Rule-based Machine Vision System on Clear Empty Glass Base Inspection of Foreign Materials for Philippine MSMEs

Abstract

Background/Objectives: The Philippine government through the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) helps the micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to support and sustain growth and address their needs on availing cost-effective solutions. Methods/Statistical analysis: Most of the MSMEs which apply clear bottles for their products use manual inspection. These are prone to human error that leads to poor product qualities and rejects. Findings: To address these problems, this study presents a cost-effective solution by a rule-based machine vision system for clear empty glass base inspection. A method on proper setup for the inspection is presented and validated through an in-line loop on a wedge conveyor machine prototype. A minimal setup time was achieved by experimenting different lighting techniques. Improvements/Applications: The use of back light illumination is suggested for good image processing quality with minimal cost. The implementation of a rule-based inspection in this setup results to a high speed of 9000-18000 bottles per hour (bph) with consistent repeatability and superior accuracy.