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Small Part Inspection in Tough Location
Challenge
Beer bottling is a speedy process—bottles travel at speeds up to 900 per minute. Parts on the machine, such as spreader washers or vent tubes, may fall into a bottle being filled on the line, resulting in bad product. If undetected, affected bottles may be capped, packaged and even shipped, and defective products will need to be recalled.
A reliable inspection tool is needed to ensure there are no loose spreader washers, vent tubes, or other machine parts falling into the product. It is challenging to find a solution that fits in a close proximity range and upholds in the harsh washdown conditions of the beer bottling manufacturing line.
Solution
Banner Engineering’s iVu vision sensor with a 50 mm C-Mount lens allows a reliable vision inspection, while extending the range to the beer bottle inspection area. This allows the sensor to be far enough away from the target, while providing the resolution needed to detect loose or missing vent tubes and spreader washers.
Configured as an area sensor, the iVu TG inspects for the spreader washers’ and vent tubes’ location and presence within 16 ms. The operator defines the region of interest using a remote touch screen or a PC. If a washer or machine part drops below the region, or if the washer or tube is missing, the single powered I/O will shut off the beer filler. The operator can then remove any affected product, correct the problem, and get the filler working again with minimal downtime.
Banner’s iVU vision sensor with C-Mount lens has a 3.5” diagonal color LCD flat-panel touch screen with wide viewing angle, making it easy for operators to interact with the product and software. The C-Mount lens offers better light sensitivity, which is ideal for reducing blur in this high-speed beer bottling application. Users can configure, change, and monitor inspections away from the line using a remote touchscreen or a PC.
Featured Products
Vision Sensor: iVu Series
The simplicity of a photoelectric sensor and the intelligence of a smart camera, the iVu is an all-inclusive vision sensor with lens, light, I/O, and touch screen or PC programming.