|
 When a major European glass container manufacturer needed a production line method to measure the dimensions of their glass bottles and containers, they turned to Precitec Optronik GmbH of Germany and their UK representative Armstrong Optical Ltd. Although the manufacturer was already using an ultrasonic method it was not reliable enough, too intrusive and too slow for the required line speeds.
By fitting the CHRocodile M4 thickness measuring system, a machine capable of non-contact inspection of up to 350 non-round containers per minute for thickness, glass shape, roundness and glass quality was developed with four, simultaneous operation, measurement probes.
This measuring system is able to read, and reliably inspect, all hollow containers; bottles can be various shapes and colours and may have steeply sloping surfaces or even angled sides.
Practically all round or non-round individually formed products can be measured, and inspection can cover all areas of the product. Additionally, unlike some optical probing techniques, varying the distance from the optical probe or changing the colour of the bottles being inspected will have no effect on the accuracy of measurement.
EASY INTEGRATION
The temperature of the glass or the shimmering effects due to super-heated air from ovens has no affect on the measurement accuracy. The CHRocodile M4 captures the data just as reliably at the cold end of hollow glass production as inline at the hot end of the bottle production belt. The sensor is able to report any quality defects detected to the process control system via RS 232 and RS 422 interfaces. This can be achieved without the need to take specimens during the production process and then, where necessary, readjusting the plant after the production of a number of defective products.
CHRocodile sensors can easily be integrated into existing plants from all manufacturers and the sensors have been calibrated in the factory and are designed for years of maintenance-free operation. A comprehensive software package can be supplied for the automatic analysis of measured values based on the experience gained in several hundred installations of the CHRocodile series of sensors. The sensor's full command set and DLLs are available for use by plant designers so that the CHRocodile M4 in its 19-inch rack can easily be incorporated into existing inspection stations.
IN SUMMARY
The CHRocodile M4 non-contact measuring system offers the following benefits for glass bottle production:
- Monitoring of glass thickness and roundness
- Measurement of round and non-round shaped items
- Measurement of clear and coloured glass containers
- Ensuring product quality at 4000 measurements/second
- Reliable data capture at both the cold and hot ends of hollow glass production
- Rapid detection and prevention of faulty glass containers
- Simple adaptation due to the modular design of up to four measuring heads
- Easily integrated into the production process (plug & play)
- Highly precise, rapid and robust.
The benefits to the user are an increase in bottle quality, and an increase in economic efficiency in bottle production.
“Such a sensor solution is not only elegant and extremely cost-effective, but also, since it is non-contact, relatively easy to integrate into production environments” stated a spokesperson for Armstrong Optical Ltd.
|
