In the food and beverage industry, ensuring total food safety and quality is non-negotiable. At the same time, the pressures to save labor and reduce operational costs have never been higher.
This is where ETI Automation steps in. We are helping food and beverage companies gain a crucial edge by deploying advanced automation technology.
Using the next-generation machine vision platform from our partner, Zebra Technologies, we can completely automate your traceability, visual inspection, and quality checks. Our solutions can trace, identify, and inspect every product, bottle, container, and package moving through your lines—all with machine precision and accuracy down to 10 microns.
This article will review how our expert team at ETI Automation leverages Zebra’s machine vision sensors—which combine fixed industrial scanning and machine vision into a single, simple platform—to help you start automating critical tasks in minutes.
The Power of Automated Traceability and Inspection
At the heart of our solutions are Zebra’s sophisticated imaging devices. Each sensor acts as both a fixed-position scanner and a high-resolution camera. This dual capability means it can instantly capture and analyze barcodes, direct part marks, and text (OCR), or perform complex visual inspections of target objects. It works seamlessly at high speeds, in tight spaces, at difficult angles, and even in poor lighting.
For food and beverage operations, ETI Automation engineers these systems to automate and error-proof a wide variety of tasks, including:
- Traceability: Automatically scanning and tracing all products and packages using 1D/2D barcodes.
- Code Verification: Checking dates, lot codes, and use-by dates using Optical Character Recognition (OCR).
- Sorting: Counting, routing, and sorting products on high-speed conveyor lines.
- Label Inspection: Inspecting labels for presence, correct position, content, orientation, and print quality.
- Package Integrity: Inspecting packages for proper sealing, defects, or non-conformity.
- Fill & Cap Inspection: Checking bottle caps, fill levels, cap height, skew, and safety sealing.
- Quality Control: Visually detecting and identifying foreign material in products or detecting scratches, cracks, bubbles, or wrapping issues.
- Kitting: Checking for the presence of all required items and inserts in kits and packages.
- Palletizing Prep: Identifying different product boxes and routing each type for correct robotic palletization.
Zebra sensors accomplish this using advanced built-in imaging, decoding algorithms, lighting, and liquid lenses. Each sensor can capture up to 16 different images of a single object, each with its own settings for filters, contrast, and edge detection. This allows for a sophisticated analysis that far surpasses human capabilities, all while processing items on high-speed conveyors.
As each scan is analyzed, the system communicates directly with your production line controllers (PLCs) to transmit the results. Products get an instant pass/fail, and our system can trigger exception alerts, flag problems, or route non-conformant items for removal before they move downstream.
The ETI & Zebra Advantage: Power and Simplicity
One of the biggest reasons ETI Automation partners with Zebra is because it is the only hardware platform offering both fixed industrial scanning and machine vision in one device, configured by one simple software application.
Zebra’s small, compact, and rugged devices fit virtually anywhere. All lighting and lensing are handled onboard the device, but for unique applications, ETI can easily integrate external lighting or C-mount lenses.
Once our technicians install the sensors, they can be powered via simple USB-C or Power over Ethernet (PoE), and can also transmit data over the same cable. Zebra’s devices support all standard industrial protocols, including TCP/IP, Ethernet/IP, and Profinet, for seamless integration into your existing network.
Software That Makes Automation Easy
The true power of the system is Zebra’s Aurora software. There is just one intuitive application for both scanning and vision. The user interface uses simple sliders and radio buttons to adjust every setting, and ETI’s engineers can configure most jobs in minutes using built-in tutorials, an “AutoTune” feature, and a “Golden Image Compare” tool.
This user-friendly platform allows our team to design, build, and deploy a custom vision system in your operation faster than ever before.
Partner with ETI Automation for Your Vision Solution
Don’t just buy a camera; invest in a complete, engineered solution. As a leading supplier of custom automation, the experts at ETI Automation don’t just sell products—we design, build, and deploy end-to-end machine vision systems that are tailored to your specific operational goals.
Contact our engineering team today to set up a consultation and learn how we can use the power of Zebra machine vision to enhance quality and traceability in your facility.
