Seal-Scan™ Non-Destructive Inspection Technology for Retort Pouches Tony Stauffer Packaging Technologies & Inspec

1. Seal-Scan™ Non-Destructive Inspection Technology for Retort Pouches Tony Stauffer Packaging Technologies & Inspection Tuckahoe, New York PTI Inspection Systems: www.ptiusa.com 800.532.1501 Pti@ptiusa.com

2. Seal-Scan™ Only Seal Inspection system that is: • Non-destructive • Non-invasive • Non-contact

3. Applications of Seal-Scan™ Ultrasound Inspection • Analyzes seal quality of pouches and flexible packages • Characterizes bonded materials • Works with all materials: film, alu, paper, or composite • Process control • Quality control • Research and development

4. Seal-Scan™ • Produces a single linear scan in less than 1 second • Digital pouch seal image in less than one minute • Images and characterizes bonded materials • Helps in process optimization

5. Seal-Scan™ Principle of Through Transmission Ultrasonic Signal SEAL Transmitter Receiver

6. Ultrasonic Signal • Ultrasonic waves propagate through single or multiple layers of well bonded materials. • Transition through different mediums causes reflection of sound waves and reduces/eliminates signal strength.

7. Seal-Scan™ Technology

8. Seal-Scan™ Signal Scale Opto Acoustic Image • The colored gauge represents the scan signal measurement. • Pink is low signal, green is normal signal (good seal), purple is high signal. • Total 6000 grades of color are used.

9. Scanning Modes • L-Scan produces a graph of the signal and summary data. • C-Scan produces an ‘Opto-Acoustic’ image • and summary data

10. Pass – Fail Criteria and Data Integrity Pass – Fail limits are set for the average, minimum, maximum, and standard deviation of the signal measurements, All results are recorded using the system’s data log.

11. Seal-Scan™ 525 Offline Analytical Equipment

12. 135 mm 128 mm 3.5 mm 6 mm 10 mm C-Scan Analytical Tools C-Scan window statistics Modified L-Scan

13. 135 mm 16 mm 3.5 mm 6 mm 10 mm C-Scan Analytical Tools C-Scan statistics of moving window

14. Optimizing the Sealing Process Seal-Scan™ serves as an analytical tool to determine optimal sealing conditions; e.g. temperature, dwell time, etc. Variation decreases with increasing temperature. Optimal Sealing Temperature

15. Material Analysis HDPE exhibits better sealing uniformity and quality at higher temperatures. TYVEK®exhibited weaker bonding at higher temperatures. 105 C HDPE 105 C HDPE 105 C HDPE 105 C HDPE 105 C HDPE 128 C HDPE 128 C HDPE 128 C HDPE 128 C HDPE 128 C HDPE 108 C TYVEK 108 C TYVEK 108 C TYVEK 108 C TYVEK 108 C TYVEK 134 C TYVEK 134 C TYVEK 134 C TYVEK 134 C TYVEK 134 C TYVEK

16. Seal-Scan™ and Peel Strength Testing Background • Pouches with peelable seals were tested. • Peel strength test was performed on specific area of seal sample, approximately one-inch. • Seal-Scan™ C-Scan mode analysis of entire length of seal was performed. • Results confirm direct correlation of both methods.

17. Seal-Scan™ and Peel Strength Testing The Standard Deviation of the ultrasound signal correlates to the peel strength of a peelable seal. Seals with more variation in the quality of a sealed area will be easier to peel than a seal area that is uniform. If a seal has strong points of bonding but exhibits high variation, the peel strength of the seal will be less.

18. Avg Avg Min Min StD Max StD 33.1 8.2 27.7 7.0 41.2 0.7 1.9 Good Seal Profile(Film-Pouch) C-Scan Seal Quality Histogram Seal width profile Seal Width Data, mm L-Scan L-Scan Statistics, % Signal Value Test results to be compared against Pass-Fail reference values.

