New servomotor-based technology is helping the Dutch brewer Grolsch to fit its iconic swing-top caps onto bottles of lager. This year marks the 125th anniversary of the invention of the distinctive swing-top caps that the Dutch brewer Grolsch fits onto its beer bottles. Coinciding with the anniversary, Grolsch has commissioned a new servo-based technology for installing the caps on bottles at its Enschede plant in the Netherlands. Every hour, the new "swing-top transfer unit" provides around 3,800 bottles with their iconic porcelain caps and rubber rings. Bottles without tops are fed in from one side, while the swing tops arrive from the other side. Before the tops are positioned, the bottle is rotated and a sensor detects the location of one the holes in the bottle neck into which the cap's metal clips fit. The bottles are rotated into the correct position by a servomotor located underneath.
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