Nutra Relies on Optyx®/SG Automated Inspection System from Symetix

When Nutra Manufacturing, the manufacturing arm of GNC, the largest specialty retailer of nutritional supplements in the world, began working with Symetix, they were looking for the latest technologies to produce the highest quality supplements. At the time, Symetix, the pharmaceutical business unit of Key Technology, was establishing the concept of a Continuous Softgel Finishing Line and developing Optyx®/SG, the first optical inspection system designed for bulk softgels.

“Automated vision inspection has been the holy grail of the softgel industry. Softgel manufacturers have always had to rely on labor-intensive, manual inspection, until now,” said Don Deegan, Senior Director of Softgel Operations at Nutra.

In January 2006, Nutra installed Symetix’s Optyx/SG, which automatically inspects softgels at high production speeds and removes defects and foreign capsules from the product stream to achieve 100 percent in-line inspection. To assure each softgel conforms to specifications, Optyx/SG verifies product color, size and shape, and detects and removes the smallest defects, including air bubbles, stained capsules and misshapen product. Optyx/SG can inspect as many as 900,000 softgel capsules per hour.

“We were motivated by two things – the drive to deliver a consistent product and the drive to eliminate costs from the operation,” said Deegan. “When we installed Optyx/SG, we increased our postencapsulation capacity by 30 to 40 percent without increasing our labor. Optyx/SG does the work of six to ten people, and it eliminates subjectivity from the inspection process. We’re able to reject 100 percent of the defects and essentially eliminate the potential for foreign-product contamination.”

As product passes through Optyx/SG, it is launched off the end of a belt for in-air viewing by highresolution color cameras. The system quickly analyzes the images, comparing each object to defined accept/reject standards. When a defective product or a foreign capsule is identified, the system activates air jets spaced 6 millimeters apart that span the width of the system. While the defective object is still airborne,

these air jets pinpoint the object and push it out of the product stream.

“Nutra produces over 500 different softgels. That’s 500 unique definitions of quality, 500 different sets of inspection criteria. With Optyx/SG, it takes less than 5 minutes to clean the equipment and then about 10 seconds to change programs to handle the next product. It’s very easy to use,” noted Deegan. “From size 3 ovals up to size 24 oblongs, the change takes less than 5 minutes.”

While Nutra relies on Optyx/SG to maximize product quality and minimize operating costs, broad sweeping changes – Symetix’s concept of a Continuous Softgel Finishing Line – are being ushered in thanks to this type of automation. “Part of our decision to purchase Optyx/SG is our company-wide initiative to eliminate batch manufacturing processes in favor of integrated/automated processes,” said Michael Locke, Senior Vice President of Operations at Nutra. “The food industry has proven the value of continuous processing, and now we’re leading the softgel industry toward this paradigm shift.”

At Nutra, Optyx/SG is installed on an integrated line that sizes, polishes, inspects and bulk-packages product. Although polishing is still a batch process, Nutra has engineered a system that enables continuous flow using integrated accumulators upstream and downstream of the batch system. The resulting continuous bulk process feeds the bulk-to-bulk Optyx/SG. Of course, softgel manufacturers with batch processes also benefit from batch-feeding Optyx/SG now and they can later integrate the technology with a continuous processing line.

In addition to Nutra’s goal of a fully integrated/automated manufacturing line, is the vision of process control. “While Optyx/SG is a boon for us in cycle time and cost reductions, the true goal is the elimination of defects during manufacturing so we don’t need to inspect out the defects,” noted Deegan. “We are in the early phases of tabulating and categorizing our defects for the purpose of process control. With Optyx/SG, the capabilities for process improvement feedback are there.”

Softgel manufacturers interested in seeing Optyx/SG or the Continuous Softgel Finishing Line are invited to contact Symetix to schedule a demo or Nutra plant visit.