High-Speed Bottling Line Inspection for a Bottle and Cap with a Unique Shape

EPIC designed, integrated, and installed a high-speed custom vision inspection system that met the customer’s strenuous expectations for speed and efficiency. This involved multiple custom parts to fit the brand’s unique bottle shapes, as well as a full integration of the product’s production and packaging lines.

Hygienic Process System Design

Project

Overview

  • Industry: Consumer Products
  • Company Size: Fortune 500
  • Location: USA
  • Customer Use Case: Damages and Defects

Customer’s

Challenge

A consumer products company needed to redesign their high-speed bottling line to improve efficiency and meet growing market demands. However, they faced a significant challenge due to the unique shapes of their bottles and caps. Ensuring accurate positioning of bottles and caps, as well as maintaining quality standards, posed a unique obstacle. 

Epic

Solution

The company turned to EPIC Systems to design, integrate, and install a vision inspection system tailored to their specific needs. EPIC undertook a comprehensive analysis of the existing processes and developed a customized implementation plan to address the challenges. 

The solution involved the creation of multiple custom components, including unscramblers for bottles and nozzles, fillers, star wheels, and nozzle conveyors. These components were designed to accommodate the unique bottle shapes and ensure precise orientation for proper use by consumers. As bottles moved down the line, liquid production filled them directly from the production line. 

Central to the solution was the implementation of an automated, machine vision-based quality assurance (QA) system. This system was engineered to conduct thorough checks to minimize defective products without compromising the line’s speed. Key aspects of QA included verifying the accurate mating of spray nozzles to bottles, automatically checking bottle weights, ensuring correct filling levels, and confirming the accuracy of date codes. 

To further improve efficiency and minimize employee exposure to harsh chemicals, the vision inspection system was integrated to handle tasks such as boxing, case erection, palletizing, and stretch wrapping. Automated checks for weight discrepancies at various stages ensured only correctly filled and packaged products proceeded down the line, while any deviations were promptly directed to reject stations. 

Project

Impact

  • Improved Product Quality: By implementing EPIC’s custom vision inspection system, the customer significantly improved product quality assurance. This ensured that only accurately filled and properly oriented bottles reached consumers, reinforcing the brand’s reputation for excellence.
  • Maximized Efficiency: Through seamless integration of custom components and automated quality checks, EPIC’s solution optimized production line efficiency. This minimized downtime, reduced instances of defective products, and maximized resource utilization, ultimately driving cost savings and improving overall operational efficiency. 
  • Streamlined Processes: The streamlined processes enabled by EPIC’s solution not only met but exceeded the customer’s expectations for speed and efficiency. By automating tasks such as boxing, case erection, palletizing, and stretch wrapping, the company experienced smoother operations, freeing up valuable human resources for more strategic tasks. 
  • Future-Ready Competitiveness: By investing in cutting-edge automation technology, the customer positioned itself for future growth and competitiveness in the market. The scalable nature of EPIC’s solution ensured adaptability to evolving market demands, providing a sustainable competitive advantage. 

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Our Solutions

EPIC Systems is a multidisciplinary engineering integrator specialized in industrial automation for process manufacturers. We deliver solutions in the following areas:

Process Systems

Machine Vision

Robotics

Industrial Automation