The food manufacturer wanted a reliable and versatile check weigher that could handle high volumes of check weighing for its long and narrow packs. Minebea Intec was impressed with a tailor-made solution.
Project goal and implementation
For its oldest brands in the confectionery segment, the food manufacturer was looking for a reliable check weigher combined with metal detection in the packaging line. The project was challenging from the outset. The benchmark process speed of 430 pieces per minute and the fact that the product was to be used in the food sector called for a weighing solution with MID approval for high speeds. The weighing solution also needed to have the option of flexible customization for subsequent transitions between products. And finally, the product’s special packaging design posed an extra challenge. The sweets are packed loose in long, narrow cardboard packages, which have extremely small supporting surfaces due to their design and are therefore not very stable.
“The outstanding performance of Minebea Intec checkweighers is proven once again at extremely high speed ranges. Their sophisticated, verifiable weighing technology ensures smooth processes that the customer can fully rely on.”
Minebea Intec tendered a proposal with the check weigher Flexus and won the contract. The check weigher was equipped with a customized feeder as an ETO (Engineering to Order) project, which helps to ensure that the packs of products always pass through the weighing area in the correct orientation, even at very high speeds. The complex feeding and discharging technology effortlessly keep up with the required pace. Reliable ejection of incomplete or contaminated packs of products is ensured by two high-speed separators, which push the cardboard boxes (which are oriented perpendicularly) out of the product flow. Separate, lockable run-off containers ensure that the ejected goods are stored securely.
Conveyor and weighing belts were mounted on separate base frames for optimum feeding of the wrapped products and more precise measurement results
The current net weight of the packaged sweets is less than 100 g. Subsequent transitions between products, for example to lighter products and combined with an increase in the volumes, are possible with the flexible weighing solution. The check weigher Flexus also offers trend control, which can optimize the upstream filling process and help to improve efficiency. The hygienic design means that it can be cleaned quickly and easily. The Flexus is available with the new Minebea Intec load cell WZED as an Engineering to Order customization. The ultra-precise weighing technology has MID approval for applications where verification is required and with belt speed ranges of up to 3 m per second, including as a multi-track check weigher.
The check weigher Flexus is available with Vistus metal detection technology
