Innovative Application of X-ray Technology in Liquid Level Detection of Ceramic Baijiu Bottles
That invisible ray has become the key to ensuring the quality of Baijiu (Chinese liquor) bottling.
In the Baijiu production process, precise liquid level control is a crucial aspect of product quality. Especially for high-end Baijiu using opaque ceramic bottles, traditional detection methods struggle to penetrate the container walls for effective monitoring. X-ray detection technology, due to its powerful penetration capabilities, has become the ideal solution to this industry challenge.
This technology uses X-rays to penetrate the bottle, utilizing the difference in X-ray absorption between the liquid and air to accurately identify the liquid level inside the bottle, thus ensuring that the filling volume of each bottle of Baijiu meets the standard requirements.
1. Technical Principle: When X-rays Meet Baijiu Bottles
X-ray liquid level detection technology is based on the attenuation characteristics of X-rays when passing through matter. When X-rays pass through a Baijiu bottle, different substances absorb the rays to varying degrees.
There is a significant density difference between the ceramic bottle wall, the Baijiu, and the air inside the bottle, resulting in significant differences in their ability to absorb X-rays. The liquid absorbs more X-rays than the air, and the ceramic bottle wall, as the container material, has a different absorption rate.
The energy of the X-rays received by the detector varies depending on the substance they pass through. When the rays pass through the liquid portion of the bottle, the energy attenuation is more pronounced because the liquid density is greater than that of air. This difference in attenuation creates a clear contrast boundary in the detection image, and this boundary is the accurate position of the liquid level.
By identifying this subtle contrast change and combining it with advanced image processing algorithms, the system can achieve a detection accuracy of ±1mm, fully meeting the strict requirements of the Baijiu industry for filling volume.
2. System Composition: How Technology Ensures Detection Accuracy
A complete X-ray liquid level detection system consists of multiple precision modules working together to achieve efficient and accurate liquid level detection.
The core of the system includes a straightening guide rail, an X-ray generation module, a detection module, a signal acquisition module, and an upper computer processing system.
The straightening guide rail is responsible for clamping and positioning the bottles during transmission, ensuring that the bottles maintain a stable posture during the detection process, which is a prerequisite for ensuring detection consistency. The X-ray generation module emits X-rays of a specific energy towards the bottles to be inspected, with the direction of the rays parallel to the horizontal cross-section of the bottle, ensuring the accuracy of the scan. The detection module is the "eye" of the system, responsible for receiving X-rays that penetrate the bottle and converting them into electrical signals. These signals are then integrated, amplified, and converted from analog to digital by the acquisition module before being transmitted to the host computer for in-depth analysis.
The host computer, acting as the brain, corrects the digital signals and generates X-ray detection images. Subsequently, algorithms such as image segmentation and contour detection are used to accurately extract liquid level height information.
The system can also integrate an automatic sorting module, which determines whether the product is qualified based on the liquid level height and automatically sorts unqualified products to a designated area, achieving fully automated operation.
3. Special Challenges and Solutions for Ceramic Bottle Inspection
The opacity and diverse composition of ceramic materials present unique challenges for liquid level detection. Unlike transparent glass bottles, the liquid level in ceramic bottles cannot be directly observed using optical methods, but X-ray technology effectively solves this problem.
The mineral components in ceramic materials can lead to uneven bottle wall thickness, and even small air bubbles or density variations. These factors interfere with the uniform penetration of X-rays, affecting detection accuracy. To address this challenge, modern X-ray detection systems employ various compensation algorithms.
Through fast convolution integration algorithms and contour curve analysis, the system can effectively distinguish between bottle wall thickness variations and true liquid level signals, ensuring the reliability of the detection results.
Another solution is to pre-inspect the wall thickness of the ceramic bottles, controlling the bottle wall thickness within a reasonable range. Studies have shown that when the total radial wall thickness of the bottle exceeds a certain preset value, it will excessively absorb X-ray energy, leading to inaccurate liquid level detection.
