10/26/2017 Bottle Fill Level Detection | Banner

Bottle Fill Level Detection

Application: Detect level of pills in a bottle

Challenges: Fill levels of pills can be inconsistent

Solution: Banner Engineering's Q4X and Q4X Series Sensors

Benefits: Uses an averaging feature to provide a more consistent fill level measurement

To get the most accurate level of pills in a bottle, an analog sensor can provide feedback on height of pills to alert
operators if the height seems too low or too high. Measuring the fill level of pills in a bottle can be challenging for
some sensors as they create an inconsistent surface of many heights, edges and gaps between each pill.

Description
The Q4X analog sensor is set up in trigger mode and uses the averaging feature to provide a more consistent fill
level measurement. Banners Q3X sensor, whose output wire is tied to the Q4Xs remote input wire, is used to
detect the leading edge of the pill bottle and has a one-shot output timer setup based on the conveyor speed to
determine when and how long the Q4X will measure.

Products Used in this Application:

Tablet Level Sensor:Q4XTULAF300-Q8

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Trigger Sensor: Q3XTBLD100-Q8

Q4X ANALOG FILL LEVEL MEASUREMENT

The Q4X can successfully solve a wide variety of applications, including fill level measurement for liquids and solids.
1min 52secs

If any laser sensor was taking only a single measurement to determine the fill level, inconsistent measurements
could be observed depending on whether the measurement was taken from one of the top pills or in between pills.
One approach to solving this is to take multiple measurements and send the information back to the PLC to
determine the fill level. The Q4X analog makes this process much easier and more reliable because it will measure
across the varying surface and output a single analog value based on the average measurement. This technique
can provide a more consistent fill level measurement while reducing the amount of PLC programming potentially
required.

The Q4X four-digit display shows distance measured in millimeters mm, but also has an option to display the
analog output V. The four-digit display also provides easy-to-read feedback and allows for minimal setup time.
With a rugged, stainless steel housing, the Q4X analog sensor stands up in the most aggressive environments,
including heavy-duty washdown environments.

Featured Products

Q 4 X S E R I E S R U G G E D L A S E R D I S TA N C E S E N S O R
Rugged Q4X laser distance sensor solves many challenging applications and comes in a

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Q3X SERIES LASER CONTRAST SENSOR

Rugged high speed sensor for challenging presence/absence, orientation and registration

Related Industries
Pharmaceutical and Medical

Banner Engineering Corp. | 9714 Tenth Avenue North | Minneapolis, MN 55441 | United States of America

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