PETpla.net Insider 03 / 2017

INSPECTION 32 PET planet Insider Vol. 18 No. 03/17 www.petpla.net Preform handling at Rivella Best selection Since 2015 all the PET brands of Rivella, a company based in Rothrist, Switzerland, are produced with a new Ultra Clean filling line. The products whose sizes vary between 0.33l to 1.5l are bottled at a maximum speed of 24,000 bottles per hour. With this investment, Rivella intends to send a strong signal highlighting process opti- misation and quality improvement. From storage to preform inspection The Rivella production facil- ity in Rothrist receives the preforms on the ground floor and loads them into interim storage. Depending on the production planning, the Tanner tipper will be loaded with the appro- priate preform box. In the next stage, the preforms will be sorted and lined up to feed the inspection system. In this section, Tanner has integrated a preform inspection system from the Swiss based company IMD AG, one of the leading companies in inspection systems for preforms and closures. A full body inspection, a separate camera for the neck finish and a very precise support ring inspection guar- antees a good quality. Defective pre- forms are separated out by the auto- matic blow-out without the need for any interruption to the preform feeding process. The system has a standard quantity of cameras. Out of a number of options, the camera inspection can be customised. Aseptic filling In the following stage, a 12m long elevator conveys the tested preforms up to the upper floor. A special design, conceived with experts from the local authority, has resulted in an especially constructed fire protection wall. Once on the upper floor, the preforms will be transported over the aseptic blowing- filling bloc to the roller sorter. Feeding the blowing machine In front of the aseptic blowing- filling bloc the preforms are again in The inspection system detects errors on the preform and incorrect ones will be ejected without halting production. For several years, the Swiss soft drink brand Rivella has been relying on Tanner systems including the Ultra Clean Aseptic line. The components for loading, conveying, sorting and inspection of the preforms are provided by Tanner. The line extends over two floors and feeds the aseptic blowing filling bloc with the checked preforms. Rivella’s company headquarters in Rothrist, Switzerland Preform feed Preform tipper the roller sorter and this will be sorted in line. Due to limited space, the roller sorter has been placed directly before the AseptBloc of Krones AG. The preforms reach the entrance of the blowing machine with a discharge rail including a 135 degree curve. www.mtannerag.ch INSPECTION S P E C I A L