Dipl Pack Unit 2.3 - ibdlearningzone.org.uk

Diploma in Beverage Packaging (Beer)

Unit 2.3 Large Pack Operations - Keg

Pre-filling Operations

Learning Material © Institute of Brewing and Distilling 2012

Qualifications

2 Diploma in Beverage Packaging (Beer)

DIPOLMA IN PACKAGING (BEER) - MODULE 2

UNIT 2.3: Large Pack Operations - Keg

ELEMENT 2.3.2: Pre-filling Operations

ABSTRACT: This section gives a qualitative knowledge of

design and operation of unitising and de-unitising

equipment, as well as keg handling pre-washer. This section

also gives a qualitative knowledge of the design and

operation on container preparation equipment.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: : On completion of this unit you will

have:

1. An understanding of de-unitising, selective keg

turning plus unitising operations, including pallets

and locator boards.

2. Understand the key operating principles of

external keg washing including label removal.

SYLLABUS.

2.3.2.1 Container collation methods:

• Pallets (flat beds, belly)

• Locator boards

• Loose

2.3.2.2 De-unitizing:

• Traditional methods

• Robotic arms

• Pallet and locator board inspection

2.3.2.3 External keg washing and label removal:

• Overview and objectives of external keg

washing

• Current design capabilities

• Typical washer configurations and operations

• Maintenance and cleaning of equipment,

common faults and remedies

2.3.2.4 Keg orientation and spear torque tightness:

• Selective turning

• Spear torque tightness

Dipl.Pack Revision Notes v2 October 2012 3

Element 2.3.2

Pre-filling Operations

2.3.2.1 – CONTAINER COLLATION METHODS

In order to facilitate mechanical handling of kegs three

methods of collation are used. These are pallets, locator

boards or loose. The later method is usually facilitated using

fork lift tricks (FLTs) with specially modified tynes.

Palletised handling can either be on flat bed pallets or belly

pallets. Belly pallets hold the kegs horizontally and tend to

require manual handling off and on the pallet (Figures 1 and

2)

Figure 1 Belly Pallet Manual Handling

Figure 2 Belly Pallet Mechanical Handling

Flat bed pallets can either have one layer per pallet (Figure

3) or multiple layers separated by wooden boards (Figure

4).

Figure 3 Flat Bed Pallet Single Layer

Figure 4 Flat Bed Pallet Multiple Layer with Board

Separation

Additional stability can be obtained by wrapping lower

layers with stretchwrap film as shown in Figure 5.

An alternative to pallets is collating kegs using plastic

locator boards as shown in Figure 6. Special clamping tools

are required on Fork Lift Trucks (FLTs) handling this

package form.


Figure 5 Flat Bed Pallet multiple Layer with Stretchwrap

Figure 6 Kegs stacked using Locator Boards to assist

collation

The third concept is not to use any form of collation and to

handle containers loose. This is illustrated in Figure 7. Cages

can be used to contain containers during distribution. Care

needs to be taken with all forms of keg collation and

stacking methods to ensure that injury cannot occur

through falling containers. Whichever method is used

needs to be risk assessed with adequate control measures

to avoid accidents. Collation material condition monitoring

is part of these control measures resulting in isolation and

repair or culling as appropriate.

Figure 7 Loose Keg Handling

2.3.2.2 – DE-UNITISING

Deunitising is the process of taking a stack of kegs and

reducing it to one layer high. This is normally achieved

using a FLT or dedicated manual handling machine. This

process normally involves lifting a layer from top down

from the collation device and placing it on a conveyor feed

table or in the case of pallets supporting the layers above

the base layer enabling the base layer to be fed to a

depalletising station. A deuinitiser is shown in Figure 8 and

schematically in Figure 9.

Figure 8A Deunitiser (courtesy of KHS)


Figure 8B Deunitiser (courtesy of KHS)

Figure 9 Deunitiser (courtesy of KHS)

Depalletising can either be done with a dedicated

depalletiser or with a robotic arm. Conventional

depalletisers grip all the kegs on a layer at once and transfer

them to a conveyor table which feeds a line at a time onto

the feed conveyor. Figure 10 shows a depalletiser arm

holding a layer of kegs; Figure 11 shows the change part to

achieve this. Figure 12 shows the conveyor table, which

feeds a row of kegs at a time onto the feed conveyor.

