Cantronic C Empty Bottle Inspector
An empty-bottle inspection machine that rejects contaminated or damaged glass before it reaches the filler, protecting both product safety and filler uptime.
Key Specifications
| Rated output | Up to 36,000 bottles per hour |
|---|---|
| Inspection points | Base, sidewall, shoulder, neck, mouth |
| Detection | High-frequency residual liquid, CCD foreign body, chip detection |
| Reject | Air blast with confirmation sensor |
| Bottle range | 250 ml - 1,000 ml returnable and one-way glass |
| False reject rate | < 0.3 percent on clean returnable bottles |
| Interface | OPC UA to line PLC, reject statistics per shift |
Why inspect empties rather than filled bottles
A contaminated bottle caught after filling means discarding good beer as well as the bottle, and a chip that reaches the filler can damage a valve. Inspecting the empty stage costs one machine but prevents both losses, and it is the only point where residual liquid and mould inside a returnable bottle can be seen clearly.
Residual liquid and foreign body detection
A high-frequency emitter measures residual liquid film inside returnable bottles; a CCD camera system inspects the base and sidewall for glass fragments, mould and foreign objects. Both signals are combined, so a bottle that is merely wet is not rejected the way it would be on a single-sensor machine.
Chip and mouth damage
Neck and mouth inspection catches chips that would break a crown seal. On returnable fleets this is the single highest-value inspection point, because mouth damage is the leading cause of leaking crowns on refilled bottles.
Typical Applications
- Breweries with returnable bottle fleets — Returnable glass accumulates chips and mould; inspecting empties is the only point where both are visible.
- Lines running high-speed fillers — Above 20,000 BPH a single damaged bottle can take a filler valve out of service for an hour, so the inspection pays back on downtime alone.
- Bottlers with food safety audits — Reject statistics per shift provide the traceability documentation that FSSC 22000 and BRC audits expect.
Related Equipment
Frequently Asked Questions
Does it work with coloured glass?
Yes. The system calibrates per glass colour; brown and green bottles use different exposure settings, stored as recipes.
How much line length does it need?
About 2.2 m including infeed and reject station for the 24,000 BPH version.
What happens to rejected bottles?
They are air-blasted into a reject crate. Rejects are counted and can be routed to a crusher for returnable fleets.
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