Posted to News on 27th Oct 2008, 13:08
Super Seal cup seal reduces risk of glass inclusion
Thanks to the new Super Seal cup seal, breweries, wineries and soft drink manufacturers can benefit from improved safety and performance due to a reduced risk of glass inclusion in the bottle-filling process. The Super Seal has been developed by Uni-Spray, a company that is represented in the UK and Europe by BETE Ltd.
This device is intended to replace rubber-based seals and centring cups that are used extensively in the bottling industry as part of the high-speed automated process of filling glass bottles with drinks. Today's fast and highly efficient bottling-filling processes are not without risks; for example, breakages can occur randomly, depending on the strength and quality of the glass bottle. On some bottle-filling systems an automatic decontamination alarm is activated when breakages occur and these activate water and air sprays to flush and decontaminate the affected area. However, when breakages do occur, the risk of potential glass ingress within the soft, rubber-based seal significantly increases.
Alternative material
This problem led Uni-Spray to focus its attention on alternative materials as a way of minimising the risks of glass inclusion in seals and centring cups - prevention, as opposed to cure. Choice of materials was critical in overcoming the problem and Uni-Spray designed new polyurethane seals and centring cups, including a patented auto-decontamination system. This combination is claimed to significantly reduce instances of glass inclusion.
FDA-approved, the polyurethane material also provides an operating life that is, on average, twice the life of a comparable cup/seal manufactured from a rubber-based material.
Colour-coding
A secondary benefit of the polyurethane material is its ability to be easily colour-coded, thereby helping users and maintenance staff to correctly identify the right cup/seal for the right bottle filler.
The Super-Seal cup seal has applications wherever high-speed bottling is required for a wide range of liquids such as beer, wines, ciders, water or carbonated drinks.
A further development from Uni-Spray is a two-composition, coloured cup/seal and holder for KHS, one of the leading manufacturers of bottling equipment in the USA. These new seals offer superior changeability, wearability and sanitation, yet at lower cost.
Maximising safety and improving efficiency are essential in today's high-speed bottling environments and the development of the Super Seal product is a good example of Uni-Spray's skills as a full-service moulding company offering a complete manufacturing and design service.
