Filling Inspection in Turbo Mode

Beverage cans are inspected and evaluated for filling volume and pressure at high speed using 3D scans.

© AT

What is the decisive sound when opening a beverage can? The hiss! This not only stands for freshness, but above all for a guarantee of quality. However, the fact that the can hisses correctly is no coincidence–it depends on the exact filling quantity and the correct filling pressure. To ensure these parameters meet the required standards, AT Sensors and EVT Eye Vision Technology GmbH (EVT) jointly developed an application for Filtec, a manufacturer of filling machines. This solution inspects and evaluates beverage containers using 3D scanning. And it does so at an impressive speed in 24/7 operation: 40 cans per second, 2,400 cans per minute, 3.5 million cans per day. In the USA, these filling machines are used by well-known beverage manufacturers.

The Challenge

However, it is not only the high frequency that makes this application, developed specifically for the beverage industry, so special. It has been running so successfully for years that Filtec recently reordered 3D sensors to equip several hundred more filling machines, which are now being ordered not only by beverage manufacturers in the USA, but globally. However, in order to develop this application in the first place, a number of challenges had to be overcome. EVT and AT Sensors had to come up with a solution for checking 40 cans per second at maximum speed on a conveyor belt just two meters long using innovative image processing. And it wasn't just a matter of evaluating the can, but also of ejecting the beverage container if it did not meet the specified standards in terms of filling pressure and fill quantity.

"The can inspection system is characterized above all by its enormous speed and high precision. During development, we had to ensure above all that the data was accurate and that the correct cans were ejected. After all, the machine runs 24/7 in continuous operation, so reliability played a decisive role," explains Michael Beising, Managing Director of EVT. In this context, EVT and Filtec then suggested AT Sensors as the sensor supplier. "We have known AT since its founding, and even back then, AT developed impressive 3D sensors. Therefore, we quickly realized that this was exactly the right solution for can inspection," Beising continues.