What is the Maotong Empty Can Visual Inspection Machine?
What is the Maotong Empty Can Visual Inspection Machine?
The Maotong Empty Can Visual Inspection Machine (model MT-YLG-GK01) is an online automatic inspection system developed by Maotong Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd. It is installed on the single-lane conveyor before the filling machine. Its purpose is to automatically identify and reject defective empty cans before they are filled with product, preventing substandard containers from entering the filling and seaming processes.
📌 What Problems Does It Solve?
During beverage and beer production, empty cans may sustain damage during transport and handling—such as deformed necks, torn flanges, dents, or foreign objects in the base. While visible to the human eye, manual inspection cannot keep up with high-speed lines. This machine replaces human vision and judgment with industrial cameras, image processing, and automated control to perform this task continuously and automatically.
In short: It intercepts unqualified empty cans beforefilling to avoid wasting product, contaminating the line, and compromising final product quality.
🔍 Key Inspection Items
The system focuses on three critical areas of the can:
Area | Typical Inspection Points |
|---|---|
Can Neck / Opening | Deformation, chipping/tearing, "V"-shaped缺口 (notches), abnormal flange formation, out-of-roundness, rust/black spots. |
Can Body | Major deformation/dents. |
Can Base | Presence of foreign objects. |
Detection → Alarm → Automatic Pneumatic Rejection.
⚙️ Working Principle
Trigger: A sensor detects a can, recording its ID and position via an encoder.
Imaging: Industrial cameras capture images of the can opening/base, using LED lighting.
Processing: An image processor analyzes features (e.g., checking if the can neck forms a continuous ring without gaps/deformations).
Execution: If rejected, the control unit triggers a rejection device at the precise location to eject the faulty can.
Key Features: Non-contact, dynamic inspection, adaptable to varying line speeds.
📐 Technical Specifications (Public Data)
Item | Specification |
|---|---|
Model | MT-YLG-GK01 |
Speed | Up to 72,000 cans/hour (~1,200 cans/minute). |
Container Diameter | Approx. Φ20–100 mm (varies by model/material). |
Rejection Rate | ≥ 99.99% (under rated speed). |
Power / Environment | ~220V/50Hz; 0–40°C, humidity ≤95%. |
Construction | Stainless steel housing, sealed design for washdown environments. |
🏭 Background & Applications
Developed by Maotong Technology, a company with roots in industrial machine vision since the 2000s, serving food, beverage, beer, and pharmaceutical packaging lines.
The empty can inspector has been deployed since 2015, with public references to use in lines for brands like Wong Lo Kat.
It is part of a broader series including fill level inspectors, coding/OCR inspectors, and pressure/leak detectors.
