Vision technology for better coins

For over 20 years, Proditec, the specialist in Visual Inspection machines, has helped improve overall production quality levels in the Minting industry.
Coin production requires an extremely high level of quality to insure an acceptable final product for the public and optimum efficiency levels in automated mass production environments. Since human capabilities and mechanical sorting can no longer meet the task of detecting tiny surface or shape defects, artificial intelligence like Automated Vision Inspection has progressively become the standard technology in the industry.

Today, well over half the coin blanks produced in the world each year are checked and sorted by more than 150 VISIA machines at more than 30 sites worldwide. Both dimensional and surface coin blank conditions are critical to the blanking process. Reaching high precision inspection at high speed has become the standard industry requirement. Because Proditec is constantly addressing new industry needs, it has recently released the Visia compact system, dedicated to smaller production inspection needs at a reduced cost.

Proditec has also become the leading supplier of laboratory Automatic Measuring systems. The introduction of the Euro Coins in 2000, required that all 14 European Mints, receiving blanks from nearly 20 different suppliers, produced coins with identical physical characteristics for dimensional, weight and electromagnetic properties. The Visilab machine is now used at over 15 mints to measure such essential characteristics of both incoming blanks and minted coins.

In 2007, Proditec introduced the Visicoin 100 system to address what is considered the most challenging task in automatic inspection : finished coins high speed inspection. Using the latest technologies available, Visicoin 100 can sort coins for minting defcts at rate faster than present-day minting presses, making it the ultimate system to ensure 100% quality of finished products. Used immediately after striking or just before packing, the Visicoin system can meet even the most challenging quality control requirements.

In 2009, Proditec extended the capability of its Visicoin system to cover the inspection of circulation coins to remove unfit coins from circulation.

From blanking to coining and circulated coins inspection, from 100% quality control on the shop floor to automated laboratory quality measurements, Proditec covers all the industry’s quality control requirements.