Packaging
The professional for still and sparkling wines
Tuesday 30. March 2010 - Gentle filling with the Krones Modulfill VKPV-CF
Still and sparkling wines need a particularly gentle bottling process designed for minimised oxygen pick-up. Krones AG, Neutraubling, Germany, has accordingly designed the Modulfill VKPV-CF series specifically for bottling still and carbonated wines. In the Modulfill VKPV-CF, the pressure conditions can be precisely matched to the needs of the product involved. The machine provides options for single, double or even no pre-evacuation. Before filling begins, the pressure inside the bottle is increased to match the pressure level inside the ring bowl. As soon as the same pressure has been reached on both sides, the short-tube filling valve will be opened. A swirl insert then imparts a rotational motion to the product, causing it to flow along the wall of the bottle – thus ensuring gentle filling with minimised foaming. The inflowing product forces the gas out of the bottle, to be removed via the vent tube. As soon as the product has risen as far as the vent tube, the filling valve will close again. A correction channel guides CO2 into the bottles neck, which causes the superfluous fill quantity to flow back into the supply tank. After a settling phase, the snifting valve reduces the pressure in the headspace of the container, and the bottle leaves the filler.
Optimum conditions for every product/container combination
The Modulfill VKPV-CF has been developed specifically for the needs of mid-tier companies. Depending on the product being bottled, however, the system can also reach speeds of up to 60,000 containers an hour. The filler has been responsively tailored to the requirements of still and sparkling wines, and protects them against losses of CO2 and aroma. The filling system is suitable for an enormous range of different still and sparkling wines, and of bottle shapes. The fill level can be altered automatically after the relevant program has been selected at the touch-panel. The integrated fill level correction feature guarantees filling accuracy down to the last tenth of a millimetre. With the Raptec quick-change handling parts, automatic adjustment of the vent tubes, and intuitive, task-oriented program selection, the filler change-over routine takes next to no time. Replaceable centring bells are available for handling different neck finish shapes. In the filler program, every step in the process can be individually specified and stored in memory for each product, thus creating optimum conditions for each and every product/container combination.
To ensure improved microbiological safety, Monotec transfer starwheels reduce the size of the exterior surfaces, with concomitant gains in terms of hygiene. Furthermore, mechanical drive units like gear units or universal-joint shafts have been replaced by enclosed servo-drives. The filler is modularised in construction, and can at any time be BLOC-synchronised with up to three closers, a rinser or a labeller. The Modulfill VKPV-CF series offers a wide choice of speeds, sizes and container handling capabilities.