PROCESS EQUIPMENT UPDATE
WEIGHING UP THE
BENEFITS
Terry Stemler presents a case study that reveals the advantages of sophisticated scales in an application for automated spice formulation
I
n the USA, a manufacturer of seasonings and marinades was experiencing tremendous growth due to its unique fl avour profi les. It
approached process equipment expert APEC to enquire about a system that would allow it to make more product, reduce the labour associated with hand scooping of ingredients and at the same time maintain a high level of security so the recipes could only be accessed by a few trusted people. T e application required that the fi nished batch of spices would get transferred to either of two mixers, depending on the formulation. After mixing, the spice recipe would then be transferred to other locations for further processing. APEC worked with the customer to
evaluate the various ingredients to make sure that they would fl ow and that the appropriate feeder would be selected to maintain the desired accuracy for each ingredient. A solid core stainless steel auger in a stainless-steel hopper sized for each ingredient was selected. T ese were ground and polished to a food-grade fi nish. During testing it was found that two of the ingredients had diffi cult fl ow
18
www.engineerlive.com
characteristics so mechanical agitation was added to these hoppers. To have a scale that was small and accurate to two decimal places with the ability to discharge into two diff erent mixers and be fed from 10 ingredient hoppers, an indexing scale with a 25kg capacity was chosen. T is gave the scale the ability to move under the appropriate feeder for fi lling and then move to the appropriate mixer for discharge. T is also kept the height of the system to a level that would fi t into an existing facility. To make sure that the correct
ingredients were used in each bin, a bin lock system was used in conjunction with the product bar code. When the ingredient barcode is scanned the bin that is assigned to that ingredient is unlocked for fi lling. T is also enhanced the system security by limiting access to certain people.
IN-BUILT SECURITY APEC used a recipe automation program that utilised a secure operating system designed for real-time, mission-critical applications. T is added an extra level of security to the system. APEC worked
Indexing micro ingredient scale
with the customer to select a mixer that would mix in the required time and was equipped with automatic fi lling and discharging. T e company also designed an interface between the mixers and a frame that would hold the bag during fi lling. To keep the system and sur- rounding area clean, a compact dust collection system was designed. T e fi nal system that was delivered
was pre-wired and pre-tested as much as possible to simplify the installation process. Each recipe was electronically entered into the system by the owner to maintain security. As a result, the customer is now able to automatically weigh and mix the spices and at the same time maintain a high level of security. A production record with lot tracking gives the manufacturer the ability to simplify record keeping. T e system has reduced manual labour and exposure to the ingredients and will allow the company to keep up with future demand for its products.
Terry Stemler is president of APEC.
www.apecusa.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68
