Torque to twist out a champagne cork

Requirement

Sibel manufacture natural corks for the wine and spirits industry in the Champagne region of France. They pride themselves on working closely with their clients, taking into account their requirements and expectations for safety. A factor concerning Champagne and sparkling wine, in particular, is the risk of injury from a 'popped' cork when opening a bottle. Even when handled properly, pressure within the neck of the bottle means a cork could be released at approximately 100 km/h.

To guarantee product quality, Sibel needed to test the cork extraction effort using a torque measuring device.

Solution

The Champagne industry used to measure the extraction force of corks manually by a human physically pulling them out. This method only provided a subjective assessment, therefore no standard quality measure was established.

To rectify this, a Mecmesin digital system was selected to perform quality checks before shipment of products. A torque screwdriver connected to an AFTI digital display measures the torque required to begin rotation of the cork.

A dedicated mandrel accessory is used to securely grip the cork and enabling its safe release from the borrle neck. This grip is easily adusted by screw action to accomodate a range of cork stopper diameters.

Using this digital system provides a more accurate and repeatable measurement compared to the old method. Within the Champagne region, an acceptable band for released of the cork has been set between 1.5 N.m - 2.5 N.m.

This solution provides a very convenient and easy-to-use method of performing checks for the first indication of issues with bottling. The instrument is portable and manually operated, requiring minimal operator training.

For more thorough, semi-automated testing, Mecmesin supplies the CombiCork tester which applies the representative helical motion to both twist and pull the cork from the bottle.

Test equipment

• 'Smart' Torque Screwdriver 10N.m
• Dedicated accessory for holding 'Champagne' cork
• Advanced Force Gauge (AFG) 1000 N used as a display for torque sensor. Dedicated AFTI/VFTI now available.
• Can be implemented in association with our Combi-Cork system and cork closure grips.