Figure 10 Depalletiser Arm (courtesy of KHS)

Figure 11 Depalletiser Change Part (courtesy of KHS)


Figure 12 Depalletiser Conveyor Table and Discharge

Conveyor (courtesy of KHS)

Depalletising is an ideal task for robotic arms as shown in

Figure 13 which will move one or more kegs at a time onto

the feed conveyor.

Figure 13 Robotic Depalletiser (courtesy of KHS)

Robots in Packaging

Robotic arms can be used for the following applications on

packaging lines:

• Palletizing (crates, boxes, kegs, bags)

• Depalletizing (crates, kegs)

• Combined palletizing/Depalletizing

• Combined pallet conveying, palletizing, and

Depalletizing.

• Combined inserted liner inserting and palletizing.

• Crating

• Decrating

• Combined crating and decrating

• Re-crating

• Sort packing

• Packaging magazine operations

Robot Description

Arm-type robots are equipped with 5 or 6 axles (depending

on the model) with joint kinematics for all point and track

control tasks. Generally joint and gear movements are

without play. The drive motors are plug-in, brush-less AC

servo motors. The robot is designed so that components

are simple and clear in design and easily accessible. Robots

are fast, operationally reliable, easy to service, and low

maintenance.

The robot comprises a frame on which the "carrousel" and

rocker, arm and hand rotate around a vertical axis. The

hand with its attachable flange is used to accommodate

the heads which are designed according to the particular

area of use.

The position sensing for the base and hand axles is

performed by an absolute position sensing system and

resolver, one for each axle. The drives are transistor-

controlled, low-inertia AC servo motors. Brakes and

resolvers are integrated in the motor unit. The robot

working area on all axles is limited by software limit

switches.

In order to achieve the sequence at the required rate, the

majority of all servo axles are in operation simultaneously.

The tool focal point moves on a pre-defined track in the

area. The manipulation stations within the swivel radius

can be approached in any order.

During the process the head can

- remain parallel

- pivot on its own axis (up to 360°)

- remain rigid on the rotational axis.

Fully automatic head changeover is available (option) for

multiple model heads.

The robot is operated from a terminal with an integrated

LCD monitor.

• Serial communication link to the automation system.

• Menu-guided operating

• Detailed operation and diagnosis messages.

• Integrated safety functions.


The main components of a robotic depalletiser/ palletiser

are illustrated in Figure 14 along with an explanation of the

mode of operation in conjunction with Figure 17.

Figure 14 Robotic Depalletiser/ Palletiser (courtesy of KHS)

(1) Camera system

(2) Gripper head

(3) Machine

(4) Pneumatic equipment

(5) Protective cap stripper

(6) Table

(7) Centering unit

(8) Safeguard

The robots generally have four or six axes of operation. A

six axis robot is shown in Figure 15 and four and six axis

models in Figure 16.

Figure 15 Six Axis Robot with Axes illustrated (courtesy of KHS)

Figure 16 Four and Six Axes Robots (courtesy of KHS)


Figure 17 Robotic Depalletiser/ Palletiser Operation

(courtesy of KHS)

Robot Depalletiser Mode of Operation

a. The conveyor (14) conveys the pack formation to the

position required for further processing.

b. The pack formation is centered on the pallet against the

bars (3) in the direction of conveyor travel. The bars (2)

close thereby centering the packs on both sides.

c. The layer camera (1) mounted above the centering unit

(13) photographs the pack formation from above. The

machine control uses this layer information to check the

positions of the packs (12).

d. This then results in the optimum pack (12) removal

sequence for the machine (7).

e. The bars (2, 3) of the centering unit (13) open thereby

releasing the packs (12).

f. The machine (7) runs the gripper head (6) to the layer of

packs on the centering unit (13).

g. The gripper head (6) of the machine (7) grasps the packs

(12) on the pallet. The machine (7) then travels together

with the gripper head (6) to the table (10). The plates (5) on

the gripper head (6) run the packs (12) to the position

required for discharge.

h. The pack carriers (9) needed to receive the packs (12)

enters the table (10).

i. The stoppers (11) on the table (10) travel toward the

inside and stop two pack carriers (9) each in the pickup

position. Once the pack carriers (9) are in place, the

receiver inside the pack carrier (9) travels to the required

position.

j. The gripper head (6) is lowered thereby placing the packs

(12) on the receiver in the pack carrier (9).

k. The checking facilities in the receiver determine if the

packs (12) in the pack carrier (9) meet requirements.

l. The pack (12) requirements are that the fittings are

without protective caps and point downward.

m. The machine control uses this information to check if

the fittings are pointing up or down and if there are any

protective caps.

