Used Bottling Lines

Inspector

An inspector is a machine used to control the interior and the exterior of containers that must then receive liquid food products. It also serves to verify that the liquid contained in the container is free from defects. This is to guarantee the customer that the product is all under control for quality and integrity.

Inspector: purpose

In this regard, there may be inspectors for the control of suspended liquids, bottle bottom, bottle sidewalls; presence of the cap, presence of the label, ring and neck control. Each of this equipment is essential to guarantee the correspondence of the advertised product and then sold. To do this, use an automatic expulsion system that allows, through the dedicated PLC, to rub the bottles. It can happen that for some reason they do not correspond to the type of product advertised. These could have residues or pieces of glass inside their liquid, so it’s better to check.

Inspectors: control empty bottles and jars

They are linear modular machines used for the verification of quality, integrity, and cleaning of empty containers. They also ensure the absence of foreign bodies and liquid residues inside the containers. These inspectors are usually installed on bottling lines after the washbasin and before filling. Electronic inspectors can carry out the following checks:

Background inspection
Ring inspection
Input wall inspection
Output wall inspection
Inspection of abrasion
Threading inspection
Restoration of liquid residue: water and / or soda
Liquid residue detection: oil and / or paints
At the end of the controls the expulsion of defective containers takes place.
The outline containers, therefore not suitable for the production selected as:
Too high and too low
With broken neck
With too big or too small diameter

And also those overturned on the transport tape and the glass shards are expelled before the inspection to avoid problems inside the machine.

Background inspection

Detection of opaque defects (foreign objects, organic contamination, presence of infusions in the glass, etc.) and semi-transparent (for example Cellophane package cigarettes, etc.). Possibility of installing an automatic blowing system for cleaning the bottom of the bottles and the lamp for the lighting of the same.

Ring inspection

Control of the bottle mouth to identify breaks or abrasions, hats, chipping, and other defects of the upper surface of the seal. A particular light allows you to highlight the internal and external edge of the bottle mouth and even the smallest breaks. Possibility of installing a ring and fillet blowing compressed air system that allows the removal of water drops, in order to improve the performance of the control system, even decreasing any false waste. The system is operated only to the passage of the bottles for the minimum time required for the purpose of Reduce compressed air consumption.

Wall and abrasion inspection

Control of the side walls to detect opaque or semi-transparent foreign bodies, internal and external contamination, breaks, glass production defects, and to verify the degree of abrasion (also called scuffing). The control is carried out with two separate modules: the first at the input also verify the shape of the bottle; The other at the exit make a more complete control of the walls thanks to the rotation of the bottle that takes place inside the machine via straps equipped with independent motorization. A special inspection module is installed for abrasion detection. This allows detection and evaluate the degree of abrasion of the bottle wall and sets a threshold, exceeding which the container is detected as defective and then expelled.

Threading inspection

Fillet control To identify breaks or abrasions using a special optical unit that allows the display of the thread for its entire length, in the form of a light spiral on a black background. The image is amplified and relaxed on a plane to control it effectively from the processing software. Liquid residue detection: water and/or soda. High-frequency system for detecting residues of conductive liquids, in particular alkaline solutions, caustic soda, and water.

Liquid residue detection: oil and / or paints

Infrared system for detection of non-conductive liquid residues such as oils and varnishes. Electronic inspectors can be programmed in order to periodically perform proper testing and inspection verification. In this regard, some sample containers must be specially prepared with the defects to be detected. If the test is successful, the production can continue otherwise the machine crashes and it is necessary to verify it because there is no longer the certainty that can make a correct inspection. With the help of software, electronic inspectors can store images for easy access and further processing.

Inspectors Fill level control

The filling level inside the glass or plastic containers, even completely opaque, via a high precision, through a high-frequency capacitive system. It is possible, using the same electronics, to achieve other level controls along the bottling line. Main features

Self-learning of the reference level.
Minimum and maximum level threshold setting.
Display counts, statistical data and transmission to external systems.

The adjacent container broke out and those are expelled. The possibility to plan the expulsion of risk containers splinters from the revolution of the filler in which it took place, up to a set number of subsequent revolutions. You can wash the location where it occurred, I burst by operating a signal for the showroom drive.

Inspectors: cap control

They verify the presence of the cap of any type and/or the cage, using one or more sensors. It can operate in two ways: as an autonomous control or as a level control extension, carrying out a simultaneous control to that of the level or by carrying out a control at a different point of the line, but always piloted by the level control electronics. It can drive all the expulsion or division systems or can work as a simple luminous or acoustic alarm. To go beyond the simple verification of the presence, you can use the camera system that verifies position, integrity, and codes of caps or capsules. Main functions:

Monitoring the presence and completeness of the cap and warranty ring.
Measurement of the position of the cap and the inclination for the comparison with the acceptance parameters set or scrap.
Verification of the guarantee ring position with respect to the cap to locate its possible detachment.
Verification of lateral zones warranty ring to locate its eventual folding.

Inspectors control capsule

With the help of one or more sensors, they are able to determine if the capsule has been heat-shrunk. It can operate in two ways: as an autonomous control or as a level control extension, carrying out a simultaneous control to that of the level or by carrying out control at a different point of the line, but always piloted by the level control electronics. It can drive all the expulsion or division systems or can work as a simple luminous or acoustic alarm.

