Agr International has unveiled their latest development, the Gawis4Glass™.  This all-in-one dimensional measurement system is designed specifically to improve the efficiency and testing throughput of the glass containers quality control laboratory.  The Gawis4Glass automates a number of critical bottle measurements into a single operation and performs a complete dimensional analysis in a matter of seconds. This totally new laboratory test system provides an unmatched level of measurement capabilities to support the design, process and quality management of glass containers.

Continuing the legacy

Agr International has a long history of providing high-precision dimensional gauging and measurement systems to the glass container industry.  Agr’s Dimensional Sampling Gauge and OmniLab products are well known within the industry for their high precision and automated measurement capabilities.  These systems are relied upon by a number of bottle manufacturers and amply fill the need for at-the-line or near-the line sampling and measurement.   However, in addition to at-the-line testing and measurement, there is still a need for similar capabilities in the laboratory, yet in a format that is more compatible with the size and style of laboratory operations. The Gawis4Glass was designed specifically to fit this need.  With a footprint of 1 square meter, the Gawis4Glass can fit in laboratories with very limited space. The size of this system however, does not diminish its precision and the measurement capabilities.

The Gawis4Glass directly addresses the unique challenges that the dimensional measurement of bottles presents to laboratory personnel.  This system incorporates features and functions specifically oriented to simplify this time-consuming task, while providing highly repeatable and accurate measurement results.  To achieve this, the Gawis4Glass utilizes the latest optical gauging technology, in combination with automation and advanced, intuitive operational software, to simplify container measurement operations while maximizing testing throughput. As a result, this system can provide broad measurement capabilities on a wide range of glass containers with unmatched accuracy, repeatability and operational throughput.

Built upon a completely new measurement platform, this system incorporates a number of advanced features and capabilities including:

• Precise finish gauging and body measurement capabilities utilizing high resolution, USB 3 camera technology, optimized lensing and telecentric optics with 360º imaging
• Performance to exceed all relevant international standards
• Powerful yet simple job creation and editing tools incorporating Agr’s patent-pending AutoJob™ – automated job setup
• Large, customizable and intuitive user interface, with swipe and zoom capabilities
• Industry 4.0 communication protocols

 Advanced Vision Technology for Precise Dimensional Gauging

A major design emphasis for the Gawis4Glass was to provide measurements with a level of precision and repeatability that not only can document dimensions of production containers but can also be used to qualify and manage molds.  The vision measurement technology incorporated in the Gawis4Glass utilizes high pixel density camera components in combination with enhanced telecentric optics and lighting.  Cameras are fixed with zero movement, eliminating any potential errors from vibrations or camera movement. Telecentric optics ensure that every measurement is accurate and repeatable regardless of container size, shape or distance from the camera.  This combination provides a very crisp edge shadow, making it possible to achieve the highest dimensional precision and repeatability, as well as a very low percent of process variation for individual measurements.

Further, images are captured at one-degree intervals and the entire bottle is scanned, achieving  100% full-bottle capture in order to facilitate the most efficient dimensional processing.  Once a sample is placed, a rotary lift table provides 360° of rotation, allowing measurement at any position around the sample. Precise vertical and rotary positioning guarantees that measurements are performed consistently every time, on every sample – preventing human error, unnecessary adjustments and incorrect data.

Ease of job setup

One of the biggest challenges with measurement systems of this type is the preparation and programming of the device to perform the desired measurements.  The Gawis4Glass offers a range of tools that are available to simplify this process and minimize the time required to edit jobs. Operators can use AutoJob™ to automatically identify finish measurements, build a job from individually selectable measurement routines or choose from a library of industry standard or customized templates that include a collection of measurements and their associated limits. Gawis4Glass also enables an operator to select a single measurement or combination of measurements for a particular job.  All job setup methods are straight forward and intuitive, yet provide the versatility to enable an operator to customize tests for the application.

AutoJob  – job setup in less than 20 seconds

AutoJob™, is a patent-pending feature on the Gawis4Glass that is designed to simplify job setup by providing automated recognition of key finish measurements.  With this feature, the operator simply selects the AutoJob mode and the work of locating and identifying finish features is performed automatically.  The Gawis4Glass scans the sample, identifies the standard finish measurements for that sample and incorporates them into the job within a matter of seconds.  The operator can adjust the selection, add control limits and incorporate additional measurements as necessary. AutoJob can be used to create a new job or identify an existing job template through Template Matching, that most closely matches the container. Template matching, another feature associated with AutoJob, provides the closest match of a scanned bottle finish to the job templates in the template library.  In all, the AutoJob feature greatly accelerates job creation, saving hundreds of labor hours through the course of a year.

Industry 4.0 communication

Industry 4.0 standard communication protocols have also been incorporated into the Gawis4Glass to improve communications and support Industry 4.0 objectives.  This capability facilitates advanced communication with other devices, to share data, support remote job change and interface with factory robotic handling systems without operator intervention.