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Since its inception in 1986, Xyntek has played a key role in helping its clients succeed in all aspects of the Pharmaceutical Life Sciences Industry from Drug Discovery and Research & Development to Pre-Clinical & Clinical Operations to Automated Manufacturing and Packaging / Supply Chain, including Regulatory and GXP Compliance. More recently, Xyntek's mission has been to fight against drug counterfeiting and product diversion. In order to accomplish this mission, Xyntek has been implementing Serialization, ePedigree and Track & Trace technology to help pharmaceutical companies reduce drug counterfeiting as well as adhere to FDA regulations.
As a systems engineer, the following are some of my tasks/duties that I perform on a daily basis to contribute towards achieving this bigger goal.
• Integrate machine vision cameras, robotic arms, PLCs, fiber optic sensors, pneumatic pistons, laser printers, etc onto existing Manufacturing Execution Systems that aid in the serialization process
• Provide image acquisition expertise (determining lenses, lighting, image acquisition, processing, and analysis) while implementing machine vision solutions (Optical character recognition, edge detection, pattern recognition) using Cognex and Antares Vision suite of products.
• Implement track and trace serialization and aggregation (GS1 standards) solutions for leading pharmaceutical companies to help trace each unit of drug packaged in real time
• Install SQL databases on DEV, QA and Production servers of clients to manage the data generated by each batch of drugs being packaged
• Thorough execution of integrated system testing, QA and Site Acceptance Testing to ensure high quality standards.
As a Lead Systems Engineer, I manage clients in the following regions and provide SME on technical activities like functional design specifications, design challenges and risk analysis, resolution of critical issues and ensure smooth delivery of project deliverables.
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Collaborative Robots
Problem Statement
To automatically pack bottles into a case to increase efficiency and throughput of a packaging line. This robotic operator can work alongside a human operator without the need for a big enclosure.
Approach
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We designed a highly compact solution with a Universal Robots collaborative robot UR5 mounted on top of a conveyor that picks up bottles as they line up on the conveyor and packs them into a case in a pre-defined pattern. A Cognex camera is also mounted on the side of the conveyor that reads and verifies if the barcode is correct or incorrect. If the barcode is correct, the bottles go into the case; otherwise if the barcode was on the wrong side, the bottle is rotated 180 degrees to make sure that if the barcode is present on the other end, then it is scanned again. If the barcode is incorrect, the robot puts the bottle in a reject station.
Collaborative Robot Specs:-
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Payload = 11 lbs / 5 kg
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Reach = 33.5 in / 850 mm
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Repeatability = ±0.1 mm / ±0.0039 in
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Degrees of freedom = 6
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