Filling of small containers with integrated weighing device

AZO, the expert for automatic handling of raw materials in bulk, powdered, granular and liquid form, is exhibiting at Anuga FoodTec 2018 in Cologne.

In Hall 10.1 at stand B028 C029 we will be demonstrating solutions for automatic handling of large and medium components and the integration of small components and ingredients in the automated process. Intelligent process-IT and a vacuum-process plant for the manufacturing of sauces, mayonnaise and ketchup complete the portfolio of the AZO Group.

AZO has been supplying automatic systems for mixer feeding for decades. There is already a plethora of solutions for this. The goal of developments in the field of filling and packaging was to offer a flexible system for producers of specialty products in small to medium batch sizes. Especially at a time when batches of products are becoming ever smaller, fast and straightforward retooling from one receptacle to another is called for in plants. The modular station exhibited at Anuga FoodTec by AZO allows gravimetric filling of products in small to medium-size batches. The focus here is on easy cleaning, a high level of versatility and fast retooling to accommodate different small containers like tubs, drums, boxes with inliners, bags and sacks.

The base station can be supplemented with a DA-type cyclone screener, which may be used simultaneously for dosing, and/or with metal detectors for final inspection of the product. Various modules for sealing sacks, for example bonding and sack sewing machines, are also available. The filling heads for docking the most diverse receptacles without generating dust range from inflatable rings to inflatable collars and foam ring seals. AZO’s filling station enables our customers to switch over receptacles within two minutes.

The integrated weighing device can be calibrated, it has a weighing range of 50kg and has a division of 10g increments. Actual dosing accuracy depends on the size of the dosing unit and the flow properties of the bulk material in use. Typical values here are +/- 10 g to +/- 50 g. Capacity of the filling station: depending on the form and size of the receptacle as well as on the number of operators, it is possible to fill and close the receptacle in 1-2 minutes. A standard throughput rate for the system is 1 receptacle per min. The roller conveyor serves as a support surface and for horizontal transport of the receptacles to the filling point, and from there onto the next module – on our exhibition stand, this is a module for bonding sacks. It is also possible to implement partial automation of filling.

In introducing this system, we are responding to trends for ever smaller batches of products, applications that can be calibrated, rapid changeover from one product to another as well as from one type of receptacle to another.

About AZO

The AZO Group is a German company, headquartered in Osterburken. AZO specialises in the planning, manufacture and assembly of machines and facilities for automating production processes in storage, discharge, screening, conveying, dosing and weighing of bulk materials and powdered components well as for dispersing, mixing and homogenizing of liquid and semisolid products.

With over 1,000 employees, the AZO Group has locations additional to its Osterburken Headquarters in Neckarsulm, Hannover and Neuenburg am Rhein, as well as being active worldwide with subsidiaries in Belgium, China, France, Russia, Thailand, the USA and the United Kingdom.