A fill level detection is good but fill management is better

March 14, 2011 - PRLog -- The producer risks a serious loss of image if underfilled bottles, cans or carton packaging reach the market - he loses customers.  Overfilling is a cost factor which should not be underestimated in the long term:  the valuable product is literally given away - at least partially.  In addition excess pressure can build up in the containers which at the worst can even cause them to burst.  For this reason an inline fill level detection is indispensable.
Camera, high frequency or X-ray technology can be used to precisely identify fill level deviations depending on the properties of the respective product and its packaging.  The HEUFT VX full container inspection (see: http://www.heuft.com/en/heuft-vx-fill-management_29.html) permits the integration of all these procedures due to its modular construction.  Therefore it can be used universally.  However the range of functions of the system extends far beyond a pure fill height check.

Monitoring the filler and the closer

As a fill management tool it also collects important knowledge about the complete production quality and takes over the monitoring of the filler.  It continuously checks its performance and provides exact statistical data about the functioning of the individual filler valves.  In this way malfunctions, which cause faulty filling to occur repeatedly, are detected at an early stage.  The HEUFT VX locates defective valves before they completely fail.  An integrated quantifying module converts the results of the individual fill level measurements automatically into the actual fill value and calculates the average fill volume.
In addition the HEUFT VX provides varied possibilities for a closure check so that missing or damaged closures do not cause the product to fall below the nominal filling quantity due to a product loss on the way to the end user.  A 360 degree inspection of the complete container closure is even possible using special optical modules:  crooked and canted closures, damaged or trapped tamper evident rings as well as missing elements from multi-part closure systems are reliably identified in this way.  The HEUFT sonic module can be integrated into the device in order to check the tightness of crown corks and other metal lids.  The HEUFT O2 module detects trapped residual air which can cause the product to spoil quickly.  The HEUFT VX not only identifies the faults but also their causes in this area too:  it monitors the functioning of the closer analogous to monitoring the filler and exposes those closer heads which impair it.

Identifying sources of interference in good time

This extensive filler and closer management, which the system provides for checking the quality of full containers besides numerous other functions, prevents high false rejection rates as well as long production standstills and therefore effectively protects against costly losses to the efficiency of the line.  Sources of interference can be tracked down at an early stage and rectified before they thwart the performance of the complete filling line.

For further information please visit: http://www.heuft.com/

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HEUFT SYSTEMTECHNIK GMBH is the leading manufacturer of a wide range of innovative automation solutions for the food, beverage and healthcare industry. Besides devices for the quality assurance and quality control of empty and full containers the product portfolio includes high-performance labelling machines and conveyor systems as well as applications for precise line analysis. A large number of the pioneering ideas and developments from HEUFT have set standards and in the meantime have become the norm. The sentence "HEUFT ist Systemtechnik" (HEUFT is system technology) sums up the philosophy of the company: a cleverly devised modular system, the use of fundamental development results for the most varied applications and modules together with a logical design for an efficient series production all generate first-class products at excellent prices. HEUFT ... knows how. For further information: http://www.heuft.com