Bottle Corking Machine for Alcohol Bottling
Bottle capping machines like spindle and chuck capping equipment can be seen across many different industries, as these machines seal screw-on type closures from simple flat caps found on bottled water to trigger sprayers, pumps and more. While the bottle corking machine may also be seen across different industries, this unique capper is found prominently on the packaging lines of those bottling alcohol, like distilled spirits and wine.
While other closure types are also seen on alcohol bottling lines, corks have traditionally been used to seal alcohol, and especially wine, for a number of different reasons. For example, the porous nature of cork helps certain alcoholic beverages like wine to age properly, permitting low levels of oxygen to enter the bottle while also protecting against leakage or spilling as it expands to always provide a tight seal. However, securely placing a cork in each bottle of wine or spirits would be both a tedious and time consuming task when preparing these products. Liquid Packaging Solutions manufactures bottle corking machines to add efficiency to the corking process without sacrificing any of the benefits of using a cork seal.
Semi-automatic corking machines are ideal for craft distillers and smaller wineries. These simple machines, which can use a tabletop frame or a full-frame, allow an operator to load multiple corks into a chute for quick delivery during the sealing process. Once the chute is loaded, the operator only needs to slide the filled bottle into a positioning nest and the bottle corker consistently and reliably presses the closure into place. For lower demand businesses, the tabletop version of the bottle corker offers a great option where space for packaging alcohol is limited. Semi-automatic bottle corkers manufactured on a full frame allow craft distillers or wineries the ability to upgrade, letting the corker grow with the company when demand for products is expected to increase.
Fully automatic bottle corking machines can work as stand-alone units but will typically be found on inline packaging systems that may also include rinsing, filling, and labeling machinery. Automatic bottle corkers will include a cork delivery system that delivers closures from a bulk supply to a chute from an elevator or bowl. Rather than repeatedly loading a chute manually, the operator of an automatic corker or an automatic packaging line can simply provide bulk corks to the hopper of the cap delivery system. The elevator or bowl reject the corks that are not properly positioned for delivery to the bottles.
As the bottles of distilled spirits, wine, or other alcohol move down a conveyor system, sensors are used to position the bottle and automatically secure the cork in the bottle before releasing the sealed products down the conveyor for further preparation that may include capsules, heat shrink seals, labels, and more. The automatic machines use the cap delivery system, power conveyor, PLC, and a simple-to-use operator interface to add speed to the preparation of distilled spirits and wines without the need for the operator of the line to interact with each bottle being sealed.
ROPP caps, screw caps and other closures are also used to seal different liquors, but because of tradition and the unique benefits of using cork with wines and spirits, the corking machine is a popular piece of capping equipment for alcohol bottling. Visit our YouTube channel to see a capping machine video of the automatic bottle corker on a packaging system or call us today for more information on semi-automatic or automatic options.