53C/ 55C series

Pharmaceutical industry: Detection of stopper plugs on the stopper plug conveyor

Requirement:

Under the current EU GMP Directive (Volume 4, Annex 1) for pharmaceutical production plants, components that interrupt the ‘first air’ must be sterilized. This means reflectors should, where possible, no longer be installed above the stopper plug’s path. Since the stopper plugs come in different colors, it is particularly important to ensure that dark materials are detected. 

Solution: 

The operating range of diffuse sensors using the triangulation principle in a similar design is not sufficient to reliably detect dark plugs. The ToF laser scanners with an operating range of up to 2 m and reliable detection of all colors can replace retro-reflective photoelectric sensors at these points as well as the reflector above the conveyor belt.

Food/packaging industry: Detection of vials and glasses

Requirement: 

Under the current EU GMP Directive (Volume 4, Annex 1) for pharmaceutical production, components that interrupt the ‘first air’ must be sterilized. This means sensors should, where possible, no longer be installed above the infeed of e.g. vials. Transparent containers must also be detected reliably. 

Solution: 

For lateral alignment, the operating range of standard triangulation-based laser sensors in a similar design is insufficient. The ToF laser scanners with an operating range of up to 2 m and reliable detection of all colors, even at awkward angles, replace previous solutions without reflectors or solutions from above. They reliably detect the edges of the vials.

Advantages for you

• Two full series with all operating principles: Throughbeam photoelectric sensors, retro-reflective photoelectric sensors and sensors for specific areas of application and tasks
• 2 housing designs for use in wet areas (wash-down) and hygienic areas (hygienic design)
• High-quality V4A (AISI 316L) stainless steel housing with smooth surface and glass-free optics cover made of PMMA+ with special scratch-resistant coating to prevent bacterial carryover
• IP69K protection class for reliable functionality and completely watertight housing
• Thermal and chemical resistance (tested and certified according to ECOLAB, CleanProof+, JohnsonDiversey)
• FDA-compliant housing materials enable the sensor to be used in applications with direct food contact
• Simple configuration and condition monitoring through IO-Link interface, as well as variants with electronic range adjustment and measurement value output via IO-Link

Go to the 53C series article selection

Go to the 55C series article selection

Monitoring the loading of a sausage slicer

Requirement:

In the food industry, sausage is delivered in large bars and sliced into fine slices in a slicing machine. The product in the machine feed must be reliably detected so that the gripper can push the material evenly towards the blade and all the cut slices have the required thickness.

Solution:

Our HT53C.S diffuse sensor in hygienic design reliably monitors the product feed to the sausage cutting machine. If there is enough material for the machine to operate, the system starts up automatically. The particularly small light spot is characterized by excellent performance, especially with color-structured objects, while the sensor’s background suppression ensures reliable color-independent product detection.

Detecting the front edge of products being cut

Requirement:

In an industrial cutting machine, products are cut into small stacks and pre-portioned into trays for later packaging. The challenge for the sensor system is that the front edge of the sliced goods must be reliably detected at the same switching point, regardless of whether they are on the conveyor belt with a slight lateral offset. The sensors are mounted directly above the conveyor belt. In this application, it must be ensured that no cleaning agent residues drip onto the cheese or the sliced goods.

Solution:

The HT53CL1.X diffuse sensor with background suppression is optimized for detecting the front edges of products with a long laser light spot. Thanks to the line light spot, sliced products are reliably detected at the same switching point even if they are offset to the side on the conveyor belt. This ensures that the cut goods are neatly positioned when loaded into the tray packaging and ensures that the edge of the tray does not come into contact with the food and that traces of grease do not affect the subsequent hygienic welding of the tray. The 53C series housing is designed without drill holes for hygienic applications and is suitable for areas of application with direct food contact.

Fill level detection when bottling liquids

Requirement:

In the beverage industry, a filler is used to fill water into 3-liter bottles. The fill level must be exactly the same for all bottles – underfilling must be prevented. Reliably detecting the fill level of aqueous liquids in any container is one of the most challenging detection tasks for sensors and requires particularly powerful sensor solutions.

Solution:

The LS55C.H2O and LE55C.H2O throughbeam photoelectric sensors have been developed for detecting aqueous liquids and for fill level control, and reliably stop the filling process. The 55C Series stainless steel transmitter and receiver system in a wash-down design has a high transmission capacity and can also be used with colored containers and containers with plastic labels.
This solution can replace an expensive filling control system, such as a scale or a flow meter, and is easy to set up: No further settings are required via a control element other than the exact alignment of the optical axis.

Presence checking in bottle filling in the transfer star

Requirement:

Bottle filling is characterized by very high speeds. To ensure a smooth process, it must be ensured before filling that all positions of the transfer star are occupied by bottles.

Solution:

The HT55C diffuse sensor with background suppression detects containers in the bottle filling reliably and without a reflector. The sensors are designed for wet areas and can withstand intensive cleaning processes. ECOLAB certification and our extended CleanProof+ cleaning agent long-term test ensure the reliable functionality of the sensor even under harsh conditions.

Bottle detection during transport

Requirement:

In a filling plant for milk bottles, the position of the bottles on the conveyor belt must be reliably and precisely detected for the further packaging steps in the plant.

Solution:

The PRK55C.TT3 retro-reflective photoelectric sensor also reliably detects transparent containers. The sensitivity can be set using the teach button. An integrated tracking function automatically compensates for soiling on the reflector or sensor. This extends the cleaning intervals and reduces system downtime. The stainless steel housing in a wash-down design with the highest protection class, IP69K, is very robust. Resistance to the cleaning agents commonly used in the market is confirmed by ECOLAB certification, the Leuze CleanProof+-Test and tests according to JohnsonDiversey.

Precise positioning of vials

Requirement:

Vials made of transparent glass must be precisely detected and positioned for the filling of vaccines and other liquids.

Solution:

The retro-reflective photoelectric sensor PRK53CL1.T3 with a small laser light spot, in combination with a small stainless steel reflector, enables highly precise detection and positioning of vials. The sensor in its miniature housing can be easily integrated even in confined spaces. Both the sensor and the reflector are designed for hygienic applications.

Detection and positioning of transparent vials

Requirement:

In a pharmaceutical packaging plant, vials are filled on multi-track packaging lines. The position of the transparent vials must be precisely detected before filling. One challenge is that the vials are very flat and the photoelectric sensor must aim precisely at the reflector.

Solution:

Our 53C series PRK53C.T3 retro-reflective photoelectric sensors are used in this application with MTKS 14x23.P pharmaceutical micro triple reflectors specially developed for the pharmaceutical industry. The hygienically designed stainless steel sensors precisely target the reflector and ensure reliable detection of the vials.