Disposable wipes are made for many uses, from baby care to personal hygiene and medical purposes, to cleaning aids and more. The Arizton Advisory & Intelligence company reported that the U.S. wipes market size was valued at over $5 billion just a few years ago, and was expected to reach over $8 billion by 2027.
One probably wouldn’t think twice about pulling out a wipe and using it to wipe faces or countertops, but there are some dangers in those seemingly safe items and manufacturers are implementing technologies to help ensure safe products are reaching store shelves.
Some of these wipes are regulated by the government, depending on their use. For example, the US Food & Drug Administration notes on its website that most wipes used on the skin are regulated as cosmetics. The websites notes that “The law doesn’t require cosmetic products or ingredients, other than color additives, to have FDA approval before they go on the market. But cosmetics must be safe when people use them as directed on the label, or in the customary or usual way.” Wipes used for medical purposes, like those for treating rashes, must meet requirements for FDA approval for safety and effectiveness before they go on the market. Wipes intended to control germs on inanimate surfaces are regulated by the EPA. And wipes intended for cleansing objects are regulated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
In all these instances, the FDA notes that the products must be safe.
Safe, of course, can be interpreted in many ways. Does the lotion or medication embedded in the wipe contain the right ingredients or even the right amount of ingredients? Did the packages they were packed in become contaminated with bacteria or mold? These circumstances could cause allergic reactions or even more serious health issues.
But there’s another safety issue as well: physical contaminants. Did a piece of metal or plastic break off a machine and land onto the products on the conveyors, buried in the wipes before the package was shipped? Imagine opening a container of wipes and finding a broken screw in the container, or grabbing a few wipes and getting scratched by a sharp piece of metal.
Luckily there are technologies for inspection of products before they leave the plant: metal detection, X-ray inspection, and checkweighing. This article addresses technology that combines both metal detection and checkweighing.
Metal Detection and Checkweighing Technologies
Metal detectors are standard in the food industry to find small particles of ferrous, non-ferrous and stainless steel before packaged foods are shipped out the door. The same technology is also used in wipes manufacturing.
Modern industrial metal detector technology utilizes multi-coil designs. Transmitter coils located in the center of the housing emit high frequency radio signal ranges from 50 kHz to 1000 kHz, and the receiver coils reside on both sides of this transmitter coil. The signals between transmitter and receiver coil on either side are equal in strength, this is defined as a balanced system. When products or contaminants pass through the metal detector, the magnetic and/or conductive nature disturbs the signal on one side of the metal detector, causing the system to be out of balance. Depending on the signal strength, the metal detector will determine whether this is a product with metal contaminants, or simply the product itself. The output is used to detect metal and then the contaminated product will be rejected from the production line.
A checkweigher classifies, counts and rejects products that are off spec, which helps manufactures meet throughput and legal requirements while providing reliable weight control.
Safety is of the utmost concern, of course, but manufacturers still need to think about optimizing their operations, so when weight and inspection are both needed, and there is limited floor space, there are systems that combine both technologies.
Metal Detection Challenges
An additional challenge brought to manufacturers of wet wipes is the high moisture content of their product. Wet and conductive products can produce a response in the metal detector system that can be mistaken for, or mask, a contaminant response.
The ratio of the conductive and magnetic properties of a product is known as phase angle. Traditional metal detectors ignore a region around the phase angle of the product and consider the signals within this range to be the product signal. This process is known as “phasing out a product,” or “phasing” for short. However, if the product effect is significant, smaller contaminants may not be detected, creating the risk of a contaminant escape and a potential consumer safety issue.
Technology has advanced now where some of the leading industrial metal detectors have implemented technology that learns the sinusoidal conductive and magnetic product waveform and applies an additional sinusoidal wave with opposite phase to cancel out the product waveform. As a result, the product effect is significantly minimized, resulting in the metal detector’s ability to easily detect contaminants that are smaller in size. (Read more about signal processing software that enhances metal detector performance for conductive products.)
Summary
Implementing weighing and inspection technologies in wipes manufacturing helps ensure the safety of end customers by effectively detecting and removing metal contaminants that may pose health risks. In addition, inspection systems help manufacturers meet regulatory requirements and demonstrate their commitment to consumer protection. All of these factors help contribute to brand protection. A single incident of contamination can have severe consequences, including recalls, legal implications, and damage to consumer trust. Product inspection systems serve as a proactive measure to prevent such incidents.
In addition, with the integration of advanced technologies, product inspection systems not only enhance safety but also improve operational efficiency. The combination of metal detection and checkweighing in a single system maximizes profits by minimizing product giveaway and reducing waste.
Additional Resources
- Application Note: Enhanced metal detector performance for conductive products
- Online Resources: Applied technologies to improve weighing and inspection
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