Jar Sorter

The goal of this project was to accurately sort jars based on their height and if the lid was screwed on correctly. The cost and accuracy was considered for this project. Using the sensors and equipment provided a system was designed. 3 proximity sensors were placed on a moving gantry controlled by a lead screw driven by a stepper motor. Data was collected from these 3 sensors. If all sensors tripped at the same time as the gantry moved down the lid was not cross-threaded and the left gate was triggered to open. Based on the time it took the gantry to reach the jar the height of the jar was able to be calculated. All other cases resulted in a "bad jar". The system was controlled with an Omron PLC and and HMI unit reported data about the jars through the system as well as an E stop. This machine was fully automated and could test a jar in about 4 seconds. The stepper motor and PLC ladder logic code is shown below, as well as a simple wiring diagram of the whole system.