The X Factor

There’s never a dull moment at Fortress Technology Inc., Toronto-based manufacturer of metal-detection and related product-inspection technologies whose technological know-how and knack for innovation have enabled the company to rise into the upper echelons of the global market for product inspection and food-safety technologies over the last 28 years.

But even by its own high standards for world-class product development and engineering, the company’s new foray into the X-ray product-inspection market segment is a bold statement of intent about its high long-term ambitions to boost its global market clout and presence to new heights.

Introduced to the market last year, the new Icon is a highly accurate, fully integrated X-ray system specifically designed for high care food production environments.

Engineered for precise detection and rejection of for contaminant materials such as metal, ceramic, glass and high-density plastics, the Icon system features an on-board automatic reject device—enabling instant removal of suspected contaminated packs off the line—integrated into the body of the system to maximize production floor space.

According to Fortress, the new Icon has been designed, engineered and constructed to stringent food-grade engineering standards, while offering comprehensive auditing and traceability statistics to complement good manufacturing practices and enable users to maintain good food traceability, quality and safety performance.

As the company’s founder and chief executive officer Steve Gidman explains, “The Icon X-ray is the result of decades of design and innovation that has been refined to meet the needs of today’s market and customers with Fortress’ core principles designed into the system: simple operation, long-term reliability and high performance.”

As such, the Icon comes equipped with proper shielding, prioritizing safety and eliminating costs associated with post-purchase modifications to offer customers a comprehensive solution from the outset.

Employing cutting-edge AI+ detection technology to significantly enhance X-ray detection and inspection of challenging products by neutralizing the effect of high product contrast variation on detection efficiency, the Icon ensures exceptional performance across various applications.

Its hygienic design supports sanitation processes with easy-to-clean, sloped surfaces to promote water runoff and speed up drying time.

It utilizes a maintenance-free generator alongside easily disassembled components, which further enhances cleaning processes and makes servicing the system easy.

The end result if highly accurate contaminant detection, efficient rejection of contaminated products, and enhanced traceability—significantly contributing to overall food safety and quality control.

Says Gidman: “With over a hundred installations of our previous X-ray system, we felt it was time for a new platform to be the base of the next generation of machines.

“The Icon X-ray brings an exceptional level of processing power that allows for the use of more complex detection algorithms,” Gidman states, “and will be the basis for even more machine learning features as it continues to be developed.

“The new platform has also been built as a sort of a ‘Swiss army knife’ of product inspection, allowing the combination of any or all of four technologies to exist within the same enclosure, including X-ray, metal detection, checkweighing and vision inspection,” Gidman adds.

“This is truly a game changer in terms of space saving and data integration,” Gidman asserts.

The Icon X-ray detection system’s key features and attributes include:

• Internal view status camera, providing operators with a view of products as they traverse the conveyor, facilitating precise monitoring and ensuring smooth operation.
• Networking options, with Contact 4.0 software provided standard on the system for turnkey data logging and reporting across multiple networked Fortress inspection machines.

Optional OPC UA or Ethernet-IP adapters are also available to collect statistical data and the status of each machine or control their operation.

• Optional transparent access panels. Transparent doors can be fitted onto the system to provide operators with the ability to view the products being inspected firsthand—identifying potential bottlenecks before they become a problem.
• Ease of use. The simple HMI panel ensures user-friendly operation and enhances process efficiencies, with the industrial capacitive touchscreen display featuring 10-point touch and remote connectivity.
• Never Obsolete guarantee. As with all Fortress systems, the Icon is designed to ensure our customers stay updated with the latest advancements in food safety without the need to for a new system.

The system is modular and backward compatible, enabling quick and cost-effective upgrades in inspection systems built over 25 years ago.