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View additional product information for Global VersaWeigh™ Checkweigher - FAQs (PID-10131047F, PID-10131047E, PID-10131047B, PID-10131047, PID-10131047A, PID-10131047D, PID-10131047C)
12 product FAQs found
For pet food products in cartons, cans, bottles, or pouches, a chain checkweigher offers line speeds up to 700 packages per minute. It is appropriate for both dry and wet environments.
To ensure that pet food processors are not under or overfilling packages, checkweighers are used to verify the correct weight of each package. Accurate weight avoids giving away costly product or from receiving hefty fines from regulatory bodies for underfilling.
Checkweighers do not detect physical contaminants but they can be combined with food metal detectors and X-ray inspection systems that do detect contaminants. Food metal detection systems provide reliable, cost-effective protection from even the smallest metal contaminants found anywhere in a food production process. Food X-ray inspection systems provide protection from metal, glass, stone and other dense foreign objects for almost any type of packaged, bulk, or piped product.
Food manufacturers can find metallic and non-metallic foreign objects and eliminate “wet” product effects common with metal detectors with the Thermo Scientific NextGuard X-ray Detection Systems (https://www.thermofisher.com/order/catalog/product/NEXTGUARDPRO). Designed for a wide variety of food applications, NextGuard systems offer enhanced capabilities to inspect packaged products for missing pieces or components, under and over-fills, and other quality problems.
Checkweighers can sometimes come in contact with food products that can leak or spill. The equipment has to get washed down regularly to prevent contamination so it must meet IP65 Washdown requirements. Therefore, checkweigher components require materials that can withstand washdown using chemicals. The metal should be fully constructed of ANSI Type 304 SS (stainless steel), which is an austenite steel. For even harsher situations, ANSI 316 stainless is used; it is more impervious to corrosion than 304 SS. Equipment should meet American National Standard ANSI/IEC 60529-2004 for equipment with electrical components. This standard describes a system for classifying the degrees of protection provided by enclosures of electrical equipment for two conditions:
- The protection of persons against access to hazardous parts and protection of equipment against the ingress of solid foreign objects
- The ingress of water
Equipment should be designed with minimal flat, horizontal surfaces and slots to reduce food buildup, and use stainless steel conveyor beds. IP65 enclosures provide basic waterproof protection from water, including jet sprays used during washdown.
Proper design of the in-line checkweigher can influence accuracy. Here are some of the design factors:
- Product speed
- Product weight and size
- Product transfer onto and off of the checkweigher
- Reject method and design
In addition, conveyors must be level and aligned, belts and chains should be inspected regularly for wear or product buildup, gaps between conveyors should be minimized and infeed and weigh table belts or chains should be running at the same speeds. Other factors include the spacing between products' centers to ensure that more than one product is not on the weighing table at any one time, and calibrations should be done regularly.
It depends on the product being weighed and the checkweigher that is installed. Here is an example: The Thermo Scientific Versa 8120 Checkweigher (https://www.thermofisher.com/order/catalog/product/70.181) works with line speeds up to 550 rigid packages per minute.
Both food and non-food packages can be weighed on checkweighers, including meat, dairy, wet and dry ingredients, baked goods, confectionary products, pharma, personal care packaged items, bullets, bags of construction materials like cement, etc. Types of items that can be weighed on a checkweigher include:
- Rigid (cans, cardboard packages, plastic, glass)
- Soft (plastic, paper, foil)
- Wet (dairy, hummus)
- Dry (rice, oatmeal)
- Raw (chicken, beef, fish, vegetables and fruits)
It is worth noting that loose, continuously flowing products cannot be weighed on a checkweigher.
A checkweigher is made up of a controller and a weigh frame. The weigh frame typically has 3 sections: Infeed, Weighing section, and Outfeed. The package being weighed goes through the following steps:
- Package moves from the customer's conveyor onto the checkweigher infeed. Note: Conveyor speed of infeed and weigh table are the same
- Package is weighed on the weigh cell of the weigh table
- Package moves onto the outfeed of the checkweigher to be accepted or rejected according to the checkweigher settings
- Accepted package moves onto the customer's downstream conveyor
- Ideal spacing between packages allows for a zeroing operation for maximum accuracy
The packages are moved along by belt (motor), chain (uses motor to pull items forward), and/or skates (slider). If the measured weight does not meet specification, the product is rejected via air blast, pusher, bopper, diverters, or drop flabs.