If the packs (12) meet the requirements, the grippers (4) on

the gripper head (6) open thereby releasing the packs (2).

If the direction of the fittings of the two packs (12) grasped

differ, the gripper head (6) of the machine picks up the

pack (12) with the fitting pointing up, turns it 180°, and

places it back in the pack carrier (9).

If the direction of the fittings of the two packs (12) grasped

is the same, the gripper head (6) of the machine picks up

both packs (12), turns them 180°, and places them back in

the pack carrier (9).

If one or both packs (12) grasped still has a protective cap,

the gripper head (6) picks up the pack(s) (12) and travels to

the protective cap stripper (8). The gripper head (6) lowers

the packs (12) one at a time onto the protective cap

stripper (8). After the protective caps have been removed,

the gripper head (6) travels back to the table (10) and

places the pack(s) (12) in the pack carrier (9).

n. Once the two pack carriers (9) contain correct packs

(12), the gripper head (6) leaves the work area. The

receiver then lowered and moved back together with the

checking facilities.

o. The stoppers (11) travel inward thereby releasing the

pack carriers (9). The loaded pack carriers (9) exit the table

for further processing.

p. Once the layer of packs has been completely

depalletised, the machine (7) and the gripper head (6)

remain in a wait position.

q. The empty pallet travels over the conveyor (14) out of

the centering unit (13) for further processing.

r. This process is repeated until the type changeover or the

end of production.

s. The pack conveyor conveys the packs for further

processing.

An example as to how the robot removes the kegs from a

layer is shown in Figure 18. The order is shown per pick up

movement starting with 1 and finishing with 6.


Figure 18 Robotic Depalletiser Keg Removal Sequence

(courtesy of KHS)

Palletising is the reverse of depalletising where the control

emphasis is on locating the kegs on the collation medium to

be used plus correct placement of the collation medium

used to separate layers. Robotic arms are commonly used

for these operations as described above and shown in

Figure 19. The alternative is dedicated machines to collate

kegs on the collation medium as shown in Figures 20 and

21.

Figure 19A Robotic Palletiser (courtesy of KHS)

Figure 19B Robotic Palletiser (courtesy of KHS)

Figure 20 Palletiser Collation Conveyor Table (courtesy of

KHS)


Figure 21 Palletiser (courtesy of KHS)

The layout of a line rated at 160 kegs per hour using one

robot is shown in Figure 22.

Figure 22 Line layout 160 keg/hr (courtesy of KHS)

Robot Depalletiser Maintenance Examples

Electrical Maintenance

Switchgears with mechanical contacts are subject to wear.

For service life and the highest possible rate of switching

cycles, cf. manufacturer’s lists.

Electronic appliances are wear-resistant and maintenance-

free. Care should be taken to ensure that there is sufficient

cooling and dry circulation air. The filter mats of the filter

ventilators must be cleaned or replaced regularly (according

to local conditions).

For three-phase motors it is sufficient to keep the cooling

air duct clean and to check the antifriction bearings

regularly.

Light Barriers, Light Scanners

Daily cleaning of lenses and reflectors prior to operation

start-up. Be sure that light barriers, light scanners,

electronic and optical appliances are not splashed during

cleaning.


Pneumatic Maintenance

Daily or every 8 operating hours

Check maintenance unit (water separator, drain water if

need be, top up mist oiler if need be).

Weekly or every 40 operating hours

Check flexible tubes and connections for damage.

