Crown Expands Use of Inspection Systems from AVT

Crown Expands Use of Inspection Systems from AVT

CROWN Imballaggi Italia recently installed a new AVT Titan 100% inspection solution at its Calerno, Italy manufacturing plant. The best-in-class quality assurance platform for metal decorating applications provides 100% inspection for enhanced process control, reduced waste and increased overall quality.

The installation represents further growth in the collaboration between Crown and AVT – a market leader in print inspection and quality control solutions – that now includes Titan installations at  various CROWN Packaging Europe production facilities. Cooperation between AVT and Crown began in 2014; the Titan systems’ ease of use and outstanding results led Crown to consider installations at additional plants across the Company.

Designed to meet the specific needs of metal printing and decoration, AVT's Titan is a state-of-the-art quality assurance and process control solution that provides 100% inspection and traceability of every printed metal sheet. Based on AVT’s advanced quality control algorithms, Titan detects the full spectrum of typical print defects, including colour variations, mis-registration (including varnish mis-registration), misprints, spots, text, streaks, scratches, splashes, scumming, edges, bends and more. 

All out-of-specification material is traced during the printing process and early warning of evolving defects enables operators to resolve problems before significant waste is created. Further, the system also has an output signal that the customer can use to eject the defect. In total, Titan’s unsurpassed inspection and process control leads to reduced waste and higher precision for all outgoing materials.

These capabilities are a perfect match for Crown’s objectives, as Mr. Ugo Manghi, MPC Manager of the Food Division and Project Manager, explains:

“AVT’s Titan was an essential complementary element to the installation of our KBA 6-colour printing press for metal packaging. The installation in the Calerno plant was among the most important for our company. Here, we produce two- and three-piece steel and aluminum cans and metal PeelSeem™ peelable ends for a variety of markets. Our customers are among the best-known brands in retail distribution. Quality is not a prerogative here, it is imperative.”

 

The Quality Imperative

“With the new high-speed KBA printing press operating 24 hours a day, manual inspection was no longer an option,” continues Mr. Manghi. “We quickly switched to AVT's Titan 100% inspection solution. In Calerno, we can now offer our customers a complete service throughout the metal packaging production process, which also pays dividends when pursuing new business opportunities. When it came to choosing a print inspection solution, there was not a doubt in our minds that AVT offers the best solution for our needs.”

Mr. Alessandro Silecchia, Process Engineer at CROWN Imballaggi Italia, comments: “AVT’s 100% inspection solution tremendously helps us in our standardization project, because it allows us to reduce the number of defects printed by revealing them to the operator as soon as they appear. The system reveals each individual problem immediately. This represents substantial savings for the company, as we don’t have to destroy entire sheets.”

He continues: “Moreover, we have dramatically increased production, Titan has become our electronic eye; it is far more accurate and faster than the human eye. We know we can fully rely on it so we are able to focus on other activities. The changeover was very smooth as well: Titan was remarkably easy to learn and master thanks to the excellent training we received from the AVT team.”

Adds Mr. Manghi: “Today, run lengths are becoming shorter and shorter, so to remain competitive we must handle changeovers as quickly as possible. The only way we can achieve this is by turning to easy-to-use systems allowing fast, reliable set-up. And AVT’s Titan perfectly matches these criteria. 100% detection and precise identification of print defects enable us to drastically improve drastically the printing quality and help us to meet deadlines and avoid delays. This pushes our quality and supply chain performances to achieve the best levels.”