The functioning of an x-ray system
and its decisive advantage


Use of X-ray inspection systems in the food industry

Product inspection has become an indispensable element of responsible food production, an inherent part of any HACCP concept, and an absolute prerequisite of successful IFS certification. Any contamination of food with impurities of any kind may have most serious consequences for a company because according to the product liability law every food producer is liable for contaminations of his products in case a consumer gets harmed by such contaminations. Systems for contaminant inspection are used to prevent such problems. Metal detectors are most useful for the detection of magnetic and non-magnetic metals, but they reach their limits for example in the inspection of aluminium-coated packing materials. Contaminations with glass, ceramics, stones, and similar materials also constitute a serious problem.

 

How does an X-ray system work?

The X-rays for „radiographing“ are generated by an electric X-ray tube. A line-shaped detector that measures the arriving radiation is positioned above the conveyor belt (see picture). X-rays have a very high energy and are thus able to penetrate solid bodies.

Depending on the density of the inspected object the X-rays are attenuated to a higher (high density) or lower (low density) degree when passing through the product. The detector converts the remaining radiation into an electrical signal, differentiating the density of the inspected object in an image. The higher the density of a material, the darker its representation on the X-ray image, and vice versa. The image processing software detects the contrast differences in the image, highlights the contaminants or the missing products, and outputs a corresponding signal.

 

Every food producer or processor is obliged to deliver only „safe“ products to the market.

This is required by international and national laws. Guidelines support manufacturers in implementing these demands.


The X-ray inspection system RAYCON

Our systems meet all requirements of the common food standards, which means you obtain the necessary certifications with ease and you no longer have any delivery restrictions. Since the food industry never sleeps, more and more retailers only accept goods that have been inspected by an X-ray system.

RAYCON is a highly efficient X-ray system which detects any contaminations that absorb X-ray radiation better than the surrounding product due to their density, chemical composition or mechanical dimensions – in short: foreign bodies that are more dense than the actual product.

RAYCON being tested


Contaminants

RAYCON specializes in small and medium-sized packaged products. RAYCON‘s performance was tested for the detection of glass, stainless steel, ceramics, Teflon and bone parts using test cards in various products.


Technology

With product inspection system RAYCON, any contaminations that absorb X-ray radiation better or worse than the surrounding product due to their density, chemical composition or mechanical dimensions can be detected. A detection power of 50 kV was used for the tests with RAYCON. For small packaged products, the system achieves an inspection performance of 150 - 200 pieces per minute.


Results

RAYCON detects stainless steel, glass, ceramics and Teflon included in the test cards with 100 % detection accuracy. Even bone parts can be reliably detected in flat products.