Problem & answerF-09
Wrong-Way Bottles Passing to the Line
Also covers: Orientation reject sensor not working
Likely causes
- Orientation (wrong-way) sensor dirty or misaligned
- Sensor bracket moved during cleaning
- Air blow-back not firing: low air pressure, blocked nozzle or solenoid fault
- Blow time or blow delay set incorrectly
- Sensor not set for the current bottle size
How to fix it
- 1Stop the unscrambler and remove wrong-way bottles from the conveyor and downstream machines.
- 2Clean the orientation sensor lens.
- 3Check the sensor bracket is tight and the sensor aims at the correct point on the bottle (where an upside-down bottle differs from an upright one).
- 4Check air pressure and that the blow nozzle is clear and aimed at the bottle.
- 5Check blow time (reference 0.3 s) and blow delay (reference 0.02 s).
- 6Test: feed several bottles deliberately the wrong way. Each must be detected and blown back into the hopper.
- 7Feed correct bottles and confirm none are blown back.
Technical note
The orientation sensor checks each bottle leaving the pocket wheel. A wrong-way bottle is pushed back into the unscrambler by an air blast instead of going down the line. If it fails, upside-down bottles jam the counter, desiccant inserter or capper.Photos
It is fixed when
Every wrong-way test bottle is returned; every correct bottle passes.
Stop it coming back
- Test the wrong-way reject with deliberately inverted bottles at every start-up and bottle change.
- Lock the sensor bracket and mark its position.
Did this solve the problem?