High-speed bottle packing

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August 2010 Sensors & Transducers

Cognex vision sensor helps automate loading of transparent cartons.

A major beverage manufacturer uses transparent cartons to package its bottled drinks so that their distinctive branded labels are visible to consumers. However, the need to orientate the bottles so that the right part of the label is visible makes automated packaging a challenge.

In the past, bottles were filled on an automated line, and a team of 15 people manually loaded and orientated the bottles in the transparent cartons. Recently, this producer became the first to successfully automate high-speed carton loading with the use of a bucket auto-load cartoner from AFA Nordale Packaging Systems. Cognex Checker vision sensors are used to orientate the bottles before they are placed in the cartons.

“Orientating bottles at a speed of 30 or 60 bottles per minute would not be a major challenge,” said AFA Nordale engineer, David Langen. “But in this application the beverage manufacturer needs to pack 450 bottles per minute.”

AFA Nordale evaluated sensors from many leading vision companies. All seemed to have problems with at least one of the label types. “For example, one sensor worked with the red labels but not with the black or blue labels,” said Langen. “Another sensor worked with the red and blue labels but not the black labels. Then we tried the Cognex Checker 3G1 and found that it was able to read all of the different labels without any difficulty.”

The cartoner orientates the bottles by simultaneously spinning 14 at a time while 14 Cognex Checker 3G1 vision sensors view each bottle’s label. The vision sensors send a signal to stop spinning each bottle as soon as they see a letter that indicates the label is in the correct position. During machine validation, it was demonstrated that all the label types could be positioned reliably and well within the requirements of the producer.

“Up to now, drink manufacturers have avoided using cartons with windows because there has been no satisfactory solution to the problem of orientating bottles at high speed,” added Langen. “This new machine is the first to solve this problem by combining the latest vision sensor technology with an innovative mechanical solution. The machine meets the beverage manufacturer’s requirement of 450 bottles per minute and has been tested to 600 bottles per minute. In both cases the Cognex Checker 3G1 vision sensors have been able to align every single bottle except for those with misformed sleeves.”

For more information contact Brian Walker, Westplex, +27 (0)11 787 0473, info@westplex.co.za, www.westplex.co.za

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