Centering Facility Lubrication and Servicing Schedule

Table Lubrication and Servicing Plan

Similar to the Centering Facility Maintenance except for:

Gripper Head Lubrication and Servicing Schedule

Similar to the Centering Facility Maintenance except for:

Pallet Inspection

In order to facilitate the achievement of high line

efficiencies along with efficient and safe distribution it is

important that defective pallets are not used. This is

achieved by purchasing the pallets to an agreed

specification which enable reliable use on the packaging

line plus throughout the distribution chain in combination

with pallet inspection prior to re-use. There are two main

types of pallet inspector. The first uses sprung rollers which

are rolled along the top boards as the pallet passes under

the rollers to detect missing parts of top board (Figure 23).

The second type uses pneumatic cylinders which exert

force on the top board in a number of places at the same

time (Figure 24). If there is a structural issue with the pallet

this will be detected.


Figure 23 Pallet Inspection using Rollers (courtesy of KHS)

Figure 24 Pallet Inspection using Pneumatic Cylinders

(courtesy of KHS)

An example of the problems which can be caused by

damaged pallets is shown schematically in Figure 25 and in

the photo in Figure 26.

Figure 25 Schematic Missing Bearer (courtesy of KHS)

Figure 26 Photo Damaged Pallet (courtesy of KHS)

Top board deformation should be no more that 10mm

above or below as shown in Figure 27.

Figure 27 Pallet Top Board Deformation (courtesy of KHS)

The problems that can be experienced through incorrectly

placed pallet bearers are shown in Figure 28. These include

conveying and stacking problems.

Figure 28 Possible problems caused by incorrectly placed

pallet bearers (courtesy of KHS)

It is just as important that other collation devices are in

good condition to ensure safe and efficient operation.

Examples are shown in Figure 29.


Figure 29 Photo Damaged Collating Devices (courtesy of

KHS)

An indication as to how much keg damage is acceptable

before line problems occur is shown in figure 30. It is

important to remember that dents reduce the volume

available to be filled and thus could compromise the keg

contents especially if a minimum contents rather than

average contents regime is in operation.

Figure 30 Indication of Max Acceptable Keg Damage

(courtesy of KHS)

2.3.2.3 – EXTERNAL KEG WASHING & LABEL

REMOVAL

As with any process it is important that the objectives are

defined so that it can be ensured that the equipment used

and the way that it is operated achieves these objectives.

Keg supply chains expose the keg to many different

conditions where the outside can become contaminated

with organic and inorganic contaminants. The external

washing process needs to restore the keg to an acceptable

defined state prior to its next trip along the supply chain. A

key part of the kegging process is the marking of the keg

to identify the liquid contents with respect to product,

packaging batch details and possibly a best before date.

This is usually achieved by using a label. In order to avoid

confusion it is therefore important that any previous labels

are removed. This comes into contradiction with the

objectives of labelling the keg to ensure that the label

does not pat company with the keg during its journey

through the supply chain. Rain should not remove the

label yet water is the main ingredient used to remove the

label during external keg washing. Approaches to reducing

label removal problems include the use of strip gumming,

label paper which breaks down in hot water, mild

detergents plus mechanical action from high pressure jets.

If the keg is directly printed then the external keg washing

process must remove previous ink used.

External keg washing is usually carried out by passing the

keg through a tunnel containing a series of high pressure

sprays up to 200 bar. Pre-wetting can take place, and can

include the use of ultrasonics. The use of warm water at

around 55C helps external washing, as does the use of

detergents, though care must be taken not to corrode the

kegs. There is a risk of legionella especially with warm

external keg washers, and therefore it is important that

this risk is assessed and a regime installed to minimise the

risk.

If a label is not applied to the keg then low pressure

cleaning can be used

External keg washer typical current design capabilities

• Design can be adjusted to suit all keg and

container types

• Modular system 330 to1.300 kegs/h

• Reduced media consumption

• Good maintainability

• Optimised filtering systems

• Automatic internal cleaning

• Automatic adjustable

keg down holder in HP area

• Automatic adjustable

guide rails

• 70 m3/h water per tank


External keg washer typical configuration

The design depends on the cleaning rate required and the

cleaning duty. The cleaning duty will depend on whether

labels need to be removed from the top of the keg along

with the materials of construction of the keg. Stainless steel

is the material used for most kegs today. There are many

aluminium kegs in service and these will be less resistant to

the use of caustic for external cleaning. Supply chain

conditions will also affect the cleaning duty. Kegs which

have baked on soil from long distribution chains in hot

conditions will require more external cleaning effort.

