserve.co.uk/whitepapers/infographic-staggering-cost-machine-downtime/
