Silgan Vision Upgrades its Popular 51R56 Vision Inspection System

Silgan Vision Upgrades its Popular 51R56 Vision Inspection System, Increasing Throughput Speeds to 1,200 Bottles per Minute

Waukegan, IL ­– The Silgan Vision 51R56 vision inspection system inspects filled bottles for cocked, loose, and missing caps, damaged or missing tamper-evidence bands and low fill levels. Available system options include confirming proper cap color and graphics. This popular system, which has been used to inspect beverage, cleaning products and other household products bottles and caps, detects and rejects incorrect, damaged or incompletely-filled containers before they can proceed downstream and potentially enter the marketplace.

Silgan Vision has now modified the 51R56 system’s software to increase its throughput speed from 800 bottles per minute to a maximum of 1,200 bottles per minute. This means that the inspection function will not be a limiting factor to productivity as market demand requires faster filling and capping.

The quality and specifications of other aspects of the system remain the same. The vision unit contains multiple cameras for 360° inspection of passing containers. The vision tunnel is mounted on a stand that enables the unit to be placed easily over an existing conveyor line, eliminating the need to break into a line to provide space. The unit can then be raised or lowered automatically as bottles being inspected change in height. The system human machine interface (HMI) is mounted on a separate stand next to the conveyor, and provides a 15-inch touchscreen interface through which operators access inspection menus and initiate product changeovers. The HMI’s menus can contain up to 50 product inspection target configurations and/or jobs.

The 51R56 can inspect cap sizes from 28 mm to 82 mm, and the system includes an auto configuration teach function that is used to add new target configurations to the menu. The vision unit tunnel includes a motorized height adjustment that adjusts the unit as the recipe for a new bottle height is activated. Custom LED lighting within the tunnel provides for clear visual images.

Both the HMI and the vision unit are NEMA 4X rated, providing watertight washdown protection. The system is driven by a solid-state hard drive with backup function, and an Ethernet bay for online connectivity. Access to the system is password protected to ensure personnel can access only the functions for which they are authorized.

Silgan Equipment is a full-service equipment supplier supporting the food and beverage industry. Silgan’s state-of-the-art vision inspection systems leverage expertise in software and service to minimize product safety risk and costs, while providing intelligence on maintaining an efficient line operation. Silgan Equipment is a member of the Silgan Holdings group of companies, leaders in providing innovative packaging solutions for a wide range of applications. The Silgan Equipment headquarters and manufacturing center is located in Waukegan, Illinois. For more information, contact Sylvia Tomal at sylvia.tomal@silganclosures.com or visit the company website at www.silgancls.com.

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