Product category:
Weighing systems, Strain gauges
News Release from: Practicon | Subject: pro Trace
Edited by the Processingtalk Editorial
Team on 11 November 2005
PC based terminal provides operational
versatility
The food section of leading industrial weighing specialists Practicon introduces its innovative proTrace Hand-Weigh recipe control terminal, to control the hand weighing of ingredients
The food section of leading industrial weighing specialists Practicon is introducing its innovative proTrace Hand-Weigh recipe control terminal This versatile and comprehensive unit has been specifically developed for controlling the formulation of recipes made up by the hand weighing of ingredients, and the company is confident that this is the most universal, yet simple to use, terminal available on today's market
This article was originally published on Processingtalk on 10 May 2006 at 8.00am (UK)
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Despite the growing levels of plant automation, the variety and diversity of the products manufactured by many specialist food companies dictate that the majority of recipes are made up by manually adding the ingredients to form batches or sub-mixes.
Ensuring all the ingredients have been added in the correct quantities has traditionally relied on operator diligence and dexterity making it difficult to achieve recipe consistency and minimise spoilt batches.
The pro Trace extensive inbuilt features and dynamic user interface remove operator related errors and inconsistencies by providing measured control at each step of the way.
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The system records irrefutable data for each and every ingredient addition and thereby eliminates the need for traditional paperwork systems and their associated errors and omissions.
Access to data for internal and external audit trails including production trends, stock usage, giveaway and other key performance indicators (KPIs) can be achieved quickly and easily, giving improved visibility to the production process.
The unit, which is housed in a slim, polished food grade stainless steel enclosure, features a large industrial PC touch screen and full tactile QWERTY keypad.
The terminal is designed to work with any load cell based weigh scale and can be used with single or dual scale configurations.
In dual mode the unit automatically chooses which of the two different capacity scales should be used to provide optimum precision for a particular ingredient.
The pro Trace is the result of an extensive development programme taking into account significant customer feed back.
Its underlying power is transparent to the operator and although the unit uses the latest embedded XP technology and communication interface technology, it also incorporates sound mechanical design concepts to ensure simple and reliable operation in demanding food environments.
In its simplest operational mode, the operator can use the two robust up-down buttons below the screen to work through the recipe build up.
This concept ideal in food manufacturing environments where touch controls can be awkward or troublesome.
To facilitate fast and accurate ingredient weighing, the proTrace features an innovative tri-coloured analogue weight acceptance screen bar, which guides the operator through the ingredient addition.
This progresses from an orange underweight zone through to a green acceptance zone and red over-weight zone.
However unlike many competitive units, which provide a standard linear transgression, the screen zooms in as the weighment is approaching the target weight to give a magnified view of the acceptance zone.
Trials have shown that operators rapidly tune in to this feature and weighments are consistently well inside the programmed tolerances.
As an additional visual indication, the large digital weight display also changes colour in line with the bar.
The proTrace can be used as a standalone workstation, where all recipe information is programmed directly into the unit, or as part of a group, linked back via a local area network to one or more PCs running the Practicon bespoke Office Software Application.
Practicon have extensive experience working with both in-house and third party software systems thereby ensuring seamless integration.
This latter configuration allows several members of the management team to work with the shared databases at any one time, each person having their own level of non-conflicting access authorisation.
In this mode, the proTrace units act as a powerful data interface between the factory floor and upstairs management systems.
The formulae for particular finished products or sub mixes are entered into the designated PC via the simple to use recipe formulation screen.
The system allows management to enter and determine the exact recipe characteristics, including individual ingredient tolerances and how the products are added.
For instance, recipes may be a mixture of weighed and non-weighed ingredients, where some products are added as pre-weighed blocks or bags.
There is also the facility to input detailed instructions relating to product characteristics which are then flagged up at the relevant stage of the process.
These may, for instance, highlight that a particular ingredient should be poured in slowly, or refer to specific health and safety aspects.
If necessary the terminal can easily be configured to operate as a straightforward weighscale.
Depending on the batch size requirements for particular works orders, the system automatically calculates the amounts of individual ingredients needed and downloads the order to the relevant pro Trace workstation.
With the optional stock control module installed, the system checks that there are sufficient 'in-date' ingredients available for the planned order.
Any number of the same batches can be programmed to run consecutively and batches can be reduced proportionally in size if required.
Once the operator is logged on, making up the batches is then simplicity itself and the large screen provides clear instructions throughout the formulation process.
As the correct amount of each ingredient is added, the operator is prompted to the next stage.
Depending on the configuration, ingredient lot numbers can either be entered manually or by bar code scanner.
If the incorrect ingredient is selected or the wrong amount added, the screen goes red and prevents further progress until the situation is remedied.
Under certain circumstances, if too much of a particular ingredient is added, designated supervisors can authorise the batch size to be recalculated to accommodate the error.
The versatility of the pro Trace makes it ideal for food producers of all sizes - from small independents through to multinationals, and system expansion can be carried out as and when required.
For more automated recipe control and batching, the Hand-Weigh version can be used in conjunction with the powerful Practicon Batch and Blend terminal.
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