A new method to detect damages on crates of beverages is investigated. It is based on a pattern-recognition-system by an artificial neural network (ANN) with a feedforward multilayer-perceptron topology. The sorting criterion is obtained by mechanical vibration analysis which provides characteristic frequency spectra for all possible damage cases and crate models. To support the network training, a large number of numerical data-sets is calculated by the finite-elementmethod (FEM). The combination of artificial neural networks with methods of numerical simulation is a powerful instrument to cover the broad range of possible damages. First results are discussed with respect to the influence of modelling inaccuracies of the finite-element-model and the support of the ANN by training-data obtained from numerical simulation. Also the feasibility of neuro-numerical ANN training will be dwelled on.