Project challenge: Increase production

The customer is one of South Africa's largest beverage companies and needed to optimise their production line. 

During the bottling process it is critical to crown or cap the bottles to a fine range of forces: if a bottle is capped too hard then it will break, and if too softly leakage results. 

The tools that were being used in the process forced the line to stop while the spring strength was measured one-by-one on a 16 bay turret system, thus causing production loss. 
HOW DO WE MEASURE BOTTLE CAP CROWNING FORCE?

JAD solution

After collaboration with the customer, JAD Systems proposed an instrumented bottle that logs the crowning pressure in the production run. The bottle simply replaces a normal bottle and is then picked off the line and the data is downloaded to a PC for reporting.

JAD developed: 
  • A battery-powered load cell / data acquisition assembly that can be installed into the core of a simulated PVC  bottle. This core needed to be small, rugged and accurate enough to be used in a wide range of bottling plants.
  • A high spec strain gauge amplifier and digitiser with USB port. 
  • Custom firmware and software for the system.
  • CNC-milled housing for the load cell and the electronics which Is stainless steel and sealed.