Inspection Machines

Antares Vision Group’s inspection machines are dedicated pharmaceutical inspection solutions ranging from laboratory equipment and semi-automatic systems to fully automatic production-line machines. They combine automated visual inspection, leak detection/CCIT, AI-enabled inspection capabilities and, where required, primary packaging serialization to help manufacturers verify product quality, container integrity, patient safety and regulatory compliance. They are particularly relevant for parenteral products and containers such as vials, ampoules, cartridges, prefilled syringes, bottles, BFS bottles and BFS cards, as well as selected solid-dose inspection needs.

Inspection machines are typically dedicated or standalone machines positioned at the end of the pharmaceutical manufacturing process or just before the product enters secondary packaging. Their focus is product and container quality: particles, cosmetic defects, fill-related issues, leak detection, container closure integrity and other critical quality attributes. Inspection systems or vision systems are more often integrated into packaging machines and packaging lines to control codes, printed data, packaging components, product presence and packaging quality during the packaging process.

Antares Vision Group inspection machines can be configured for vials, ampoules, cartridges, prefilled syringes, bottles, BFS bottles and BFS cards. Depending on the product, container and process requirements, the inspection approach can be automatic, semi-automatic or laboratory-scale.

Automatic inspection machines are designed for high-volume production and run inline or near-line with limited operator intervention. Semi-automatic machines are suitable for smaller batches, medium-volume production, reinspection or applications that require some manual handling. Laboratory equipment is used for feasibility studies, R&D, method development, small-batch evaluation and early-stage quality control before moving to production-scale inspection.

Inspection machines are generally positioned after key manufacturing steps such as filling, closing, capping or lyophilization, and before downstream packaging operations. In this position, they help verify that the product and container meet defined quality criteria before the unit moves into secondary packaging, serialization, aggregation or distribution workflows.

Antares Vision Group combines automated visual inspection, particle and cosmetic inspection, leak detection/CCIT technologies, AI-enabled inspection support and primary packaging serialization within a cross-technology inspection approach. The portfolio builds on Antares Vision Group and Convel Tech expertise to select the most suitable technology or combination of technologies for each product, container and production need.

Leak detection and Container Closure Integrity Testing, or CCIT, are used when visual inspection alone is not sufficient to assess whether a container closure system maintains the required barrier. Depending on the container and product, inspection machines may combine visual inspection with technologies such as high-voltage leak detection, headspace gas analysis, vacuum decay or other leak detection methods. This supports a more complete view of both visible product/container defects and container integrity.

Yes. The machines are designed for regulated pharmaceutical environments and can support controlled inspection conditions, documented reject decisions, auditability, qualification and validation activities. As with any GxP equipment, the final validation strategy, acceptance criteria and routine inspection process must be defined by the pharmaceutical manufacturer according to the product, process and applicable regulatory requirements.

Yes. For applications that require primary packaging serialization, inspection machines can integrate printing and verification of batch or serialization data directly on the primary container, such as flip-off caps or aluminium seals. The machine can associate the primary container identifier with inspection outcomes, creating traceable unit-level data that can be connected with wider serialization, track and trace or production data flows.

The portfolio is designed to cover small, medium and large formats, scaling from laboratory feasibility testing and semi-automatic inspection to fully automatic high-volume production lines. The correct configuration depends on the container type, product characteristics, defect families to be inspected, line speed, required handling method and whether visual inspection, leak detection, CCIT and serialization need to be combined.

The Inspection Machines product unit operates from production sites in Parma and Vicenza, Italy, with dedicated offices, warehouses, production and FAT areas, specific R&D expertise, QA personnel and laboratory capabilities for feasibility testing.