A typical external keg washer could consist of four

treatment sections with one bath/soak tank. This is shown

in the photo in Figure 31 and schematically in Figure 32.

Figure 31 External Keg Washer (courtesy of KHS)

Figure 32 External Keg Washer Schematic (courtesy of KHS)

Figure 33 shows the cleaning process in each of the four

sections:

Figure 33 External Keg Washer Schematic of Washing

Operation by Section (courtesy of KHS)

As the required output increases then the number of

sections is increased. These can include an additional

brushing section plus also a passive caustic section where

caustic is left in contact with the keg to enable reactions to

take place with the soil.

The position of the sprays plus the automatic rails to hold

down the keg in the high pressure spray section is shown in

Figure 34. The high pressure section top rails and

automatic side rails are automatically positioned as part of

the changeover from one keg size to another. The

automatic side rails are shown in Figure 35. These rails are

driven by a servo motor to enable the required position to

be achieved.

Figure 34 External Keg Washer Keg Sprays and Auto High

Pressure Section Rails (courtesy of KHS)


Figure 35 External Keg Washer Keg Auto Side Guide Rails

(courtesy of KHS)

The high pressure spraying station, which is also the

brushing station, is shown in Figure 36.

Figure 36 External Keg Washer Keg High Pressure Spraying

plus Brushing Section including Brush Drive (courtesy of

KHS)

The brush drive is set up in pairs turning in the same

direction at a rate which combined with the conveyor chain

velocity means that the keg rotates. A close up of the high

pressure spray arrangement for cleaning the head of the

keg is shown in Figure 37. The correct design of this section

is vital to ensure effective label removal.

Figure 37 External Keg Washer Keg High Pressure Spraying

Head (courtesy of KHS)

Figure 38 gives a better view of the two rails of automatic

keg hold down for the high pressure section.

Figure 38 External Keg Washer Automatic Keg Hold Down

(courtesy of KHS)

Larger external washers are fitted with two tanks (2 is a

detergent tank, 1 is a recovered/ mixed water tank) as

shown in Figure 39. The detergent from each tank is fed by

a low-pressure pump (3) into the side-mounted distributor

pipe (4). Each detergent is fed through a dedicated

distributor pipe. Branches (5) junction off from the

distributor pipe to the nozzle holders on which the cleaning

jets are mounted. The low-pressure pumps (centrifugal

pumps) have an output of 3 bar and a delivery rate of up to

70m3/h. They supply all the nozzle holders in the tunnel

except the fresh water spray jet at the outlet and the high

pressure nozzles.

The tank connections are as follows:

On tank 2 (caustic):

1. Tank interior cleaning (fresh water)

2. Metering (caustic, approx. 30% feed diluted as

appropriate) for KEG cleaning

3. Bath filling for cleaning

4. detergent (heated by heat exchanger on roof of

tunnel, optional)

On tank 1 (mixed water/water):

1. Tank interior cleaning (fresh water)

2. Fresh water for tank level equalisation

3. Bath filling for cleaning (water/mixed water),

customer-specific

4. Detergent (heated by heat exchanger on roof of

tunnel)


Figure 39 External Keg Washer with Two Detergent Tank

Arrangement (courtesy of KHS)

Kegs are cleaned by cleaning jets (1, 2) mounted on the

sides, top and bottom on nozzle holders (3) by means of clip

lock attachments (4), as shown in Figure 40. The low

pressure nozzles are a mixture of fan jets (1) and conical jet

nozzles (2). The direction of spray can be adjusted by

rotating the nozzle holders +/- 35° horizontally (for a rough

setting), by first slackening the screws - item 5). The nozzles

can also be adjusted +/- 35° horizontally and vertically by

slackening the screw (6).

Figure 40 External Keg Washer Cleaning Jet Adjustment

(courtesy of KHS)

Beneath the tunnel are collectors (1) which collect the

detergents and return them into the appropriate detergent

tanks (2) (see Figure 41).

