Automatic Bottle Filling And Capping System

Kaushik N Tupsakri

1 a

, Harsha R Gowda

1 b

, Kaling Taluru V

1 c

Manjunath M

1 d

and Shruti R Gunaga

1 e

Department of Electrical & Electronics Engineering. Dayananda Sagar College of Engineering, Bengaluru, India

shruthirg-eee@dayanandasagar.edu

Keywords: stepper motor, solenoid valve, DC motors.

Abstract: The main aim of the proposed system is to fill the bottles of varying volumes with two different liquids

according to user input and automatically cap the filled bottles of different volumes on a single assembly and

dispense it. The entire operation of the proposed system is controlled by the means of Arduino. The proposed

system makes use of a rotating mechanism to rotate the bottles and the rotating mechanism is driven by a

stepper motor. The bottles are filled through a solenoid valve using a water pump. For the capping of bottles

of different volumes two DC motors are used and capping is done by linear mechanism. Finally, the bottles

are dispensed using a conveyor belt driven by a motor.

1. INTRODUCTION

In the packaging sector, filling machines are crucial

pieces of equipment used to put Liquids, gases,

pastes, or powders into containers. The material-

filled bottles are capped using capping machines.

Most companies provide a selection of items. For

instance, a beverage manufacturing firm could

create bottles of different capacities, such as 200ml,

250ml, and 300ml. To make these bottles, the

manufacturers use several assembly lines that are

tailored for different quantities (Patil, M. D. (2021).

As a result, there are more assembly lines, which

means there are more components, which raises the

cost of setup. Additionally, each manufacturing line

must have its own electrical supply and be

monitored independently. The labour cost and

operational costs go up as a result. Most

manufacturing organisations now employ the just-

in-time production principle as a result of the arrival

of 21st-century economics (Abashar, A.et al.,2017).

This indicates that the businesses only manufacture

in small quantities that are determined based on

their previous and anticipated sales, rather than

producing the goods in large quantities and storing

them. In the previously mentioned scenario, if the

firm does not experience 300ml bottle sales,

producing such bottles would be worthless since the

company would suffer losses if they did so. As a

result, they would stop producing those bottles

(Pannu et al.,2016)

The assembly line's original setup for 300ml bottles

would now be pointless, increasing losses. The

proposed system overcomes this problem by filling

bottles of varying volumes based on the

manufacturer’s requirement for their wide range of

products (Murali, Y. N. 2012). The system allows

them to scale up and scale down based on their

business model requirement. The system makes use

of solenoid valves and water pumps for the filling

of bottles along with a capping system using a

motorised arrangement all integrated in a single

machine(Zhang, P. 2008).

2. HARDWARE

IMPLEMENTATION

The filling and capping systems are integrated

into a single mechanism and connected to Arduino

to make the whole mechanism automatic. The

Proposed system operated based on the user

requirements. The user gives the input using a

keypad that is connected to Arduino.

2.1 STEPPER MOTOR:

Stepper Motor is used to drive the rotating

mechanism which is used to rotate the bottles of

different mechanisms. The stepper motor is

operated by using a 12-volt DC supply.

https://orcid.org/0009-0009-0022-8471

https://orcid.org/0009-0001-4717-9285

https://orcid.org/0009-0006-4650-1128

https://orcid.org/0009-0002-0911-8147

https://orcid.org/0009-0000-9258-5410

2.2 SERVO MOTORS:

Servo motors are used for pushing mechanisms which

push the bottles of different volumes onto the rotating

N Tupsakri, K., R Gowda, H., Taluru V, K., M, M. and R Gunaga, S.

Automatic Bottle Filling And Capping System.

DOI: 10.5220/0012507800003808

Paper published under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Intelligent and Sustainable Power and Energy Systems (ISPES 2023), pages 177-182

ISBN: 978-989-758-689-7

177

mechanisms. Servo Motors are also used for

dispensing the filled bottles. These servo motors are

operated by 5-volts DC supply.

2.3 SOLENOID VALVE:

Solenoid valves are used to fill the bottles with two

different liquids and cut off the water flow

automatically when the bottles are filled. It is

operated by the 12-volt DC supply.

2.4 INFRARED SENSORS:

IR Sensors are used to sense the starting point on the

rotating mechanism and send the signal to Arduino to

start rotating. Automatic Bottle Filling And Capping

System and to sense the bottles which are to be filled

and to sense the bottles which are to be capped.

2.5 PUMPS

Pumps are used to pump the liquids to fill the bottle

through a solenoid valve. Two pumps are used for

pumping two different Liquids. Pumps are operated

using a DC motor driven by a 12-volt DC supply.

