Stand Alone Rinsing Machines from Liquid Packaging Solutions, Inc.

Rinsing machines, as we have noted before, are popular packaging machines for industries that produce products that will be ingested in some manner, such as foods, beverages and pharmaceuticals.  In the past we have discussed the addition of bottle rinsers to automatic packaging lines or to uniframe packaging systems.  However, for some facilities, stand alone rinsing stations may be the best option.

 

Stand alone rinsers can be manufactured in a number of different ways to suit the needs of the packager using the machine.  For lower production facilities that package by hand, the rinsing machine can be manufactured on a small frame with an easy to use foot switch activation.  With these machines, the operator simply places bottles over the rinse nozzles prior to starting the rinse by stepping on the foot pedal.  These bottle rinsers can use air or water and can even incorporate a vacuum feature when needed or desired.  The rinse duration is set using a simple timer, and once the rinse is complete the operator will remove the clean bottles from the nozzles and send them to the next packaging phase, normally to a filling machine where product will be introduced. 

 

However, even with lower production facilities, there is often the potential for, and the expectation of, growth.  For facilities that expect production demand to grow, rinsing machines can still be used as stand alone packaging equipment.  These machines may be built on a different frame, specifically, the same frame used for an automatic filling machine.  These machines will still require the operator to place bottles over nozzles or onto a slide track or conveyor.  Activation may be through the use of a foot switch or a start button on an attached control panel.  The main advantage over rinsers with smaller frames is the ability to upgrade the equipment in the future.  Upgrades may include simple indexing systems to speed up production all the way to the addition of a PLC with an easy to use operator interface.  In other words, this type of semi-automatic machine can be modified to run as a completely automatic rinsing machine if production expands in the future.  The frame will even allow the machine to roll up to a power conveyor system should the entire packaging line one day become automated.

 

Many factors besides production demand will be taken into account when choosing the ideal rinsing machine for any project.  The bottle material, size and shape will be taken into account, for example.  But keeping the future needs of the packaging project in mind can save both time and money in the future if growth in demand is expected.