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Product category: Weighing systems, Strain gauges
News Release from: Weightron Bilanciai | Subject: PRM stainless steel platform
Edited by the Processingtalk Editorial Team on 21 December 2004

Special weighing equipment improves drum
filling

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Weighing equipment supplied by Weightron Bilanciai is playing a pivotal role for a leading plant nutrition manufacturer at their Pocklington plant near York

Weighing equipment supplied by Weightron Bilanciai is playing a pivotal role at a leading plant nutrition manufacturer at their Pocklington plant near York Phosyn plc formulate and manufacture a range of specialist plant nutrition products which are currently sold in over 55 countries around the globe

Crop nutrition is fundamental to profitable farming and the company is recognised worldwide for its technical innovation and the efficiency of its products.

To help Phosyn meet growing demand for its products, Weightron Bilanciai have supplied a special multi-interval stainless steel floor scale to upgrade the existing XY filling station and a new 35 tonne vessel weighing system.

The filling system is used for filling liquid micro-nutrients into a variety of containers, depending on customers requirements.

The original weighing system only had a single measuring range which was not suitable for filling the different sizes of container within weights and measures requirements.

Filling the small drums with the same proportional precision as the larger ones, requires a special high accuracy platform.

To solve this, Weightron have replaced the single range system with their multi-interval 1500 mm square PRM stainless steel platform and D450 weight controller.

In effect the scale operates as three separate 3000 division units with ranges of 0-300 kg x 100 g, 0-600 kg x 200 g and 0-1500 kg x 500g.

The PRM features fully welded, high accuracy, C6 stainless steel load cells and a hinged weigh deck for easy cleaning.

The indicator is housed in a robust waterproof stainless steel enclosure and features a large backlit graphic display.

The multi-interval capability of the Weightron solution now allows Phosyn to fill a range of containers using the same scale.

The containers to be filled are brought to the scale on pallets, which may be made up of 32 small 25 litre drums in two layers of 16 drums, four 210 litre drums, or a single rigid 1000 litre IBC.

Phosyns Production Engineer Sean Molloy is pleased with the new system: "Having the ability to weigh the three different containers on one scale is very cost effective and time saving.

The 25 litre drums can now be weighed to +/-100 g, the 210 litre ones within +/- 200 g and the IBCs within +/-500 g.

The D450 is interfaced with the existing Mitsubishi PLC controlling the filling operation and the system has a fast and slow fill sequence to ensure the target weight is achieved within the specified legal limit for trade error.

Approximately 3 kg before the target weight is reached, the system automatically switches over to slow fill.

After each drum has been filled, the system automatically resets to zero and the next drum filled with the same precision.

When all the drums on a particular pallet have been filled, the system gives a reading of the total weight of liquid".

The vessel and weighing system have been installed to enable Phosyn to store bulk Glycol, an important base ingredient in the nutrients.

Previously the company purchased this in 1000 litre IBCs which presented a number of logistical problems.

As Sean Molloy explains: "We were using up to six IBCs a week.

These had to be moved to the specific mixing tanks and then the required amount pumped out.

The 33000 litre storage now gives us the facility to order glycol in bulk, which is much more convenient and cost effective.

We know exactly how much is in the tank at any one time and when the level falls to 10000 kg, we know we can accommodate a full tanker load of 23000 litres".

The vessel is mounted on three Weightron GPAC 20 tonne capacity load cell mounting kits, connected to a D450 weight terminal mounted near the seven mixing tanks in the liquid manufacturing section of the plant.

The load cells and instrument were supplied precalibrated to give a system capacity of 35000 kg x 5 kg increment.

Weightron are well aware that calibrating large vessels on site is both time consuming and costly.

Their approach means that systems such as this can be installed and made ready to go in a matter of hours rather days.

The vessel is connected via a series of pipes and valves to the mixing tanks.

The operator selects the route to the particular mixer, inputs the required weight, and presses the start button on the D450.

The correct valve sequence is initiated and the set weight of Glycol is automatically dosed in the mixer.

As Sean Molloy concludes: "Both Weightron systems are providing significant time and cost savings as well as improved accuracies.

Initially our operators had some reticence regarding use of the vessel weighing system but have soon realised that it is much more efficient and reliable than the old IBC method".

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