Inspectors for leak testing

They control the leakage crushing plastic bottles. They are able to detect even micro leaks and closing defects.

Inspectors for label control

Achieve the presence of control, labels, ribs, stamps both paper, and plastic, both self-adhesive glue that, by means of optical sensors placed on the labeling machine. They can also check the presence of the batch code and the label position. Levels of analysis:

Presence and orientation of the labels.
Position of the labels in relation to each other.
Graphic content, inclination and integrity of each label.
Several levels of detail and details such as written or parts of them, codes, capacities and alcohol content.
Collar and capsule.
Verification of the position of the labels with respect to a frieze in the glass.

In the case of wraparound labels or shaped bottles with labels facing outwards, it is possible to use sensors in a line to control the conveyor. It can also be a level control extension. They can fly all ejection systems or divisions.

Inspectors final control of the weight of boxes, cartons, bundles, drums.

Verify the weight of boxes, cartons, bundles, and drums, identifying those which do not comply because of missing one or more packages or because the same packages are non-compliant. It constitutes the ideal final control before the palletizing stage. Fully automatic, it requires the presence of the operator only at the time of the exchange format to start the calibration process in self-learning or to recall the stored formats. Additions:

Input conveyor equipped with its own motorization, with high adherence carpet.
Outgoing conveyor equipped with its own motorization system and electro pneumatic ejection.
Electrification of the existing conveyor system with electro-ejection tires.
Idle roller conveyor for non-compliant containers accumulation.
Print counts and statistical data with date and time.
Ethernet interface for connection to local networks or the Internet.

Empty craters inspectors

Verify:

Crate too high
Foreign bodies between the bottles (top view)
Height of bottles inside the case with ultrasonic detection

Performs the expulsion of defective containers on a transport tape installed next to the main conveyor.

X-ray inspectors

Using pulsed X-ray technology, these inspectors perform an inspection of the entire content of the container after filling in order to find foreign particles such as glass splinters, hard plastic fragments, and metal shavings that might enter the product during preparation or filling. They are used for both liquid products and pasty products, without a minimally affecting food consumption safety, since the X-rays are a highly secure and not impactful technology on the food or beverages monitored.

Inspector: Expulsors

In addition to an accurate inspection, the expulsion of the defective containers is important as the inspection is useless if there is no certainty of the expulsion of the defective container. There are two types of ejectors.

Pushed ejections for the lateral displacement of the containers

Using a pneumatic cylinder, they push the faulty container on an accumulation table or in a losing container. You can adjust the height, to adapt it to the center of gravity of the container, or adjust the depth, to approach the container in transit. The devices are all able to dynamically manage the waste signal based on the conveyor belt’s instantaneous speed, which makes them compatible with any inspection system. They can expel to the maximum speed of 180,000 containers/hour.

Progressive diversions for delicate lateral displacement of containers

They resolve the problem of lateral deviation, guaranteeing the stability of the container regardless of the shape, level of filling, and production speed. Through the use of several small deviation segments, they dynamically create a guide during the passage of the container and gently accompany him towards a different conveyor belt. Since it is guided rather than pushed, the container won’t fall during lateral movement, regardless of its critical stability and no matter how fast it is produced. You can use them for any type of glass, plastic, or metal container, no matter what the shape: cylindrical, conical, rectangular, triangular, oval. Microprocessor-controlled pneumatic cylinders activate each deviation element. Using an encoder, we analyze the instantaneous speed of the conveyor belt and adjust the deviation activity of the individual elements accordingly. They can expel to the maximum speed of 150,000 containers / h.

Product tracking systems

Always know the exact position of each product thanks to a very accurate tracking system. The inspection will not miss any containers. Verifying that each product classified as defective actually deviates from the flow of production through integrated waste controls. Automatic test programs ensure a periodic check of detection performance. It is also possible continuous monitoring via Ethernet network and long-term storage of results.

Why and how to purchase used inspectors

More and more companies are considering purchasing a used inspector. Below you can find a list of our best tips and recommendations to help people like you, who deal with bottling. Buying a used inspector can save you a lot of money. Financially speaking, new machines start to lose value immediately after purchase. With a used inspector you can save several thousand of dollars. Already for this reason alone, it is certainly worth buying a used machine. On our website, you can find out about all the aesthetic and mechanical characteristics of the product you are interested in and we guarantee that you will spend much less on the purchase, compared to new bottle inspector. By purchasing a used inspector, you can save between 35% to 60% off of the price you would pay for a new machine, so whether you want to buy a used inspector to start a new operation or to change an existing one, it is worth taking a look at the used bottling market first. The choice to change models or update existing ones can depend on many factors. The reasons can be numerous. Maybe you have to start producing more than in the past. Or one of the machines has become inefficient, starts causing problems, stops or slowdowns. So much so that it is difficult to reach the daily production volume needed.

Pre-purchase research on used bottle inspector

First of all there are many advantages of buying used inspectors. However, there are important things to pay attention to during the purchasing process. While searching for – and eventually purchasing – used inspectors, it is necessary to take some important preparatory steps. First of all, during the research it is essential to have clear ideas about your real needs. You need to have a specific idea of the machine and your requirements, looking for it in the appropriate section of the website.

Finally it is important to know the history of the used inspector, if possible the working hours, if the machine has been overhauled and maintained regularly and if the maintenance has been carried out by specialized technicians. These are all factors that help in understanding which bottle inspector to buy.