Figure 41 External Keg Washer Detergent/ Mixed Water

Collection (courtesy of KHS)

Before the contaminated detergent flows into the tank, it

passes along a filter belt (3) which filters out coarse dirt

and conveys them into an external collector tank (4). The

belt is shaped as a plate-link chain section. On the drive

roller above the collector tank there is a pipe (5) with holes

in it. Water/air is sprayed out of these holes and cleans the

chain section (see Figure 42). The drive of the filter belt is

timer-controlled.

If the external washer is fitted with a mixed water tank to

help reduce water consumption by collecting and re-using

water then as this water is used to feed the high pressure

sprays it is preferable that a finer filtration takes place and

a cloth filter can be used as described later.

Figure 42 External Keg Washer Coarse Mesh Filter with

Cover Removed (courtesy of KHS)

Upstream of the intake area of the low-pressure pump(s)

(1) there are four slot-in strainers (2). They provide

additional protection for the low-pressure pump(s) by

trapping coarse dirt in the detergent (such as labels) which

could not be caught by the filter belt. The slot-in strainer

can be removed from the profile rails (4) for cleaning by

unfastening the clip (3). Two strainers are used to enable

the pump to be still protected whilst each of the strainers

to be cleaned separately. The strainers are illustrated in

Figure 43.

Figure 43 External Keg Washer Slot In Strainers (courtesy

of KHS)

Tank level control in managed using an electrically

operated system of microwave probes (1) to monitor the

various filling levels (see Figure 44).


Figure 44 External Keg Washer Microwave Probe Level

Control (courtesy of KHS)

The high-pressure pump feed is drawn from the distributor

pipe of the water or mixed water as appropriate. The

necessary supply pressure has already built up in the

distributor pipe, generated by the low-pressure pump(s). To

protect the high-pressure pumps, a filter system is installed

upstream of the infeed (see Figure 45). The system has two

manually switchable filter channels, allowing a clogged filter

to be cleaned during production. The high pressure pumps

are rated at 80 bar.

Figure 45 External Keg Washer High Pressure Pump Pre

Filters (courtesy of KHS)

To keep the mixed water tank clear of impurities a micro

filter system can be deployed. The difference lies in the

filter medium and in the position of the drive. Whereas the

coarse filtering is provided by a plate-link chain section

cleaned by an air/water jet and running as an endless belt

around the drive and deflection roller (with the belt drive

on the side of the dirt collector), the micro filtering is

provided by a fleece filter (1). The drive is mounted on the

opposite side of the collector. It pushes" the carrier

medium (chain belt) through underneath the bath outlet.

This is necessary in order to trough the contact surface of

the chain belt (see Figures 46 and 47).

Figure 46 External Keg Washer Fleece Filter (courtesy of

KHS)

Figure 47 External Keg Washer Troughing of Fleece Filter

Belt (courtesy of KHS)

The filter fleece is moved from its role onto the chain belt

(Figure 48) beneath the tunnel outlet and discharged into a

collector.

Figure 48 External Keg Washer Fleece Roll (courtesy of KHS)

The feed-forward intervals are controlled by way of a liquid

sensor (item 1 in Figure 49). If the fleece is clogged by dirt,

liquid collects on it which is detected by a liquid sensor.

The measured value is sent to the controller, which

actuates the conveyor drive.

To prevent the fleece being wound around the chain belt,

water is sprayed from the inside onto the fleece from a

perforated tube (item 2 in Figure 49).

Figure 49 External Keg Washer Fleece Control and

Separation from Belt (courtesy of KHS)


This is shown schematically in Figure 50.

Figure 50 External Keg Washer Fleece Filter Schematic

(courtesy of KHS)

Basic Configuration (Figure 51)

The base machine (a cleaning tunnel) is fitted with:

1. an infeed conveyor and outlet conveyor (each

with their own drive)

2. a main conveyor with its own drive

3. a detergent tank for the caustic/acid

4. a detergent tank for mixed water

5. four slot-in strainers per tank

6. one (coarse) dirt removal filter per tank

7. one low-pressure pump per tank

8. a low-pressure pipe system with adjustable

cleaning rods and cleaning jets

9. a fresh water spray ring at the tunnel outlet

10. automatic KEG guide rails

11. a machine controller

Figure 51 External Keg Washer Basic Configuration (courtesy of KHS)

Low Pressure Spraying (Figure 52)

The basic external washer is equipped with a low-pressure

sprayer (approximately 3 bar) to clean the kegs. The supply

to the spray jets (12) is provided by a low-pressure pump

(7). It draws the detergent from the detergent tank and

conveys it into the side-mounted distributor pipe (8). From

there the medium flows into the inner distributor pipe (13),

on which the nozzle holders (14) are mounted.

