Leading designer and manufacturer of inspection systems for the beverage industry - from the preform to the container and the capsule - Sacmi’s Automation & Inspection Systems Division offers a range of solutions, further expanded and improved in recent years, to ensure quality control on both, the production line and in the test lab.
One of Sacmi’s solutions for PET manufacturing is the PVS (preform vision system) range for inspection of performs, both on line and off line. One of the latest innovations in that range is the PVS002 Plus for the inspection of PET preforms; this further development of the PVS 2 series and can test, with maximum precision, up to 1.100pph.
Designed to help quality control staff rapidly complete all their routine lab tests, the PVS002 Plus system is able to carry out, with a cycle time of 3sec., a broad range of checks:
-identification of visual defects on the opening, finish, thread, body and bottom
-measurement of dimensions
-reading of cavity numbers
Thanks to its modularity, the machine can be enhanced with additional functions such as weight and body checks by using a patented “grid” method that allows identification of defects which would normally only be visible with polarised light. All checks are performed by a system of HD cameras that executes extremely accurate analysis of the entire product, eliminating the risk of residual defects and warning the operator every time production moves outside the optimal pre-set quality range. All machine-calculated datas are saved on statistical databases that can be consulted remotely and/or after lengthy periods of time and exported towards other corporate management applications.
The PVS002 Plus is flanked by the PVS003 and PVS024 models for high-speed preform quality control; they can be installed on lines with the moulding press, upstream from stretch-blow moulding, or off line.
The PVS003 is particularly suitable for quality control of 100% of line output, downstream from the press or before stretch-blow moulding. The system has 8 modules which perform quality control on all preform parts. In addition to the standard checks, it has a module for in-depth inspection of neck and thread. Capable of inspection rates as high as 50.000pph, this machine allows continuous monitoring of output, guaranteeing all-round inspection of preforms and thus eliminating the risk of lots with faulty preforms, a possible source of customer complaints. This precision, speed and reliability also allow a general increase in production process efficiency, thus minimising any need for line downtimes.
Alongside the PVS003, Sacmi proposes the PVS024 inspection machine, specifically developed for the control and review of preform lots on which defects have been detected. This solution can automatically read the cavity number of each preform; this information, in addition to being used to produce detailed statistical reports, lets operators select the numbers of those preform cavities to be eliminated with ease via a user-friendly interface. The machine can inspect preforms of various sizes at rates of up to 36.000pph.
The PVS range features the latest version of the CVS3000 2.0 64-bit software, which allows a simple and intuitive man-machine interaction. One of the advantages of the CVS3000 is the standardisation and compatibility with all automated inspection systems produced by Sacmi, including the CHS (closures handling system). Since 2013 Sacmi completely redesigned to raise inspection rates to new, high-speed levels.