Flexicon pumps used to dose small volumes of liquid vitamins

A recent client request to change to stick-type sachet packs for an energy supplement product led to a production dilemma.

“Our machine for this type of pack was geared for powder filling only,” explains the company''s Managing Director, Robert Verseput. “We needed to acquire fillers/pumps that would allow us to convert this machine to fill liquids as well.”

The solution arrived in the form of four Flexicon PD12I peristaltic fillers with an MC12 controller. Duly acquired from Flexicon Liquid Filling in October 2013, the four fillers service the eight-lane machine by splitting the dosing into two on each pumphead. Now, instead of filling powder, liquid vitamins get pumped into the sticks as before the pack is sealed by the machine. The MC12 controller is triggered by a 4-20mA signal which actions the machine to fill 10ml of liquid vitamins into each stick simultaneously.

The pumphead works with a double tube element with a Y connector to combine two channels of flow into one, thereby providing a higher flow but removing nearly all pulsation. When required, the two channels of flow can be used individually as is the case with Technikon. This adds versatility to the way the pumps can be used.

Both speed of fill and ease of cleaning are cited by Mr Verseput at Technikon as “important” in what he describes as a good investment project.