Industrial Laser marking, Inkjet printing, and Camera vision inspection.

Epic Engineering, LLC has built a machine to use lasers and inkjet printers to mark or print on plastic containers. The marking and print are inspected by industrial vision cameras.

The laser marking is performed by two Keyence MD-U1020C wide area laser markers. The lasers are able to print on four boxes simultaneously, two boxes per laser. The laser marking time is about 4 seconds, depending on complexity of the image.

The Keyence laser markers use UV light to mark the plastic boxes. This method replaces the need for messy and expensive adhesive labels. The laser marked boxes are now 100% recyclable. Text and images are changed instantly by selecting different programs stored in the laser by the PLC via Ethernet/IP.

The laser light is contained by the laser enclosure. Products move in and out via automatic gates that open and close.

Inkjet printing is performed by a Keyence MK-U6000 inkjet printer. Text is printed on the top of plastic boxes. Text and images are changed instantly by selecting different programs stored in the inkjet by the PLC via Ethernet/IP or serial connection. The maximum product speed for inkjet is about 220 mm/sec. The inkjet head requires an encoder signal to track the box and accurately position the text on the box top.

Two separate Keyence inspection vision cameras were used depending on which product was being inspected, laser or inkjet. The Keyence CV-X322A controller was used with two Keyence CA-200M 2 megapixel cameras to inspect the marking and print.

The cameras are able to determine if the position of text is in the correct location and if it is at the correct angle. If needed, higher resolution cameras could check the characters of the printed text. Any failed box inspections get position tracked to the rejection zone and the failed box is pneumatically blown off the conveyor into a rejection bin.

This machine designed and built by Epic Engineering, LLC and is able to automatically adjust to different size boxes based on the initial bar code scan. Programs get downloaded to the laser and inkjet, aligning rails adjust to box width, inkjet heads adjust, and camera position adjusts based on box type automatically. Please see the video below showing the various described functions in operation.