2.6 DC MOTORS

DC motors are used for capping mechanisms which

are driven by a 12-volts DC supply. The capping is

done by a linear mechanism. DC motor is also used

for driving the conveyor belt

2.7 CONVEYOR BELT

The conveyor belt is used to dispense the filled and

capped bottles of varying volumes. The conveyor belt

is driven by a DC motor whose speed is controlled

2.8 MICROCONTROLLER

The microcontroller used in the proposed system

is Arduino Mega. It has 54 digital input/output pins

and 16 analog input pins, 4 UARTs and a 16 MHz

crystal oscillator, a USB connection, a power jack, an

ICSP header, and a reset button. Here Arduino is used

to control the operation of the system and take input

from the user and operate all the sensors and automate

the whole system.

Fig 1. Arduino Mega microcontroller

3.METHODOLOGY

3.1 SYSTEM DESIGN

The proposed system uses Arduino Mega for

controlling and automating the system. The input for

Arduino for filling the bottles is given by the user

through a keypad that is connected to Arduino.

(Berger, H. 2012.).There is a pushing mechanism that

is operated by the servo motor, it pushes the bottle

onto the rotating mechanism. The rotating

mechanism is used for rating bottles for filling and

capping(Sidik, M., & Ghani, S. C. 2017). The bottles

are filled by using water pumps through the solenoid

valve. Then bottles are capped by using two DC

motors using a linear mechanism. And the bottles are

dispensed using the conveyor belt.

3.2 BOTTLE SELECTION

The user will be prompted at the beginning to indicate

how many 250 ml and 500 ml bottles should be filled

with water and how many should be filled with juice

since the proposed system can only fill these sizes

with two different liquids,such as water and juice.

The user will also be prompted to indicate how many

250 ml and 500 ml bottles should be filled with water

and juice. Users may input data via a keypad linked

to an Arduino, and the data is displayed on an LCD

screen.

3.3 BOTTLE PLACEMENT

After taking input from the user the system gets

started and there are two pushing mechanisms like

rack and pinion, one Automatic Bottle Filling And

Capping System for 250ml bottles and one for 500ml

bottles. The pushing mechanism pushes the bottle

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onto the rotating mechanism. These pushing

mechanisms are operated by servo motors.

3.4 FILLING PROCESS

After bottles are pushed onto the rotating mechanism

the rotating mechanism starts rotating, IR sensor

placed near the filling poles senses the bottle and

stops the rotating mechanism. The bottles are filled

with two different liquids based on the user input. For

filling the two different liquids two water pumps are

used and two solenoid valves are used.The water is

pumped to the bottle by a water pump that is operated

by a DC motor, through a solenoid valve. The filling

of the bottle is done based on time, after a certain time

when the bottle is filled the solenoid valve cuts off the

water supply.If the user needs two bottles of all types

then the system will fill the 250ml bottle with water

first and then the 250ml bottle with juice and then the

500ml bottle with water and at last the 500ml bottle

with juice (Chakraborty et al., 2015).

3.5 CAPPING PROCESS

After the bottles are filled with the respective liquids,

the rotating mechanism moves and the bottle takes the

cap from the stack, and an IR sensor placed at the

capping mechanism senses the bottle and stops the

rotating mechanism, then the bottles are capped by

using a linear mechanism in which two DC motors

are used. One DC motor is used to move another DC

motor UP and down, the other DC motor holds the

cap of the bottle and tightens it.

3.6 DISPENSING MECHANISM

Once the bottles are capped then the rotating

mechanism starts again and moves the bottle, then the

bottles are placed on the conveyor belt which is

operated using a DC motor. The conveyor belt moves

the bottle and dispenses it. The dispensing is done at

four 4 different places, 250ml bottle with water at one

place and 250ml bottle with juice at another place and

so on.

