stablished in 2015, the TAP
Brewery in Rendcomb near Cirencester has been developing brewing techniques using only the finest locally produced malts, resulting in a range of cask, keg and canned beers sold mainly to local pubs and retail outlets. Among the popular brews are Bostin Hoppy, Newted and Iris.
When developing its new canning machine,
sensors were an essential technology for the microbrewery. So, to help, Baumer supplied its
LBFS Level Sensor and IFRM inductive proximity sensors for the application. Commenting on the application, co-director
Tim Hobbs, said: “Microbreweries like ours are not producing the high volumes which justify the expense of sophisticated canning machines, so usually opt for barrels and bottles. Now, the big thing for us is we can handle around 300 cans per hour – and the performance of the Baumer sensors are essential components in the success of our canning machine.”
According to Hobbs, the company’s determination to develop an effective canning machine came about because of their concerns about the high carbon footprint associated with the bottling process. “Cans are much better for the environment, and are easier to pack and transport, so we gave ourselves a challenge to design and build a system where we could filter, carbonate and can beer, on a relatively small budget,” he explained. The first canning machine relied on optical
sensors to detect foam in the can. The company soon realised, however, that this was not an effective or robust enough option and fill levels
could not be relied upon. Furthermore, the sensor counting the cans was a photoelectric optical eye sensor and, due to its shiny, reflective nature, the aluminium would give false or multiple readings. To overcome the issue, Baumer sensors
were installed, with the LBFS sensor providing accurate and repeatable fill levels regardless of the presence of foam – meaning that the cans did not need to be manually wiped. In addition to this, the IFRM proximity
sensor overcame the reflective issues of the aluminium cans, providing the required levels of accuracy and repeatability. Hobbs explained that the success of the
canning machine project was a real in-house team effort and that Baumer provided good advice from the concept of the canning machine, right through to completion. Despite adding cost, a Baumer 9701 Flex
Programmer is also being used which, when combined with the LBFS sensors, resulted in higher levels of versatility and meant they could adjust the foam sensing range without having to carry out a sample test.
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