What are the Benefits of Empty Bottle Inspection Before the Filler?
Empty bottle inspection (also known as EBI) ensures that glass and refillable PET bottles are clean, free of damages, and free of contaminants before they move to the filler on your product line. Rejecting contaminated or flawed containers before they reach the filler helps to reduce expensive product waste as well as avoid container leaks or breaks, which could result in serious downtime.
When choosing an Empty Bottle Inspection solution, it’s important that it includes:
- The ability to track and monitor results through an advanced human-machine interface
- Optical technology that is powerful enough to capture even minute defects, without false rejects
- A thorough inspection of sidewalls, base, finish, and thread
- The ability to keep up with high-speed lines
- Fast changeover to reduce downtime on the line
- Reduction of product waste and false rejects
OMNIVISION 4 with INTELLECT (OV4) is FILTEC’s all-surface, Empty Glass Bottle and refPET Inspection System that detects foreign objects and flaws in the base, sidewall, finish, and threads of empty transparent containers. With speeds of over 84,000 bottles per hour, OV4 has the most powerful and fastest image-processing technology in the market.
The OMNIVISION 4 performs a thorough inspection for every surface of every container and rejects imperfect bottles before they have a chance to reach the filler. This protects your products and customers from:
Mold Growth
Residual and Caustic Liquids
Contaminates
Product Features
New INTELLECT User Interface
The OV4 now operates using the FILTEC INTELLECT inspection platform. INTELLECT is a unique container inspection platform designed to track, monitor, and report on container quality through each step of the entire packaging process.
The integration with INTELLECT provides many benefits, including a 19” touchscreen with a smartphone look and feel, RFID Login, and Coded Test Bottle Tracking.
IMPROVED Starwheel Design
The OV4 provides a major update to the starwheel design. In addition to easily accessible change parts, the starwheel parts are very light and can be changed over in minutes.
Additional improvements include:
- Tool-less changeover
- Improved image quality
- Stable and precise positioning of each bottle for the inspection of the base, inner sidewall, finish, and thread
Residual Liquid (RLD), Base,
and Inner Sidewall (ISW) Inspections
The new quad tower adds optional Dark Field (DF) inspection targeted specifically at the detection of polarizing films.
The IR sensor for the detection of residual liquid in the base of the bottle has also been enhanced.
OV4’s Base, ISW, and DF cameras provide superior image resolution for the detection of foreign materials
Finish and Thread Inspection
OV4 uses high resolution and high bit-depth cameras to detect chipped finish, damaged thread, and wire edge defects, ensuring inspection accuracy and reduction of false rejects
Separate optics and lighting provide improved Finish and Thread Inspection.
LINESCAN Outer Sidewall Inspection
The OV4 with Intellect introduces new LINESCAN Outer Sidewall inspection technology ensuring unobstructed 360° inspection coverage of the bottle surface.
Additional features for outer side wall inspection include:
• Unobstructed view of outer sidewall
• 110° per camera view ensures detection of defects
• Side Grip Conveyor rotates bottles 90 degrees between
inspection modules
• Consistent and uniform lighting on the entire bottle
• 4X enhanced resolution ensures incredibly accurate detection of defects, with reduced false rejects
Integrated Rejection System
The OV4 with Intellect integrates with FILTEC’s Finger Rejector
system – the perfect choice for sorting and upright rejection of
Empty and Full Containers. The solution provides:
• Multi-finger, state-of-the-art electropneumatic controls
• Proprietary logic control
• Encoder based tracking
• Accommodates a large range of container diameters
• Operates at speeds of up to 73,000 per hour
• Low maintenance
Servotec or Slat Reject systems are available on request.
The INTELLECT user interface includes:
- Active parameter change log
- Easy inspection setting adjustments
- Screen data history
- Remote access
- Menu-guided bottle change overs
- Spare parts lists
- Troubleshooting guide
- Configurable user screens for controlled access levels
Download the Product Brochure