19. Avg Avg Min Min StD Max StD 9.4 1.7 -80.5 3.5 1.0 10.0 8.0 Defective Seal Profile (Alu-Pouch Channel Leak) C-Scan Seal Quality Histogram Seal width profile Seal Width Data, mm L-Scan L-Scan Statistics, % Signal Value Low average and minimum, with high standard deviation.

20. Case Study Heinz Douarnenex, Fr Defect Profile - 30,000 pouches were visually inspected 100%

21. Case Study Heinz Douarnenex, FrTypical Defects Leak Critical Corner Channel Critical Critical (may vary) Wrinkle Minor Inclusion Critical

22. Case Study Heinz Douarnenex, FrTypical Defects Air Bubbles Critical Critical Minor Waves Critical

23. PTI-550 Online Pouch Inspection • Pouches go onto Seal-Scan from pouch machine at 60-70/Minute

24. PTI-550 Online Pouch Inspection • 1. Pouches are dropped into a special conveyor • 2. Pass through PTI Seal-Scan Ultrasonic-head • 3. Accepted or rejected

25. PTI-550 Online Pouch Inspection Pouch Seal is guided through the Seal-Scan™ Head

26. PTI-550 Online Pouch Inspection • Seal-Scan Head with Operator interface

27. PTI-550 Online Pouch Inspection

28. Packaging Technologies & Inspection Seal-Scan™ 525 Defect Gallery

29. Channel • Description • An area of non-bonding across the seal that will generally leak • Cause • Sealing bar settings were not correctly set (temperature, pressure and/or • dwell time.) • Contaminants may be present during seal formation.

30. Compressed Seal • Description • Any separation of laminates in seal area. Material bond strength is • questionable in defect area. Visual evidence of overheating such as • bubbles. • Cause • Sealing bars were too hot during seal formation. • Material bond strength is inadequate.

31. Contamination • Description • Foreign material is trapped in seal. Retort pouches will have noticeable • raised areas in seal where sealing bar sealed over contamination. • Cause • Seal area was contaminated during filling stage.

32. Crooked Seal • Description • A seal that is not parallel to the cut edge of the pouch • Cause • Pouch was misaligned in the sealing jaws.

33. Cut • Description • A breach of all layers of the laminate, where the hermetic integrity of the • package was compromised. • Cause • Equipment damage or “scrap” between laminate plies during formation. • Pouch contacted sharp edges of other pouches or equipment. • Pouches were abused during online or post-process handling.

34. Delamination • Description • Separation of laminated materials – can occur before or after retort • process. Delaminations ultimately affect seal strength through life • cycle/distribution process. • Cause • If occurring at the seal, bars were too hot during seal formation. • If during retort process, residual air in the pouch was not controlled to • eliminate pouch expansion during retorting.

35. Incomplete Seal • Description • Seal area does not extend completely across the width of pouch. • Cause • Pouch was not positioned correctly in sealer and sealing bar.

36. Narrow Seal • Description • Container seal area has no margin of safety to accommodate seal creep • or wrinkles. • Cause • Defective sealing bars reduced seal width. • Defects that cross seal, seal creep or mechanical separation reduce seal • width.

37. Non-Bonding Seal • Description • Sealing films fail to weld during sealing process. Defect appears as faint • sealing bar impression on retort seals. Application of slight pressure to • seal will cause failure. • Cause • Seal area was contaminated. • Sealing bar settings were not correct (pressure/temperature/dwell time).

38. Wrinkle • Description • Material fold on one seal surface, caused when one seal surface is longer • than the other. Can also be a severe fold over both seal surfaces at • sealing time. • Cause • Sealing surfaces were not flat and parallel or were not tensioned. • Various other irregularities in sealing bar or surfaces.

39. Pouch Inspection Economics • One technology useable for all materials • Non-Destructive, Non-Invasive • No sample preparation, • No special Inks, no added variable costs • Replaces costly, low efficiency manual Inspection • Reduces/eliminates Incubation • Saves product & packages • Long term quality tracking • Integrates into most pouch sealing machines • Real Time Process Control - allows immediate corrective action • Increases line efficiency • Good return on investment • You sleep better at night

40. Thank You