Mechanical integration
Provide stable product guides, mounts, lighting enclosures, conveyor changes and access suited to cleaning and maintenance.
Fill-level inspection ›
Existing-line integration
Retrofit Fill Level Inspection Systems UK
Add vision, X-ray, sensor or weight-based fill control to an existing production line, with the mechanics, controls and rejection required for dependable operation.
Direct answer
Can fill-level inspection be added to an existing line?
Often, yes. A retrofit can be built as a compact sensor station on the existing conveyor or as a standalone conveyor module with its own inspection, controls and reject equipment.
A site and sample assessment confirms available space, product presentation, line speed, electrical interfaces, guarding, reject distance and how the new station will behave during faults and changeovers.
Complete retrofit scope
Integrate the decision—not just the camera.
The inspection must know when a pack is present, apply the right recipe, keep the result with the correct product and remove failures safely without disrupting good production.
Controls and tracking
Coordinate triggers, encoders, recipes, ready/fault states, reject timing, line stops and interfaces with existing equipment.
Safety and rejection
Engineer guarding, interlocks, reject devices, confirmation sensors, collection and fault responses around the risk assessment.
Survey information
Start with the line as it really operates.
Photographs help, but a useful assessment also captures motion, variation, access and the conditions that make the current process difficult to inspect.
- Product and pack range, including good, failed and borderline samples
- Line video, maximum speed, pitch, conveyor width, height and direction
- Available footprint before and after the proposed inspection point
- Existing PLC, electrical supply, network, recipe and changeover interfaces
- Cleaning regime, environmental rating, materials and access constraints
- Reject method, bin capacity, confirmation, fault action and restart procedure
From survey to production
Plan installation around risk and downtime.
Retrofit work is sequenced so that feasibility and interfaces are understood before the production shutdown or final line modification.
Assess and prove
Define the defect, test representative samples and survey the available line space and controls.
Design and build
Engineer the cell, drawings, software, recipes, tracking, guarding, reject and operator interface.
Install and accept
Coordinate the shutdown, commission at production speed, test failures, train users and complete agreed documentation.
Practical answers
Questions about retrofit projects.
Final layout and performance depend on the existing conveyor, pack stability, required defect and available production window.
Ask an engineerHow much conveyor space is required?
It depends on the sensing view, pack stabilisation, guarding, tracking distance, reject mechanism and collection arrangement. A compact check may fit around an existing conveyor; higher-risk applications may need a dedicated module.
Can the new inspection use the existing PLC?
Often it can exchange ready, fault, recipe and result signals with the line PLC. Signal ownership, timing, network compatibility and change-control responsibilities are agreed during design.
Can the station inspect several products?
Yes where the mechanical and sensing envelope covers those formats. Validated recipes store the correct limits and inspection regions, with changeover control designed to reduce wrong-recipe risk.
Can installation be completed during a planned shutdown?
That is normally the objective. Off-line build and testing reduce site work, while the final programme allows for installation, electrical connection, guarding checks, commissioning, challenge testing and operator training.
Talk to Oxford Vision Systems