Applications Finder

The filling of bags or other containers by weight is characterised by the following :

• One or more materials to be dispensed from overhead hoppers or silos into a bag or container
• Some means to detect the presence of the bag or container before the filling process starts
• Scale or conveyor or bag holder frame that is supported by one or more load cell(s)
• One or more power operated valve to control the flow of material - usually one large valve for fast fill, and one small valve for slow fill
• In-flight compensation to allow for the amount of material that continues to flow into the container after the hopper gate has been closed
• Self-correcting capability to adjust the parameters to suit changes in material density (due to humidity or other factors)
• Fast operation combined with high accuracy to avoid overfilling and to minimise material giveaway.

Specialist instrumentation has been developed for this task, because the signal from the load cells must be measured and processed at high speed to achieve the fastest possible reaction time, and the software must support the self-correcting techniques that have been developed for reasons of cost effectiveness.

The requirement to read additional sensors such as "bag present" and to operate controls such as valves and conveyors also requires several channels of digital input/output that may not be available on standard indicators.

A suitable controller for the bag filling process is the Mantracourt model ADW-FFW and the operating manual for this product describes the capabilities that are included with the product and describes the application in more detail.