High-Speed Aseptic Bottle Transfer & Inspection System
Following the installation of a new aseptic filling machine, the customer required a fully automated solution to transfer filled bottles from the Grade B cleanroom environment to an unclassified area. Capital Automation designed and built a complete bottle-handling system capable of maintaining continuous product flow while performing 360° quality inspection, laser lot marking, and automated bottle distribution into collection boxes. The complete system was designed to handle production speeds of up to 240 bottles per minute.
The Challenge:
The new aseptic filling process required bottles to be transferred efficiently from the Grade B area without interrupting the high-speed production process.
In addition to transferring the bottles between areas, the system needed to:
- Handle bottles continuously at up to 240 bottles per minute
- Provide stable bottle transfer between different conveyor sections
- Perform a 360° visual quality inspection
- Apply lot identification to every bottle
- Elevate the bottles to the required discharge height
- Automatically alternate product flow between collection boxes
- Minimize operator involvement in the bottle-handling process
Our Solution:
Capital Automation designed and integrated a multi-stage conveyor and inspection system specifically for the application.
Bottomless Conveyor Transfer
A custom bottomless conveyor system was designed to transfer the bottles from the Grade B area into the unclassified production area.
The bottle is supported from its sides during transfer, allowing the system to move the product between environments while maintaining continuous production flow.
360° Automated Quality Inspection
After leaving the bottomless conveyor, the bottles are transferred onto a linear conveyor equipped with two KEYENCE vision inspection cameras.
The vision system provides 360° inspection of each bottle, allowing product quality to be automatically verified while the bottles continue moving through the production line.
Laser Lot Marking
A KEYENCE laser marking system is integrated into the conveyor line to apply the required lot number directly to each bottle.
This allows product identification and traceability to be incorporated directly into the automated process.
Incline Conveyor & Automatic Box Filling
Following inspection and marking, accepted bottles are transferred onto an incline conveyor, which elevates them to the required discharge height.
At the end of the incline conveyor, a custom diverter mechanism automatically directs bottles into the collection boxes.
Once one box is full, the diverter changes position and directs production into the second box, allowing the line to continue operating while the completed box is removed and replaced.
The Result :
The completed system provides a continuous automated path from the aseptic filling machine through inspection, identification, elevation, and final collection.
By combining high-speed conveying, automated quality inspection, laser marking, and automatic box diversion into one integrated system, the solution reduces manual product handling while supporting production rates of up to 240 bottles per minute.
Production capacity of up to 240 bottles per minute
Transfer from Grade B to an unclassified area
Custom bottomless conveyor system
High-speed linear bottle conveyor
Two KEYENCE QA vision cameras
360° bottle inspection
Integrated KEYENCE laser lot marking
Incline bottle conveyor
Automatic dual-box diverting system
Continuous high-speed operation
Custom mechanical and controls integration
From Manual Handling to Automated Production
This project demonstrates how a targeted automation solution can remove a production bottleneck without requiring the customer to redesign an entire manufacturing line.
Capital Automation develops custom machines, robotic systems, and material-handling solutions designed around the customer’s actual manufacturing process.
The Result :
The automated system increased production output while reducing the amount of manual material handling required in the process.
By automatically transferring multiple components from bulk containers to the production conveyor, the system provides a consistent flow of material to the downstream assembly process and helps the customer meet increased production requirements.
Five components picked per cycle
Automated bulk-container picking
Automated pick-and-place operation
Conveyor integration
Custom mechanical design
Electrical and controls integration
PLC and HMI programming
Machine guarding and safety integration
Complete machine assembly and testing
Installation and commissioning
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