Intermittent Conveyors for Inverting Rinsing Machines

Though the option of manually turning bottles upside down could lead to some innovative rinsing techniques, automatic inverting rinsing machines will require a power conveyor to move bottles in and out of the rinse area.  Almost any type of conveyor system will work, be it raised belt, C-frame or other styles. However, unlike a continuously running conveyor used for many other sections of a packaging system, the conveyor system used for the container cleaning machine will be an intermittent conveyor.

 

Intermittent means, generally, stop and go.  The conveyor used on an inverting rinsing machine will stop and go as needed to grab, invert and rinse bottles.  Once returned to the conveyor after being rinsed, the conveyor will once again start to move containers down the packaging line.  The intermittent motion of the conveyor ensures that the bottles are stable and in position before they are grabbed by the container cleaning machine and flipped upside down for the rinsing process.  A continuous conveyor in this situation could easily cause instability, in turn affecting the efficiency of the machine.  For instance, if 12 glass bottles were simply held in place by pins under the rinse heads, but over a continuously moving conveyor belt, they would likely rattle against one another.  The vibration, or rattling itself may cause damage to the bottles.  More likely, though, the bottle vibration and movement would cause the bottle grabbers to miss their marks, resulting in crashing bottles during the inverting process.  The worst case scenario would be broken glass and machine damage and the best case would be water or cleaning solution spilled on the packaging line and production floor.  Either way, the result is downtime and loss of profitability. 

 

The intermittent motion of the conveyor allows the rinsing machine to perform its function consistently and reliably.  Inverting rinsing machines may use air, water or other cleaning solutions to remove dust and debris from containers as they begin their journey down a packaging line.  Custom stability systems, such as multiple neck or bottle grabbers, can be used to stabilize unusual or oddly shaped bottles.  These cleaning machines remove dust or debris build up caused by the manufacture of the bottle, accumulated during shipping or built up over time while in storage.  They are especially useful in less than sterile packaging environments.  

 

As an alternative to inverting rinsers, inline bottle vacuums can also be used to help keep a packaging process sanitary.  The bottle vacuum uses special nozzles which first loosen debris in the container with air, then suck the debris into an easily removeable waste reservior.  For bottles that are difficult to invert or easily damaged (light weight, for example), the bottle vacuum can be an ideal option, doing away with the the inverting process.  To learn about automatic, semi-automatic and even manual container cleaning equipment, browse our website.  Or call and talk to a Packaging Specialist during business hours - Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. - at 1-888-393-3693.