FOOD & BEVERAGE  BECKOFF The cost of digital weighing


Stephen Hayes, managing director of automation and control technology specialist, Beckhoff UK, explains why food manufacturers require control 


T


he old saying ‘time is money’ reaps true across many industries. However, in the world of food processing, good quality


control is money, with errors the costly enemy. By implementing smart and adaptable weighing technology in plant machines and equipment, From logistics and transportation to food


manufacturing and agriculture, weighing technology plays a crucial role. Yet, in the past, these industries relied on manual methodologies and traditional measurement techniques. Weighing scales, predominantly mechanical in nature, operated through spring or lever mechanisms that required manual adjustments and calibration. Such systems were susceptible to inaccuracies, stemming from factors like friction and wear, with operators carrying out labour intensive practices that made them manually position objects on scales before visually interpreting measurements.


The resulting documentation and record 28 June 2024 Irish Manufacturing


keeping involved paper-based methods, which are not only prone to errors but time consuming too. All of these factors made quality control very challenging, often resulting in discrepancies, delays and increased risk of regulatory non-compliance.


INCREASED EFFICIENCY  of digital weighing technology. In fact, the global industrial weighing equipment market is predicted to expand over 1.7X between now and 2033, due to the increasing demand for automated weighing solutions.


As an advanced technology, these replace


the traditional analog weighing systems, offering accuracy and ease of integration for the food processing industry. In blending operations, for instance, digital weighing systems use digital signals for measurement, allowing for more precise weight readings and optimal mixing performance, even with challenging formulations.


Just look at how system integrator, Taylor Controls, helped a grain blending company to upgrade its existing semi-automated to increase throughput and support more rapid changeovers between recipes. They relied on auger feeders, start-stop motor controls and weigh cells for  changes, meaning that the existing system was pushed to the brink and exhibited unexpected errors.


Without self-learning capabilities too, the   ultimately led to deviations in weighments. Through control technology, the process required each recipe ingredient to be dispensed into a weight scaled vessel individually. The feeder operated at high bulk speed initially before transitioning to low dribble speed near the setpoint for precise weight attainment. In addition, the system also autonomously learns the free


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