Therefore, during the production process, it is necessary to simultaneously determine the acceptability of the bottle wall thickness to create favorable conditions for X-ray liquid level detection.
4. Safety Design: Radiation Protection and Operational Safety
Radiation safety of X-ray equipment is a key concern for businesses. Modern X-ray liquid level detection systems employ multiple protective measures to ensure operational safety.
The equipment casing typically uses a stainless steel plate and lead plate sandwich design. The stainless steel plate provides the first stage of shielding protection, while the embedded lead plate, with its high density, provides the second stage of shielding protection against X-rays, effectively preventing radiation leakage.
The detection area is completely enclosed, forming a natural isolation zone. Bottles only enter the detection area through a dedicated channel when the equipment is in operation, minimizing the risk of radiation exposure. The system is also equipped with interlocking safety devices to ensure that radiation does not leak into the working environment under any circumstances. To further enhance safety, the equipment is typically equipped with a radiation monitoring system and alarm device. Upon detecting any abnormality, it automatically shuts off the radiation source and issues a warning. In addition, the equipment automatically blocks high-frequency radiation emission when idle, reducing unnecessary radiation exposure.
These designs ensure that the X-ray liquid level detection equipment meets industrial production needs while fully complying with occupational health and safety standards, allowing for safe use in production line environments.
5. Technical Advantages: Why Choose X-ray Detection?
Compared to other liquid level detection methods, X-ray technology offers irreplaceable advantages in the field of ceramic liquor bottle inspection.
This method uses non-contact detection, preventing secondary contamination or physical damage to the product, maintaining product integrity and hygiene standards. The detection speed is extremely fast, adapting to high-speed production line rhythms and enabling 100% online full inspection.
X-ray technology possesses strong penetration capabilities, making it suitable not only for ceramic bottles but also for various opaque containers such as cans, metal bottles, and colored glass bottles. This adaptability allows manufacturers to handle multiple packaging types on the same production line, improving equipment utilization.
In terms of detection accuracy, the X-ray method can simultaneously detect high and low liquid levels, accurately identifying both overfilling and underfilling. The system can also integrate leak detection functionality, identifying liquid level changes caused by poor sealing, further enhancing quality control.
Compared to infrared, optical, or capacitive detection methods, X-ray technology is unaffected by liquid color, foam, or transparency, providing more stable and reliable detection results.
6. Practical Applications: Intelligent Sorting and Quality Traceability
On actual production lines, the X-ray liquid level detection system has achieved a high degree of intelligence and automation integration. The system seamlessly integrates with other parts of the production line, forming a complete quality control system.
When the system detects a product with an unqualified liquid level, it immediately sends a command to the sorting module, automatically removing the defective product. The rejection criteria can be flexibly set according to production requirements, adapting to the quality control needs of different product grades.
Advanced systems also feature data recording and analysis functions, providing real-time statistics on product pass rates, defect type distribution, and other key production data. This data provides quantitative basis for production process improvement, helping enterprises achieve refined production management.
Through network interfaces, the detection system can be integrated with the factory's MES system, enabling real-time uploading and traceability of quality data. Once abnormal trends are detected, the system can provide early warnings, preventing large-scale quality incidents.
This intelligent detection not only improves quality control but also significantly reduces labor costs, increases overall production efficiency, and creates significant economic benefits for liquor manufacturers.
In the future, with the integrated development of artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies, X-ray liquid level detection will become even more intelligent. The system will be able to adaptively adjust detection parameters based on continuously accumulated detection data, and even predict deviation trends in filling equipment, shifting from passive detection to proactive prevention.
Some technical teams have already begun exploring integrated quality assessment systems that combine X-ray detection with bottle wall thickness analysis, moving beyond the single dimension of liquid level height to a comprehensive assessment of the entire container's sealing and packaging integrity.
For liquor manufacturers, investing in advanced X-ray liquid level detection technology is not only a necessary choice to meet compliance requirements but also a strategic decision to enhance brand quality and win in the high-end market.
