Analyzing a Bottle Rinsing Project

Bottle rinsing machinery can be manufactured in a number of different ways, using a variety of cleaning or rinsing agents. Working with Liquid Packaging Solutions to analyze your own project will help to choose the best rinsing solution to meet specific needs.

Rinse Principle

A majority of rinses are completed by inverting bottles and allowing dust and debris to fall in to a rinse basin after the rinse cycle is complete. On automatic machinery, this involves using a clamp to pull containers off of the conveyor and invert them. Semi-automatic machinery simply requires an operator to invert bottles by hand, placing them on the rinse nozzles.

However, as bottles come in all sizes, shapes and materials, it is inevitable that some projects will involve containers that are simply not conducive to the inverting process. A second rinse principle involves vacuuming contaminants from a bottle, which removes the need to first invert the bottles. Special nozzles are used on these machines, also available in automatic and semi-automatic models, that will first create a seal on the bottle, use air to loosen the debris and then finish by vacuuming the debris to remove it from the container.  Though other factors may come in to play in deciding between an inverting rinser and a bottle vacuum, the bottles themselves will often be the focus of the analysis.

Speed

As noted above, bottle rinsers are available in both semi-automatic and automatic configurations. While automatic rinsing machines will pick up bottles or vacuum bottles from the conveyor system, semi-automatic machinery will require operator interaction with each rinse cycle. Analyzing the automation level, or speed, necessary to meet the needs of a certain project will depend on a number of different factors, including the production demand, the space available, the labor available and more.

These packaging machines can be built to allow for growth as well. For example, semi-automatic machines can be manufactured on a full frame, allowing for more automation in the future. Automatic machines may also be built to allow for additional rinse heads as production grows as well. Analyzing each project individually can help identify not only the best solution for "right now", but also a solution for expected future growth in many circumstances.

Rinse Media

Different rinse media, from air to water to product and more, can be used to rinse bottles for different projects. Again, the project at hand will help to determine the best media to use in any given situation. Air rinses are popular due to the fact that the process creates less waste, with no water or other liquid to drain or remove in the process. Product may be used rather than water to provide contamination of the liquid being filled. Other rinse media may be used when bottles need to be sanitized.

In many cases, some or all of the rinse media may work fine for removing debris. But, as in the situations mentioned above, decreasing waste, avoiding contamination or sanitizing containers and other concerns, may tilt the scales toward one type of media, making it a better solution than the others.

Bottle rinsing machines from Liquid Packaging Solutions can be built for businesses both large and small and for glass and plastic containers both large and small. For unique projects, custom rinsing equipment may also be manufactured as well. Visit the container cleaning section of the LPS website to learn more about these different solutions.