Montrose offers an innovative method for measuring the color of the bottom surface of moving products. The Bottom Color Imaging System (BCIS) mounts on the infeed of a standard CS24 In-Line Inspection System and provide measurements such as:

• average bottom color (overall average or average color without light/dark regions)
• surface area of light colored regions (e.g., flour on heels for buns)
• surface area of dark colored regions (e.g., burnt debris)

Bottom color information from the BCIS can be used to reject individual objects in the same manner as all other measurements. All data is stored and can be shown on the operator displays and/or used in standard reports.

Where plant-floor conditions required a NEMA4X rating, Montrose can provide system enclosures that meet this washdown rating.

Any measurements can be automatically sent to a compatible PLC in either an analog (two wire 4-20mA) or digital format (OPC-Server/Ethernet). This is often used to send critical process data to PLCs in order to automate a portion of the manufacturing process (e.g., automatic oven control based on color data). This option can also be used to send data automatically to existing PLC-based data collection systems.

All systems are provided with one touchscreen user interface. If a second user interface is required at a different location, Montrose can provide an additional touchscreen within 150 cable feet of the system's electronics enclosure.

Montrose is committed to providing our customers with the best solutions available and can customize any of our wide range of systems to address specific needs. Custom options range from simple conveyor modifications (e.g., height, speed, belt type, etc.) to entire 'turn-key' intelligent material handling solutions that include special conveyors, advanced flow management mechanisms and robotic pickers. Our software is continually evolving with the addition of new features, however, if your application requires a specific measurement that does not exist in the current environment we can easily create it as we have done for numerous other customers in the past.

A wide variety of alarms are available with every system. These alarms are customizable and inform operators of abnormal conditions (e.g., out-of-spec, high rejection rates, trends away from target). All of these alarms are shown to the operators on the system touchscreen, but can also be connected to an external strobe light or horn to ensure that operators are made aware and respond immediately to these conditions.