There are several points in the baked goods/snack foods production process that benefit from food safety inspection using metal detectors (https://www.thermofisher.com/us/en/home/industrial/food-beverage/food-weighing-inspection/metal-detectors.html), X-ray inspection (https://www.thermofisher.com/us/en/home/industrial/food-beverage/food-weighing-inspection/x-ray-detection-inspection-systems.html), or checkweighing (https://www.thermofisher.com/us/en/home/industrial/food-beverage/food-weighing-inspection/checkweighers.html)technology. They are listed below:
1. Incoming ingredients. Most of the larger bakers demand that their vendors meet specific HACCP objectives. They may require that metal detectors be used, provide proof of inspection, etc. Even with those methodologies in place, some will also inspect incoming ingredients. Typical incoming inspection consists of drop through and bulk flow metal detectors.
2. Dough stage. Before the product is baked or otherwise processed, this is an ideal location to conduct upstream inspection. Metal detectors are the equipment of choice because metal-based packaging is not part of the process at this stage. Bar products are another example. They can be examined right after sheeting, or after the individual bars are cut, or before the product goes into the wrapper. Alternatively, they can also be inspected after packaging.
3. After baking/before packaging. The inspection equipment type will depend on the product type and whether or not its formulation creates a “product effect”. Warm, moist, high salt content products such as breads are more suited toward X-ray equipment, while metal detectors perform well with typically-inert snack foods. Checkweighers can also be located at this stage to make sure that the product weight falls within the min/max specifications and will not create problems (such as line stoppages due to oversize) at the packaging stage. Checkweighers can also be used to confirm that all of the late-stage filling components, such as icing and other toppings, have been properly dispensed.
4. After packaging. The recommended inspection equipment type is dependent on the packaging material or combination of materials that have been selected for this product. Metal components such as aluminum foil trays or metalized firm structures are much more suited to X-ray inspection. Flexible materials without a metal component, paperboard folding cartons and/or a combination of the two, work very well with metal detectors. Checkweighers are frequently located at this stage of the operation.
5. After case packing. Some bakers or processors prefer to inspect after the final packaging stage: case packing. This is typically done via X-ray inspection, provided that the unit is large enough to accompany a case. In addition to inspection, the X-ray system's ability to detect missing pieces will help ensure that the specified count has been loaded into the case. In certain situations, especially when X-ray inspection is not included at the end of the line, checkweighers are placed here to ensure that the proper number of packages are contained inside the case.
Checkweighers (https://www.thermofisher.com/us/en/home/industrial/food-beverage/food-weighing-inspection/checkweighers.html) are a critical component of most packaging lines. Making the weight specified on the label is an important issue with regulatory and brand equity implications. However, it is also critical that expensive ingredients are not being given away in the form of overfills. Additionally, with products that have tight packaging tolerances, such as bars that need to fit in a wrapper with specific dimensions, products that exceed size tolerances can very quickly shut down a production line. Food checkweighers can signal production on the fly to make a fast adjustment to make sure that the specifications are being met.
For dairy products in cartons, cans, bottles, or pouches, a chain checkweigher offers line speeds up to 700 packages per minute. It is appropriate for both dry and wet environments.
These are the four best places in the dairy production process that benefit from inspection using metal detectors, X-ray equipment, or checkweighing technology:
- Incoming ingredients. Drop-through and bulk-flow metal detectors are ideal choices for dairies wanting to inspect incoming ingredients such as powders, fruits, or nuts before incorporating them into the finished product.
- Liquid flow. Metal detectors work in pipeline applications for novelties and other liquid-fill products.
- After filling/packaging. The dairy product inspection equipment type will depend on the product type and its potential for product effect. Since many dairy products have high moisture content, they are more suited for X-ray inspection at this stage. Checkweighers can be located here to make sure that the product weight is within minimum/maximum specifications with an option for electronic real-time feedback to the filler to adjust production on the fly.
- After case packing. Some dairies can benefit from inspection after final packaging: in-case packing. This is typically done via X-ray inspection if the case is less than 8 inches high and the machine's aperture is large enough to accommodate a case. The X-ray system can be used to confirm that the specified count is loaded into the case. In certain situations, checkweighers can perform this latter function.