Oxipack’s The Rotary for micro-leak detection

Wico Reineman (B&R), Pim Jobse (Oxipack) and Wardo Dietrich (Machinefabriek Geurtsen) are proud to present The Rotary, which detects microscopic leaks without harming the production

For foods and pharmaceuticals sealed in closed packaging, leak testing is a disquisitional footstep in the product process. Oxipack's new inspection unit of measurement, The Rotary, detects microscopic leaks without harming the product. Through close cooperation with machine builder Geurtsen and the control experts at B&R, the Dutch specialist'southward solution is efficient enough to exam every item passing through the line.

In the perpetual pursuit of waste reduction and quality improvement, companies in the nutrient and pharmaceutical industries attach bang-up importance to packaging. Among the about important objectives is the removal of leaky packaging from the procedure as early as possible. Often, this is done past immersing random samples in h2o to encounter if any air bubbles escape. Such manual checks lack reliability and are not precise plenty to detect microscopic holes. Though small enough to evade manual detection, these microleaks are notwithstanding large enough to spoil a product before its official use-by appointment, resulting in unnecessary costs and posing a potentially image-dissentious wellness risk to consumers.

Oxipack Leak Detection has developed an culling method based on innovative vacuum technology. "The idea is adequately simple," says Pim Jobse, technical managing director of the visitor based in the Dutch city of Houten. "You place the product between 2 rubber membranes, seal everything and create a vacuum. If the packaging is closed properly, naught will happen. But if there is a small hole in information technology, the force per unit area in the vacuum sleeping room will continue to rise." This approach makes it possible to observe leaks as small every bit ten microns. And, importantly, it does so without damaging or contaminating the packaging – so information technology's possible to check every single product rather than only random samples.

Like the water immersion method, vacuum detection also takes fourth dimension. "The whole procedure takes about half a minute start to cease," Jobse knows. That posed a challenge for the Oxipack engineers: To meet the marketplace's demand for inline leak detection, they would demand to check 120 units per infinitesimal. The company, therefore, sought out a automobile edifice partner to develop a solution with the necessary efficiency and the smallest possible footprint.

The infeed belt and rotary wheel are synchronized perfectly thanks to a fully integrated movement control arrangement from B&R

Universal development environment

Oxipack found the innovative development partner it was looking for in Machinefabriek Geurtsen. For controls, the machine architect has been standardizing on B&R technology for years. "That'due south largely because of how easy B&R's Automation Studio platform makes information technology to program and command everything," says Geurtsen'due south principal designer, Wardo Dietrich. "Whatever y'all hook up to your system, it communicates. For a programmer, being able to do everything in one familiar surround is ideal."

"I was convinced in ten minutes," says Jobse. In addition to the ease with which all his questions were answered, Jobse was particularly impressed by the convenient controller diagnostics. "You come across the condition of the controller immediately, without having to practise anything; it's all preprogrammed. That makes me very happy. Other vendors may tell you that there is a driver error, just information technology'south up to y'all to find out what's going on and how to set up information technology. B&R'south System Diagnostics manager gives you quick access to detailed data along with a recommended solution."

Reduced floorspace

Oxipack had some clear ideas most what it wanted from Geurtsen'due south developers. "Because of negative experiences in the by, I was originally instructed not to develop a carousel," says Dietrich. He 'therefore' came up with a number of alternative concepts, such as a solution in which the vacuum chambers are arranged in a kind of bookcase during measurement. In the end, notwithstanding, almost all ideas turned out to exist as well cost intensive, and simply one serious option remained. "Similar information technology or non, a carousel was the manner to get," laughs Dietrich. Merely, unlike the horizontal carousel Oxipack had used previously, Dietrich greatly reduced the required floorspace by flipping information technology on its side similar a Ferris wheel. The solution, called The Rotary, contains upwardly to twelve measuring chambers. Every bit each product completes its turn on The Rotary, the air is evacuated from the chamber and the measurement is taken. By the fourth dimension information technology returns to the starting point, it is clear whether the packaging is adept or should be rejected, and the product slides onto the corresponding belt.

For the infeed, Geurtsen opted for a shuttle conveyor, which retracts at the concluding moment while the chugalug continues to advance. "That drops the product quietly and neatly into place," says Dietrich. "Information technology's a method we utilise quite often, but with the infeed going into a rotating wheel, the timing was very tight." Through extensive testing and collaboration, Geurtsen and B&R arrived at a successful solution.

The perfect synchronization of the infeed chugalug and rotary bike was made possible by a fully integrated movement command organization from B&R that includes servo drives, inverters, and safety applied science. Command of The Rotary is handled by a B&R Panel PC 2100, which combines HMI and powerful PC-based command in a single device. "Thanks to the use of software components from B&R's mapp Engineering toolkit," says Jobse, "the infeed shuttle conveyor tin can be prepare for dissimilar packaging without whatever complicated calculations – it'due south a simple affair of setting a few main parameters." The mapp component for recipe handling makes it quick and easy for machine operators to switch between products of different sizes and weights. By using sensors to automatically make up one's mind the production parameters, it's fifty-fifty possible to handle combinations of products running at the same time.

Wardo Dietrich
Chief Designer, Machinefabriek Geurtsen
"For controls, we have been standardizing on B&R technology for years. That's largely considering of how easy B&R'due south Automation Studio platform makes it to program and control everything. Whatsoever you hook up to your organization, information technology communicates. For a programmer, being able to do everything in one familiar environment is ideal."

Scalable and compact

The kickoff unit built by Oxipack and Geurtsen went to an Italian customer for testing. "With the current setup, they're able to bank check twenty products per infinitesimal," says Jobse. For real inline measurement during production, a speed of near 120 packages per minute will be required. "That's where the modular blueprint pays off," notes Jobse. "They can easily add five more than wheels without a significant impact on the footprint of the packaging line."

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Source: https://packagingsouthasia.com/application/food-and-beverages/oxipacks/

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