Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1242780
48 / May 2020 powderbulk.com Equipment suppliers are a valuable source of information about equipment and processes. In light of this, each month we ask suppliers a question of concern to our readers. Answers reflect the suppliers' general expertise and don't promote the suppliers' equipment. If you have a question you'd like suppliers to answer, send it to Kayla Carrigan, Associate Editor, Powder and Bulk Engineering, 1155 Northland Drive, St. Paul, MN 55120; fax 651-287-5650 (kcarrigan@cscpub.com). PBE SUPPLIERS' TIPS How do I increase bagging speed without sacrificing accuracy? I n the case of bulk bags, the most important fac- tors determining bagging speed are: 1) the time required to connect an empty bulk bag to the filler and 2) the time required to fill the bag. Connecting the spout of an empty bag to the filler is typically time-consuming ― and potentially unsafe ― due to the fill head's overhead location that requires an operator to stand on a roller conveyor or a ladder and reach the bag spout's overhead con- nection points and four lifting straps. By contrast, an empty bag can be connected to a filler in seconds when the fill head automatically lowers and piv- ots to the operator who can connect the bag spout and straps comfortably, quickly, and safely from floor level. Such is the case with some ergo- nomically designed bulk bag fillers. Some of these models then return the filler to its horizontal filling position where the unit fills the bag and then automatically dis- connects the bag spout and straps to ready the filled bag for removal by forklift or roller conveyor and make room for the connection of another empty bag. In automatic bulk bag fillers, bagging speed can be further increased by reducing the time it takes to fill the empty bag. Material is typically fed into a bulk bag by gravity or a conveyor by weight. Load cells supporting the filler measure the total bag weight, allowing a PLC to open and close a valve or start and stop a conveyor. To achieve high accuracy, the feedrate is often reduced to a dribble feed prior to reaching the target weight, adding additional time to a filling cycle. To fill a bag significantly faster without sacrificing accuracy, material accumulated in a gain-in-weight hopper above the empty bag can descend at extremely high rates. Additional time is saved by refilling the weigh hopper while the full bag is being removed and an empty bag is being connected. The combined effect of connecting the bulk bag from floor level and preweighing the bag's contents allows for a bag filler to fill up to 20 bulk bags per hour. Tandem systems configured with two fillers and two overhead weigh hoppers can fill up to 40 bulk bags per hour. David Boger, executive vice president, Flexicon, 610-814-2400 Connecting the spout of an empty bag to the filler is typically time-consuming ― and potentially unsafe ― due to the fill head's overhead location that requires an operator to stand on a roller conveyor or a ladder and reach the bag spout's overhead connection points and four lifting straps.