Application Case of Atonm MDSC-900E Metal Single/Double Sheet Detector in Cap Gasket Insertion Machine

Customer Requirements and Problems

The customer is a cap manufacturing enterprise focusing on the food and pharmaceutical packaging fields, and has been facing persistent quality problems in the automated gasket insertion process. During the operation of inserting aluminum foil gaskets into caps on its production line, occasional gasket stacking in the conveying mechanism leads to 3%-5% of caps being fitted with double gaskets. If such non-conforming products flow to downstream enterprises, it may cause abnormal sealing performance (such as difficult opening due to over-sealing or sealing failure), triggering customer complaints and the risk of batch returns.

Meanwhile, the enterprise has to assign 2 quality inspectors to conduct manual screening at the end of the production line, with a daily rework volume of 500-1000 pieces. This not only increases labor costs, but also results in a 1% missed detection rate due to fatigue-induced errors in manual inspection.

Therefore, the enterprise has clearly defined its demand: it needs an automated detection device that can adapt to the rhythm of the existing production line and accurately identify single/double gaskets, to replace manual inspection and eliminate the hidden danger of gasket stacking in caps.

Production Line Operating Parameters

The core parameters of the enterprise's gasket insertion production line are as follows:

Cap Specifications: Diameter 20-30mm (covering various types of caps such as beverage bottle caps and medicine bottle caps), height 8-12mm, material is PP plastic (slightly curved surface).

Production Rhythm: Continuous operation mode, stable speed of 200 pieces/minute, daily effective production duration of 16 hours.

Gasket Characteristics: Aluminum foil material, single-piece thickness of 0.1-0.2mm.

Solution and Implementation Details

In response to the customer's requirements and production line characteristics, the Atonm MDSC-900E Metal Single/Double Sheet Detector was finally selected as the core solution.

Specific Implementation Details

Equipment Technical Compatibility

The MDSC-900E Single/Double Sheet Detector adopts the electromagnetic induction principle to identify single and double sheets by detecting the differences in the metal characteristics of aluminum foil gaskets. With a response speed of 600 pcs/min, it easily matches the production line speed of 200 pieces per minute. The 900E supports an aluminum material thickness detection range of 0.1-8mm, which can cover all the cap specifications and gasket thicknesses of the customer.

Installation and Commissioning

Sensor Probes: One end of the sensor is fixed directly above the conveyor belt via a bracket, with a vertical distance of about 35mm from the top surface of the caps. The other end is installed under the belt. The centers of the two probes are aligned with the center line of the conveyor belt to ensure that the detection area covers the position of the gaskets inside the caps.

Controller: It is integrated into an independent cabinet at the bottom of the production line, and connected to the production line PLC system and position switch at the same time, realizing the linkage between the detection signal, conveyor belt start-stop, and rejection device.

Rejection Device: The matched pneumatic air nozzle is installed under the sensor to ensure that non-conforming products are accurately blown into the collection box after passing through the detection area without affecting the subsequent conveying of caps.

Operation Process

Caps with inserted gaskets are conveyed to the detection area at a constant speed via the conveyor belt.

The caps trigger the position switch, which sends a trigger signal to the controller.

The controller activates the sensor detection synchronously to collect and analyze the metal signal of the gaskets inside the caps.

If a single gasket is identified, the controller outputs a release signal, and the caps continue to move to the next process along with the conveyor belt.

If double gaskets are identified, the controller immediately sends a rejection signal to the pneumatic air nozzle. When the caps reach the position of the air nozzle, the air blowing function is activated to push the caps into the side collection box.

Application Results

With the material stacking detection solution provided by Atonm, the customer has achieved cost reduction and efficiency improvement while ensuring the stability of product quality.