The inspector guarantees perfection

The inspection technology integrated in the four-colour filler at Gropper dairy, Bissingen, is made by Krones as well. In the filler’s discharge, a Checkmat with a rejection function inspects the bottles for correct fill quantity and the presence of a closure. Batch identification by laser in the label area for batch tracking (filling valve number, product code, etc.) and ink-jet coding with UV ink invisible to the naked eye onto the closure for identifying the container’s content are also performed in the filler’s discharge. This code, with characters readable in any position, is checked by a monitoring camera, thus preventing any confusion between content and dress. Communication between the filler’s control system and the ink-jet enables the bottle to be assigned to the particular element handling it in the pre-warmer, steriliser, filler or sealer. The crucial aspect for this bottle identification at the discharge is that the bottles travel under positive guidance as far as the coding unit.

Checkmat inspectors can handle several tasks in a filling line:

• The Checkmat FM-X with integrated monitor checks presence and correct position of the labels.
• The Checkmat EM checks the fill level and the position of the cap.
• The Checkmat label inspector checks the label with a CCD camera: Is the label correct and positioned correctly? Is the date-stamping of the applied label correct? Highly reflecting labels can be inspected as well. 
• The Checkmat fill level inspector operates with infrared, gamma, or x-rays, depending on the container and product type. A sensor or camera system checks the caps.