Down bottles bring chaos to any part of your production line. Chances are every down bottle is bringing your production to a halt, which in turn is costly and reduces your profitability and throughput.
Most commonly, we see down bottles coming out of your unscramblers and vibratory feeders. Due to the geometry of the container and its instability, the container falls, and when they make it to the filling process you have a mess on your hands.
There are simple container handling products that can be retrofitted to your existing set up to reject these down bottles and in most cases, this will reduce the labor and downtime on your line dedicated to down bottles.
Product #1: Down Bottle Reject Guides
This is the most common and cost-effective solution for rejecting down bottles. These are completely mechanical, tool-less guide rails mounted to core plates that use the geometry of the container to automatically reject it into a bin.
The best part of these rails is their flexibility. Since they mount on core plates, more rails can be supplied for the different container sizes you are running on your line. In a matter of seconds, you'll be able to changeover these guide rails and run your next container size. This is especially helpful if you're adding a new container size to your production as you can purchase new rails.
See a video of how they work below or download this guide for more information and product specs.
Product #2: Photoeye Array Solution
In cases where a mechanical reject guide will not work, you can enhance your current or new operation with a photoeye array application. These controls-based upgrades utilize a photoeyes to signal when a bottle is down, then, this custom solution can be programmed to do one of three things:
1. Stop the line so an operator can remove the down bottle.
2. Fire a pneumatic arm to remove the bottle.
3. Utilize air to blow off the bottle.
This solution is dependent on your line constraints and offers a custom approach to a costly problem.
Next Steps: Our Container Handling Expert Recommendation
If you're experiencing down bottles, connect with your local sales representative to evaluate your line and see where one of these solutions can solve your problems. Fill out this form so we can help.