Transparent Gelcaps vs. Opaque Tablets: Configuring Your Sensors

In the world of pharmaceutical packaging, not all pills are created equal. While a standard white aspirin tablet is easy for any machine to "see," a crystal-clear fish oil softgel is a ninja—it often passes through the counting channels undetected.

For production managers, this results in under-filled bottles and customer complaints. The root cause usually isn't the vibration or the speed; it is the optical setup.

At Wenzhou Kxite Machinery, our advanced Tablet Counter Machines utilize multi-spectrum Infrared counting technology to detect even the most translucent objects. Here is how to configure your sensors for different material types.

1. The Challenge of "Invisibility"

Most tablet counters work on a "Through-Beam" principle: a light emitter sends a beam to a receiver. When a tablet falls, it breaks the beam, registering a count.

The Problem with Transparent Softgels: Instead of blocking the infrared beam, a clear gelatin capsule often acts like a lens. It refracts the light or lets it pass straight through. The receiver still "sees" the light, so the machine thinks nothing fell, leading to a miscount.

The Solution: High-Sensitivity Thresholding

To fix this when counting transparent softgels, you must adjust the sensor's "Light vs. Dark" threshold. On Kxite machines, we recommend increasing the Sensor Sensitivity setting. This tells the FPGA processor to register a count even if the light beam is only partially refracted (e.g., a 10% drop in signal) rather than fully blocked.

2. Handling Opaque & Dusty Tablets

Standard opaque tablets (like Calcium or Metformin) block light perfectly. However, they bring a different enemy: Dust.

As tablets vibrate, they shed fine powder that coats the sensor lenses. Over time, this dust reduces the signal intensity, causing the machine to think a tablet is constantly blocking the sensor (False Blockage Alarm).

The Solution: Auto-Compensation

When adjusting photoelectric sensors for capsules that are dusty, do NOT set the sensitivity to maximum. This will make the sensor too jumpy. Instead, enable the "Anti-Dust" or "Background Suppression" mode, which sets a floating baseline to ignore gradual dust buildup while catching the sharp signal drop of a falling tablet.

3. Bi-Color and Reflective Shells

Two-tone capsules (e.g., Blue/White) or sugar-coated tablets with a high-gloss finish can confuse basic sensors. The glossy surface can reflect the infrared beam in unpredictable directions.

The Kxite Advantage: Our machines use 3D Infrared Scanning. Instead of a single beam, we use a matrix of sensors (up to 8-12 pairs per channel). This ensures that no matter how the light bounces off a glossy shell, at least one part of the matrix will capture the object's shadow.

4. Quick Guide: Sensor Settings for Different Materials

Use this reference table to adjust your sensor sensitivity for different tablets on the HMI panel.

Conclusion

Accuracy isn't just about counting; it's about seeing. If your machine can't see the product clearly, it can't count it correctly. While standard sensors struggle with the variety of modern nutraceuticals, advanced optical systems adapt to them.

At Kxite Machinery, we power our counters with high-speed FPGA processing chips that perform a "full body scan" of every falling object. Whether it's invisible glass-like beads or dusty herbal pucks, we ensure 99.9% accuracy.