Figure 52 External Keg Washer Low Pressure Spraying

(courtesy of KHS)


Additional Possible Features (Figure 53)

1. Fine dirt removal filter

High-pressure sprayer comprising

2. 2 High-pressure pump

3. 3 High-pressure jets (rotating)

4. Micro filter for high-pressure pump

5. Brush station

6. Heat exchanger

7. KEG hold-down

8. Tank interior cleaner

9. Vent air system

Figure 53 External Keg Washer Additional Possible Features (courtesy of KHS)

High Pressure Spraying (Figure 54)

In addition to the low-pressure sprayer, the external

washer can also be equipped with a high-pressure spray

system to remove resistant dirt and adhesive residues from

the keg head, such as those which the cleaning brushes are

unable to reach. The cleaning is carried out by rotating jets

(see item 1 in Figure 2.24). The high-pressure medium is

drawn from the distributor pipe of the water or mixed

water segment as appropriate (item 2 in Figure 2.24). The

necessary supply pressure of min. 2 bar (generated by the

low-pressure pump) should be present in the distributor

feed pipe. If this supply pressure is not attained, the high-

pressure pump automatically shuts down. As a further

protective measure for the high-pressure pumps, an

additional safety filter system is installed on the high

pressure pump feed. The filter system consists of two filter

housings one of which is in use and the other is clean

awaiting changeover. If the open filter becomes clogged,

the permeability is reduced, and thus the supply pressure

for the high-pressure pump too. A pressure sensor installed

downstream of the filter system monitors the high-pressure

pump supply pressure. If the pressure falls below a value

entered on the PLC (> 2 bar), a warning message is

generated to provide the operator with time to open the

clean filter channel (shut-off valves) and then close off the

contaminated channel. Then the contaminated filter can be

removed and cleaned.

Figure 54 External Keg Washer High Pressure Spraying

(courtesy of KHS)


External keg washer Maintenance

Below are a series of possible maintenance checks and their

frequency from daily through to every 24 months:

2.3.2.4 – KEG ORIENTATION AND SPEAR TORQUE

TIGHTNESS

Selective Keg Turning

Following depalletising the keg needs to be turned so that

the Barnes neck points downwards i.e. the keg is upside

down. This will enable the keg to be internally washed and

then filled in this inverted position. When the kegs are

collated prior to returning to the packaging plan they are

often not all collated the right way up or upside down.

Therefore not all kegs will need to be turned so as to

ensure that they are in the upside down position. In order

to achieve this a selective keg turner is used. This uses a

flap which detects the presence of the Barnes neck on a

right way up keg which is then turned. The Barnes neck is

not detected on an upside down keg and thus is not

turned. Turning is achieved by clamping the keg between

two curved clamps, lifting it off the conveyor and rotating it

by 180 degrees, after which it is placed back on the

conveyor. If kegs are depalletised one keg at a time by a

robotic depalletiser then a camera can be used to make the

decision whether to rotate the keg prior to placing it on the

feed conveyor to ensure all kegs are placed on the

conveyor in the upside down position. This would negate

the need of for a selective turner.

Keg Cap Removal

If keg caps are used which are not tamper evident and then

there is a risk that these will be placed on top of the keg

spears after use. If this is the case then these need to be

removed prior to washing and filling. A camera system can

be used to detect the presence of a cap and this is then

removed post selective turning from the upturned keg. This

is done by gripping the cap and pulling it off the keg head.

A system for achieving this shown in Figure 55.

Figure 55. Keg Cap Removal System (courtesy of KHS)

Documents

Dipl Pack Unit 2.3 - ibdlearningzone.org.uk