KHS installs high-performance bottling line

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KHS has completed a new glass bottling line for Interbrew UK at its
Magor plant in Wales. The company claims that the new production
facility has one of the highest level of performance in the UK
market.

According to KHS​, the filling capacity is up to 55,000 on either 0,33 l or 0,25 l non returnable-glass bottles per hour. In a two-shift operation the daily output of the line is up to 850.000 bottles, the weekly output up to four million bottles.

The line starts with the fully automatic bulk glass depalletising robot, called Innopal ASH. Pallets of new bottles are transferred into the machine, which centralises the bulk glass layers from all four sides. This, says KHS, ensures safe and reliable depalletising and accuracy even at high speed.

An automatic lifting device for top frames and intermediate layer pads operates with a vacuum gripping system and lifts cover frames and intermediate layers into separate shafts. Empty pallets run into an installed empty pallet magazine.

The complete palletising area is constructed according to the innovative KHS modular design concept. This modular concept includes the application of toothed belts and a control system based on PC. Direct communication. Computer controlled operating sequences in real time, claims KHS, ensures precision.

From the bulk glass depalletiser, the bottles move towards the empty bottle inspector via spaciously dimensioned accumulation zones that are designed to ensure a trouble-free flow of bottles on the line. Here, the glass is inspected for possible contamination.

Next comes the rinsing-filling zone, where filters throughout the whole surface of the cover permanently supply sterile air. The sterile filters cause a laminar flow of sterile air up to the ground.

There is always a slight overpressure inside the glass housing, which is opened at the lower side. This assures that the air flows towards the ground and afterwards is transmitted out of the rinsing - filling zone - recontamination is therefore impossible. The low rate of germs corresponds to clean room category 10.000.

Anther interesting sanitary feature is the microbiological front table for the filler. This is designed in a dynamic shape, which arranges for an optimum, well-directed and fast discharge of remaining product, foam, water and pieces of glass out of the biologically critical area of the filler.

The 120-head Innoclean FR bottle rinser inside the clean room washes the inverted bottles with sterile water. The heart of the line is the computer controlled single chamber pressure filler Innofill DRS-ZMS with 120 filling heads operating with fill height sensors.

Next in the line is the labeller. The Interbrew Group has used the Innoket KL 2000 before, and decided to install the machine at Magor. KHS claims that even after long periods of use, only minimum wear is needed. Further advantages of the Innoket KL 2000 are labelling quality, short changeover times, easily repeatable settings and the use of stainless steel and high spec plastic wherever possible.

In Magor, the labeller is equipped with three labelling stations for cold glue labelling and is already prepared to be easily adapted to pressure sensitive labelling.

High quality technology has also been applied for the packaging area. At present a Wrap-Around-Packer WP 070V is used to pack 24 filled bottles into cartons at a speed of up to 70 cartons per minute, but there is enough space provided in the bottling hall to allow for future tray and film, pad and film or even film only packaging requirements. KHS says that additional machines can easily be integrated without major adaptation efforts.

From there the packs are transported on pack conveyors towards the palletiser. Spacious accumulation stages ensure a smooth and trouble free flow of product.

This is where the line ends. However continuous technical support is assisted by the modern, user friendly and fast ReDiS (Remote Diagnostic Service)-System. In case of a fault on any machine the ReDiS system can easily be connected to the controls of the relevant machine, which creates a direct connection to the KHS-ReDiS-Service-Center in Germany.

The machine data will than be transferred to the ReDiS-Service-Center and an immediate faultfinding can start. In many cases this Online-Access to electronic system components is sufficient to rectify the experienced fault.

The installation started in the last week in February and was completed towards the end of April 2004.

Related topics R&D Smart Packaging

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