Why Use Servo?

We have recently been answering questions for a few of our customers about the use of servo motors. So I thought this might be a good time to re-print a previous blog about them.

For pharmaceutical companies, the validation process is never easy or simple. Many of our customers were looking for technology to assist them in this process. But they were not able to find the help they needed. Well, their search is finally over. Servo bottle cappers can fill their needs with ease.

One important aspect of the validation process is the torque applied to every cap. A servo capper precisely measures the torque applied to each and every cap and can feed that information back to the operator in real-time. The information can also be stored or printed and saved as part of the validation process. How does it work? Unlike standard motors, the servo motor used in the bottle capping process has its own ‘intelligence’ and can respond back on what it is actually doing.

The servo motors offer versatility in allowing recipe-driven format changes (for different products), torque control, the ability to sense and reject mis-torqued caps, and to document torque values. Accurate set points, via a touch screen, provide the ability to monitor applied torque and inspection/rejection of applied torque. The servo motors also allow the generation of histograms of torque curves for the individual spindle heads which can be used for calibration and/or troubleshooting.

A few companies now offer servo bottle capping, but New England Machinery’s (NEM) servo capper offers more than just servo-driven bottle capping heads. Their servo bottle capper design eliminates mechanical cams in the machine. All motion is pure servo with a totally programmable electronic cam. The NEM servo bottle capper can handle a variety of different closures including sports caps, child resistant, continuous thread, hinged, tilt-top, twist top, metal lug, tamper evident and more. Application torque parameters and bottle height changes are accomplished by selecting menu driven electronic parameters. Changing cap sizes is easily done by simply removing and replacing the collets. All mechanical guides and stars are located using a new compact design quick change tool-less fastener system. The cappers touch screen offers control and information regarding the machine’s functions such as status lights, fault alarms, individual head torque controls, hopper elevator, cap sorter, machine turret speed, and other options including real time data for verification of operating parameters and statistical process control. The screen can also be configured to display applied torque values to the operator for process validation. Call NEM at (941) 755-5550 for more information about their servo bottle capping machines.

The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading packaging machinery manufacturer of bottle unscramblers, cappers, orienters, retorquers, lidders, pluggers, pump sorter/placers, scoop feeders, hopper elevators and much more. The company has been in business since 1974 selling to the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care, chemical, household products, automotive and other industries. For more information on NEM, visit their website at www.neminc.com.