At present, internationally used beverage packaging equipment includes glass bottles, aluminum cans, composite packaging (Tetra Pak), PET bottles and PET cans (invented by British PLASTONA Co., Ltd. in 1985 and imported into China in 1987), PVC bottles. There are five types of filling lines, and the remaining four have been introduced or manufactured. The proportions of the above-mentioned packaging equipment in different countries are different: in Japan, PET bottles account for 11.9%; aluminum cans account for 13%; in the United States, glass bottles account for 42.7% and aluminum cans account for 35.9%.
The technical level of foreign beverage processing machinery and equipment is generally relatively high, and the general situation can be understood from several aspects:
(1) Large-scale production, high speed, and high efficiency. The 10 highly mechanized beverage companies in the United States account for more than 70% of the total US production, while Coca-Cola and Pepsi drinks account for half of the total market. The filling speed has been increased from 150 bottles/minute in the 1950s to the current 1000-1200 bottles/minute, and can reach a maximum of 2000 bottles/minute.
(2) Microcomputers are widely used for automatic control of production processes. The foreign packaging machinery adopts computer-controlled processes and degree of processing, and is equipped with various parameter measuring devices, so that packaging, metering and testing are completed in one machine. For example, in order to control the accuracy of batching, a continuous measuring device such as a flow meter and a speed meter connected to a microcomputer is generally installed in the production system, and the computer controls the start and end of each process to control the concentration and flow of various ingredients. Error accuracy can be controlled within one-thousandth accuracy. The beverage production equipment is generally equipped with a CTP system, and the microcomputer is used to control the cleaning process.
(3) The material of the equipment is good, and hygiene and quality in the production are guaranteed. The equipment is generally made of stainless steel, and it attaches great importance to high-speed, high-efficiency cleaning of empty bottles, solid bottles, and automatic inspection equipment to ensure that the product quality is highly sanitary.
China's beverage machinery and equipment were imported from the early 1980s, and today it is fully capable of meeting the needs of domestic beverage manufacturers. It is taking a road of "introduction of technology, digestion and absorption, independent innovation, and gradual localization." Compared with foreign advanced technologies, beverage processing beverages in China still have shortcomings and weaknesses such as incomplete product specifications, poor integration, low level of automation and control, unstable stand-alone performance, and less advanced technology applications. At present, our country still has a certain distance in terms of manufacturing equipment, processing methods, and design levels compared with foreign companies that create major filling equipment. These are places where China's beverage machinery industry needs continuous efforts to improve.
In the 21st century, China's beverage machinery and equipment manufacturing industry is still full of hope, confidence and strength. Its development direction is: large-scale, high-speed and improve stability is the main goal of development. Sterility technology is the first choice for the research and development of technical equipment for beverage machinery manufacturing. The production of diversified finished packaging equipment is the need of market economic development. The application of high and new control technologies is widely used in robotics, mechatronics, and intelligence. The use of computerized technology is the direction of our efforts. At the same time, the beverage packaging and processing machinery industry must also strengthen the cooperation between scientific research institutions and manufacturing units and continue to develop the products needed by small and medium-sized enterprises.
Metal Commission
June 1, 2005