Power Conveyors for Rinsing, Filling, Capping and More

Power conveyor systems may be set up to allow packaging machinery to roll right up to one section of the system. But what about packagers who only automate certain functions of the entire packaging line? Typically, when individual automatic machinery is sold by Liquid Packaging Solutions, a conveyor will be included with the machine. The conveyor for an individual machine may use turntables for loading and accumulating in order to set up a system for one individual task, such as rinsing, filling or capping. In other situations, power conveyors may be used for tasks other than moving bottles through a working area. Below we give a brief overview of some of the many uses for power conveyors.

CONVEYORS FOR PACKAGING PROCESSES

The obvious and most common use for a conveyor is to transfer bottles from one machine to another as well as through the action area of the individual machine. So conveyors on equipment such as bottle fillers, capping machines, labelers and container cleaning equipment will also help to ensure that the containers are properly filled, sealed, labeled or rinsed. On some machines, such as a spindle capper, the conveyor simply moves containers through the capping area without stopping or orienting them in any manner. The movement compliments the work of the machine. In other cases, such as filling or rinsing, the conveyor may work with the machine, stopping bottles in a specific location that allows rinse or fill nozzles to perform their job. Labeling equipment may, from time to time, require an addition to the conveyor system to correctly orient containers for the application of the sticker. So when working with individual machines, power conveyors may transfer, stabilize orient or otherwise assist with the process at hand.

CONVEYORS FOR LOADING, LANING AND ACCUMULATING

In addition to transferring bottles and containers on each individual packaging machine, conveyors may be used to load, lane or accumulate containers. Loading and laning conveyors allow bottles to be placed quickly and easily on to the supplemental conveyor, which will then deliver them to the main conveyor system for transfer to the other equipment. Laning conveyors, as the name suggests, allows for the formation of rows of bottles or containers, with each row delivered to the main system. Accumulating conveyors can be used to collect finished products and assist in packing or preparing for shipment. Accumulating conveyors may be straight line conveyors, serpentine conveyors or other designs depending on the type of accumulation necessary. Cooling conveyors also accumulate filled bottles or containers for the purpose of allowing product to set or cool down before moving to the next packaging station, typically capping. Each loading, laning or accumulating conveyor may look different as the equipment will be matched to the specific project at hand.

CONVEYORS TO SEPARATE OR CONSOLIDATE

Conveyor systems may also be used on occasion to separate or consolidate bottles and containers. For example, an infeed conveyor may present bottles to more than one filling machine. As the bottles reach the fillers, they may be diverted to one of two conveyors, leading to one of the two liquid filling machines. Diverting conveyors take bottles and containers from a single conveyor and send them on separate paths. On the other hand, a conveyor may be made to consolidate bottles and containers from two separate lines, the exact opposite of the separation technique described above. In the situation described above, once containers are filled by two separate machines, the bottles may be placed back onto a single conveyor to allow a single capping machine to add the closures to the bottles. Again, these types of conveyors may be used at different points on a packaging line to meet the needs of the unique project.

A majority of power conveyors may be used to transfer bottles along a packaging line, but do not thing the usefulness of these machines is simply limited to that task alone. To learn more about conveyor systems and their different uses, contact Liquid Packaging Solutions to speak with a Packaging Specialist today!