Empty bottle inspection checks every returnable glass bottle after the washer and before the filler. Cameras look at the finish, the sidewall and the base for chips, cracks, dirt and foreign objects, sensors detect leftover liquid, and bad bottles are rejected, so only clean, sound bottles are filled.
Empty bottle inspection is the automated check of glass bottles before they are filled. It matters most for returnable bottles, which come back from the market with chips, cracks, dirt, cigarette ends, straws and leftover liquid, and must be cleaned and checked before reuse.
An empty bottle inspector looks at the bottle in zones. The finish, the mouth where the cap or crown seals, is checked for chips that would cause leaks or injure a consumer. The sidewall is checked for cracks, scuffing and dirt. The base is checked for dirt, foreign objects and damage. Residual liquid, including washer caustic, is detected separately.
Returnable glass bottles are widely used in Sri Lanka for beer, soft drinks and other beverages, so bottle pools include bottles of many ages and conditions. The inspector protects the consumer, the filler and the brand.
After the washer, bottles run in single file and are spaced and gripped so each one can be imaged.
A camera looks down at the mouth with ring lighting to find chips and cracks in the sealing surface.
Cameras view the sidewall from several angles as the bottle rotates or passes, and look up through the base for dirt and objects.
Dedicated sensors detect leftover liquid or caustic in the bottle base.
Bad bottles are pushed off the line, and reject counts by cause are logged to show washer and bottle pool problems.
Ring and dark-field lighting make chips and cracks on the sealing surface stand out against the smooth glass.
Several views around the bottle, with backlighting through the glass, reveal cracks, scuffing, dirt and labels left on by the washer.
A camera looks through the base with backlight, finding dirt, foreign objects and base damage.
Infrared or high frequency sensing detects small amounts of leftover liquid or caustic that cameras cannot see reliably.
Height, shape and colour measurement identify foreign or wrong bottles so they can be removed before the filler.
Two example project scopes showing how the station, the checks and the outputs are defined. Every plant is different, so the final configuration is confirmed after a feasibility study on your own parts.
The situation: A soft drink bottler fills returnable glass bottles and relies on operators at a light screen to spot dirty and damaged bottles.
The situation: A brewery receives returned crates containing other brands and damaged bottles that jam the filler.
Industrial cameras, lenses, line-scan cameras and code readers are available through our machine vision catalog, quoted with delivery to Sri Lanka. We select the hardware for your application during the feasibility study.
Browse the hardware catalogEvery product, surface and line behaves differently under a camera, so every project starts with evidence from your own material.
A site visit to understand your product, line speed, quality criteria and where the check should sit.
We image your good and defective samples and show what the system can reliably detect. This is the go or no-go.
One station on one line, running beside your inspectors until results match and your team trusts them.
More lines, integration with your PLC and systems, and local support from our Sri Lankan engineering team.
Vision inspection for labels, caps, fill levels, seals and cartons. Check the right label is present, straight and legible, caps are fitted, containers are filled and packs are sealed, on every unit at line speed.
Industrial code reading and traceability: read and grade barcodes, QR and Data Matrix codes to ISO/IEC 15415 and 15416, verify printed date and lot codes with OCR, and reject every unreadable or wrong code.
Vision inspection for glossy and injection moulded parts: scratches, sink marks, short shots, flash and gloss faults, found with deflectometry and dome lighting.
Sort fabric rolls, cut panels and washed garments into buyer shade bands with CIELAB measurement and 555 codes.
Every machine vision application we design and build, in one place.
It checks the finish for chips and cracks, the sidewall for cracks, scuffing and dirt, the base for dirt, foreign objects and damage, and detects residual liquid or caustic. It can also detect foreign or wrong bottles.
Returnable bottles come back from the market in many conditions, with damage, dirt and objects inside. The washer cleans them, but cannot repair damage or always remove objects, so every bottle must be checked before it is filled.
Yes, with dedicated residual liquid sensing alongside the cameras, because small amounts of clear liquid are hard to see reliably in an image.
Yes, if there is a section of single-file conveyor between the washer and the filler with room for the inspection unit and a rejector. Line speed and bottle types decide the configuration.
Full bottle checks, such as fill level, cap and label, are a separate station after the filler. See our label and packaging inspection page.
Tell us what you need to check and share some good and faulty samples. We will show you what a camera can reliably see before you commit to anything.
Photographs show representative plants and equipment, not Cerox installations or client sites. Diagrams by Cerox Engineering. Photo credits, via Wikimedia Commons: Swing-top bottles in a crate by Stefan Kühn, CC BY-SA 3.0; Bottling line by ChristianBier, CC BY-SA 3.0.