Semi-Automatic and Automatic Bottle Rinsers for Any Project
For several different reasons, rinsing bottles prior to introducing product can be an important task for a packager. The end goal of the rinsing machine will always be to remove dust and debris from a bottle or container, but the reasoning may differ slightly. For some products, the dust and debris inside the bottle may act as a contaminant by mixing with the product, making the product unconsumable or more inefficient for the intended use. For others, like those in clear containers, the contaminants may not have an effect on the product, but seeing the dirt in the bottle casts a negative aesthetic on the item. For this reason, bottle rinsers will be seen across many different industries, and Liquid Packaging Solutions manufactures a range of machines to help packagers large and small.
Bottle rinsing equipment can be manufactured to run with the help of an operator on a semi-automatic basis, or they can be built as a part of a complete, automated packaging line, cleaning up to sixteen bottles per cycle and over a hundred bottles a minute for some applications. Both automatic levels can use air, water, product or some other cleaning solution to prepare bottles for the fill and other packaging tasks.
Semi-automatic bottle rinsers use a small footprint to rinse up to eight bottles with each cycle. These machines require an operator to work with the machine throughout the production day. The operator will place bottles on the rinse nozzles, activate the rinse cycle, and remove the bottles upon completion of the cleaning for each cycle run. Semi-automatic machines are ideal for packagers with smaller production demands or products with shorter runs. The machines will often be paired with tabletop fillers and cappers or added to a turntable to allow for quick cleaning and placement for further packaging tasks.
Automatic bottle rinsers, on the other hand, only requires an operator to ensure the machine is properly set up prior to beginning production. Once set up, the automatic bottle rinsers will use an indexing system to move containers in and out of the rinse area. Most rinsing machines will invert containers over a basin, then use the rinse media of choice to clean the interiors and wash the debris into the basin. For some processes, especially where inverting bottles can be difficult, containers will remain on the conveyor and special nozzles are used to vacuum debris from the interior. Upon release from the rinse area, bottles will usually travel to the filling machine to receive product.
Of course, not every project is the same. Bottle rinsers and container cleaning equipment can be modified or even custom designed to perform other tasks as well, including rinsing the outside of containers. To learn more, browse the Container Cleaning section of the LPS website or call LPS to discuss your specific project with a Packaging Specialist.