New Cap Sorter from Fowler Products Ideal for Mid-Range Production

The new WSI 300 waterfall sorter has an eight-cubic-foot cap bin, which sits flush to the capping machine for minimum footprint. The sorter's height was kept to a minimum for greater application in low ceiling environments.

Jul 19 2011 --- Fowler Products, a division of Pro Mach, introduced a compact waterfall style cap sorter for production lines running between 100 and 300 bottles per minute. The new sorter offers a host of features for these mid-range production applications. There are additional benefits for lines where frequent changes in cap sizes are made, the capping area has a low ceiling, and/or dust must be kept to a minimum.

"Fowler Products manufactures waterfall sorters for high-speed 1200 caps per minute capping applications," said Andy Monroe, Fowler Products sales manager. "A number of corporations asked us for mid-range waterfall sorters because they like the ease of use, ergonomic, and productivity features of this type of machine. They came to us with this request because of our capping equipment integration expertise."

The new WSI 300 waterfall sorter has an eight-cubic-foot cap bin, which sits flush to the capping machine for minimum footprint. The sorter's height was kept to a minimum for greater application in low ceiling environments. The belt width was reduced as compared to high speed sorters. This also contributes to space savings.

With the WSI 300, operators have an easier time loading and monitoring filling intervals than they typically do with top plate mounted rotary sorters, which require operators to climb a ladder to load the cap bin or the use of a secondary bulk cap feeder. Loading a bin at floor level also keeps dust from corrugated shipping cases below the level of the capping operation and helps to maintain a cleaner environment where the closure meets the bottle, jar, or jug.

The WSI 300 can handle a wide range of cap diameters and styles on a single set of cleats so few if any change parts are required when switching between different sized closures. This creates minimum downtime and higher productivity. It also gives the capping application greater flexibility.