Guide

Practical Tips for Metal Detection Selection

Guide

Guidance on choosing the right metal detection system for your application

This guide, Practical Tips For Metal Detection Selection, aims to eliminate the widespread confusion and misinformation surrounding metal detection technology. It provides guidance to questions you should be asking when choosing a new metal detection system, to achieve the best detection accuracy for your application.  

This guide explores how to move beyond simply detecting and rejecting metal, to support productivity, compliance and brand protection aims. It focuses on the following to help you build up your knowledge and make the right choice: 

  • Understand how metal detectors work
  • Options for inspecting products at different Critical Control Points (CCPs)
  • Spherical sensitivity and non-spherical metal contaminants
  • Frequency options for effective use in dry and wet applications
  • Overcoming product effect to avoid false rejects and costly product waste 
  • Discover additional factors that can impact performance 

The guide includes a checklist to use when comparing solutions from different suppliers.

Food and non-food manufacturers have to be able to meet the requirements of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) and the broader needs of industry regulations and standards, without the worry of generating costly false rejects and unnecessary product waste. And perhaps more importantly, avoiding product recalls. 

When used as part of a company-wide approach to product safety, a metal detection system is an essential piece of equipment to protect consumers and your brand reputation. The development of metal detection technology continues to improve inspection and detection capabilities and accuracy.  

Achieving metal-free products depends as much on the effectiveness of the detection technology as on the selection of the best critical control point (CCPs), which in some cases may mean using a metal detection solution at multiple CCPs. The challenge lies in being able to consistently detect and accurately reject the smallest possible metal contaminants in any product.

Choosing the right metal detection system depends partly on selecting the best frequency technology for the application to consistently achieve the required sensitivity performance without a high volume of false rejects. Other factors must also be taken into consideration. These include: 

  • Productivity aims
  • Environmental factors (cleaning regimes and the solution's level of immunity to noise and vibration interference)
  • Compliance needs 
  • Desired levels of service support

Not all metal detection technologies are the same. If you want to make an informed decision about your next metal detection system investment, this eGuide is a must-read