Fig 2. Process Flow of the System

Fig 3. Capping mechanism

Automatic Bottle Filling And Capping System

179

Fig 4. Conveyor Belt

4 BLOCK DIAGRAM

Fig 4. Block Diagram of the proposed system

The block diagram illustrates a proposed system that

automates the process of filling, capping, and

dispensing bottles. The system operates with

a12-Volt DC supply that powers a stepper motor

responsible for initiating the rotating

mechanism. As the rotating mechanism starts

moving, an IR sensor detects a specific point,

marking it as a reference. Once this point is

sensed, a rack and pinion mechanism is

activated, pushing 250ml and 500ml bottles onto

the rotating platform. Subsequently, the rotating

mechanism begins its rotation, and IR sensors

placed near a solenoid valve detect the presence

of bottles as they pass by. Upon sensing a bottle,

a pump is activated to pump the liquid into the

bottle through the solenoid valve. The type of

liquid to be filled is determined by the user input

and the amount of liquid to be filled is calculated

based on time. Once the bottle is filled, the

solenoid valve cuts off the liquid flow,

preventing overfilling. Continuing the rotation,

another IR sensor located near the capping

mechanism senses the presence of the bottle,

causing the rotating mechanism to stop. At this

point, the capping process begins, employing a

linear mechanism with two DC motors to secure

the caps onto the bottles. Once the capping is

complete, the filled and capped bottles are

dispensed using a conveyor belt, which is driven

by a DC motor. The conveyor belt transports the

bottles to four different dispensing points. The

system ensures that 250ml bottles of one type of

liquid are dispensed at one point, while 500ml

bottles of another liquid type are dispensed at

another point, and so on. This arrangement

facilitates organised and efficient bottle

dispensing. The system combines with an

Arduino controller to regulate and plan the

whole operation. The Arduino serves as the main

controlling component, allowing automation

based on user needs. This system's integration of

multiple parts and use of the Arduino's features

results in a simplified and automated method of

filling, capping, and distributing bottles in a way

that the user specifies (Mashilkar et al,2015).

5 CIRCUIT DIAGRAM

The above figure illustrates the circuit diagram of the

proposed system. The proposed system uses Arduino

Mega to control and automate the whole system. The

Arduino Mega

uses Atmega 2560 microcontroller. A keypad is

connected to Arduino to take the user input and LCD

ISPES 2023 - International Conference on Intelligent and Sustainable Power and Energy Systems

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display is used to display the inputs given. The system

contains one stepper motor, five 5DC motors, and 5

servo motors. The servo motors are controlled by

Arduino mega and all servo motors are connected to

the digital pins of Arduino Mega (Badamasi, Y. A.

2014, September). To power the stepper motor and the

DC motors 12 volts of power supply. SMPS is used

as a 12 volts power supply for high current device that

is a stepper motor, a 12-volt 1-amp adapter is used for

operating the DC motor used for water pumps, and a

5-volt 1-amp adapter is used to power all servo

motors. The servo motors are operated by Pulse

Width Modulation (PWM). And to stop the DC

motors when needed these DC motors are operated

through relays. Eight IR sensors are used one for

recognizing the starting point on the rotating

mechanism, two IR sensors are used near solenoid

valves to sense and stop the bottles for filling, and two

sensors are used for capping. And rest of them is used

for the dispensing

process.A4988 stepper motor driver is used to operate

the stepper motor. The L298N motor driver is used to

drive the DC motor used for the capping mechanism

in both directions clockwise and anticlockwise. The

motor driver helps the DC motor to rotate in both

directions clockwise and anticlockwise. The

conveyor belt is operated using a DC motor whose

speed is controlled by the speed control circuit

6 ANALYSIS AND RESULT

Industries in the real world fill the bottle with

different volumes and different liquids in separate

assembly lines. This leads to the use of separate

control units, separate infrastructures, separate

motors, sensors, and separate software programs

which results in increased expenses for the company.

And industries use PLCs for automation and human-

machine interface which are expensive and increase

the spending costs of the company. The separate

assembly lines consume more power to operate and it

makes it difficult for the company to maintain the

assembly lines and the quality of products. Using this

increases the operational and labour cost of the

company. In case of fewer sales of one particular

volume of the bottle, the company has to shut down

the whole assembly line of that particular volume of

the bottle which makes the company face losses.

The proposed system overcomes all these problems

and makes the industries spend less money. The

proposed system fills the bottles of varying volumes

250ml and 500ml with two different liquids in a

single system. And the bottles are capped

automatically. This capping and filling mechanism is

integrated into a single system. And the proposed

system dispenses the filled capped bottle using a

conveyor belt at 4 different places and the system

operates as per user requirements by taking input

from the user. The system uses an Arduino Mega

microcontroller for controlling and automation

because it is cheaper than PLC. The whole system

operates on a single electrical supply. So the proposed

system can be more efficient and reliable for the

industries as the proposed system can make the

industries spend less money on the maintenance of

the system, using this system can maintain the quality

of products and decrease the operational and labour

cost. The figures below show the working model of

the project.

Fig.7 Working Model

7 CONCLUSION

The method uses automated technologies to

streamline production and eliminate manual

work. The system can identify and control bottles

of various sizes, ensuring that each bottle receives

the right amount of liquid. The system's versatility

allows it to be used in a wide range of industries

and applications. Additionally, the likelihood of

contamination and cross contamination is

decreased by the automated filling and capping

process. Maintaining a high level of cleanliness

and avoiding the blending of liquids, it guarantees

Automatic Bottle Filling And Capping System

181

the integrity and quality of the filled bottles. This

feature is crucial for industries including

pharmaceuticals, food and beverage, and

cosmetics. The core of the system is its reliable

and sturdy design. The system is equipped with

state-of-the-art sensors, actuators, and control

mechanisms to ensure precise measurements and

smooth operation.

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