Abstract: This application relates to an apparatus and method for automated inspection of formed metal containers. More specifically, it pertains to the use of machine vision systems to identify and correlate manufacturing defects occurring in formed food and beverage containers to specific manufacturing paths or sources of origin (eg., body makers) used in the container forming process. The disclosed invention is enabled by the placement of a machine-readable code on specific portions of the can body during the forming process and the use of illumination exposure techniques.

Abstract: The invention provides for a graphical user interface which provides for very simple and intuitive ways of changing single or multiple inspection parameters. The graphical display immediately shows what the monitoring or inspection result would have been if the effected change had been in place during the inspection of the last “N” parts. This retrospective graphical “look-back” invokes immediate re-inspection facilitating an estimation of what the future inspection or process monitoring results will be if future production looks similar to the recent past production. The re-inspection results are immediately shown with a combination of visualization for ease of understanding and settings optimization. The visualization also shows selected other associated data to each specific inspection for ease of tracking and optimizing production processes.

Abstract: This application relates to an apparatus and method for automated inspection of formed metal containers. More specifically, it pertains to the use of machine vision systems to identify and correlate manufacturing defects occurring in formed food and beverage containers to specific manufacturing paths or sources of origin (e.g., body makers) used in the container forming process. The disclosed invention is enabled by the placement of a machine-readable code on specific portions of the can body during the forming process and the use of machine vision reading techniques.