Micro-Epsilon scanners enable height measurement and presence detection of beer bottles in moving crates

摘要

Non-contact laser scanners from Micro-Epsilon are being used to quickly and reliably recognise if all of the beer bottles are present and of the correct type in returned crates. Beer bottles that come directly from the filling line or the brewery to the customer normally take the same route back; as glass bottles are recyclable, they can typically be refilled 40 to 50 times. The bottles arrive in their thousands at the breweries to be checked, washed and refilled. To ensure a smooth procedure of further machine processing, such as the removal of caps and labels, as well as washing and refilling, it is necessary to inspect the crates at the goods inward stage. Completeness of the bottle is a crucial factor, but ensuring that the correct bottle type is in the right crate is also important. Different bottle types are a challenge for bottlers and breweries. Often, the glass is trimmed with the brewery logo or the bottles have been specially shaped for a certain manufacturer. It is estimated that more than one third of the bottles delivered to breweries are in the wrong crate. Crates are often inspected manually, a process that is exhausting, subject to error and costly in terms of human inspection hours. The crates are moved on a conveyor belt, which demands a lot of concentration from the inspectors. If the inspectors become tired, the wrong bottles can slip through or some crates might be incomplete.