Inspection Experts Interview: Jan Sende

Part of the team right from day one

In our interview series "Inspection around the world" we take a look behind the scenes of inspection at Syntegon. Each machine is backed by a team of experts – Jan Sende, Vision Engineer in the Vision Development Group is one of them. After studying astro-physics in Germany, he joined the R&D department and entered new ground for Syntegon straight away. In this interview he talks about his move to Japan and his first customer project.

Jan, your focus was on stars and planets before – it seems somewhat unusual that you are now working in the R&D department developing Syntegon’s vision systems. What made you join the team?

Jan: Actually, it is less of a stretch than it seems. Physics plays as important a role in visual inspection as it did in my studies – and it’s a skill I get to apply in my current position. Getting the illumination right is one of the most difficult things involved in inspecting drugs with varying viscosity and opacity levels. In addition, I have always been interested in programming. It is my job now to optimize the vision recipe for individual customer requirements.

What was your start at Syntegon like? Did you slowly get accustomed to your job?

Jan: On the contrary, I was involved in the team’s tasks from day one. In 2020, Syntegon just started working with Amgen on a syringe vision inspection system for highly viscous drugs that uses a special tracking feature to differentiate glass particles from air bubbles. The goal was to minimize the false reject rate. This project was uncharted territory for both us and our customer Amgen and I was excited to dive right in. Once the project was finished, I had the opportunity to present the results together with Amgen at the 2022 PDA Visual Inspection Forum in Berlin – an amazing end to a very exciting project.

What was your biggest learning from this first project of yours?

Jan: I have learnt that honest communication, clearly defined milestones, and close collaboration with the customer are key to any successful project. Especially in vision inspection, we need the customer’s insight. We must know which defects occur how often to get a realistic idea of their inspection challenges. Only then can we come up with a solution that truly meets their requirements. In fact, customer feedback is one of the driving forces behind many of our R&D efforts. The collaboration with Amgen is a good example: it was their feedback that started the project and led us to develop a special tracking feature with a false reject rate of under 1 %.

Speaking of challenges: you moved from Germany to Japan to start your position at Syntegon. How challenging was this transition for you?

Not at all. I was already involved in a Japanese student exchange program at my university, so I was quite familiar with the culture. In addition, my partner is Japanese, so moving here was not a difficult choice. Photography is a hobby of mine and I really appreciate the beautiful sights and landmarks that this country has to offer. When I explore Japan, I always look for the right motif and lighting to get a perfect shot. Sometimes I try to capture the atmosphere of a beautifully lit street at night, other times I photograph the sun light reflecting on a forested hill or even in the ocean. My hobby is somewhat similar to my job, it’s all about getting the perfect picture.