Beer canning automation

At BevBoost I work in Structured Text to program PLCs (programmable logic controllers). I automate the filling, capping, and distribution of BevBoost’s widgets, which are packed into cans to infuse beverages with flavor.

I’ve helped increase canning speed from 30 to 120 cans per minute, through optimizations in error handling, custom timing, and hardware improvements.

Star wheel

The star wheel was the first distribution method I worked on: a rotating wheel with slots that hold widgets. When a can passes underneath, the wheel indexes and a widget falls in. It jammed often, and the driving motor was limited in how fast it could index.

I programmed in redundancy to reduce false errors, and the ability to change speed settings, which increased throughput from 30 to 60 cans per minute.

Feed separator

I suggested and implemented a feed separator to replace the star wheel. It uses a single-axis pneumatic piston to extend and retract a shaped arm, dropping a widget when extended and holding back the next when retracted.

The pneumatic system was less prone to jamming, and its near-instantaneous movement allowed a bump to 120 cans per minute.

Filler and capper

The filler/capper fills widgets with flavor, closes them, and moves them to whichever distribution method is in use. The original was designed by a contracted third party, which meant proprietary, hidden code on a separate PLC. There was no integration with the rest of the system and no customizability in timing.

I reverse-engineered the original filler’s code and rewrote it to run on the same PLC as everything else. That allowed communication between the filler and the distributor, which enabled features like pausing the filler when the distributor was full. I also added timing tweaks so the machine could be optimized for different canning lines.

The new filler/capper runs at 130 widgets per minute, up from 48.

Feed screw

A feed screw was added to the filler/capper to make the flow of widgets more consistent. This required new jam-detection logic and a user-customizable home position, in order to get an exact position for closing.

User interface

Alongside the automation I designed and implemented the operator interfaces for the PLCs. I installed a WiFi router in the PLC cabinet, which allowed remote access from a tablet so operators could control the machines from anywhere in the facility.