Our client produces test kits for analysing various liquids in specific environments.
Due to the inclusion of acids in the dispensed materials, the machine required design and construction with suitable resistant materials. Additionally, the machine needed to accommodate a wide range of filling permutations. The final vials are then labelled and serialised on the output after full label inspection.
The main challenge in this system was overcoming the hazardous materials that the client uses. Careful consideration was given to not only the construction and materials used in the construction but also to the pumping system itself.
Based on a mechanical indexing system enclosed in a drip tray, devices are fed into the machine using a recirculating puck system.
A robot picks up multiple products and places them into an escapement mechanism, which releases the individual vials into the dial plate locations. Each dial plate nest is lined with a material to prevent corrosion from the dispensed corrosive materials.
Empty vials are placed into an offline weigh scale to measure the net weight before being loaded back onto the dial plate.
At the filling station, a bank of syringe pumps dispenses the recipe-driven fluid into the vials. After filling, the vials are weighed again and placed back into the nest.
Caps are bowl-fed and oriented, then placed on the vials using one of two torque heads. Any failed devices are unloaded onto a collection indexer to prevent spillages. Good parts are offloaded and fed through a circumference labeller, where the vial-specific labelling is inspected.
