Ishida launches weigher for sticky foods
specially designed for wet or sticky foods and claimed to be the
fastest and most accurate available, Simon Pitman reports.
The new R-series range is due to be unveiled at Interpack in Dusseldorf, Germany, when the expo opens its doors on 21st April. The show will also feature Ishida's new Retail Ready Line - a weighing and packing system for fresh foods, together with the Fresh Food Weigher - a design that enables sticky fresh foods to be weighed automatically using the combination weighing principle.
The R Series combines unmatched levels of speed - up to 200wpm on a 14 head single discharge machine - with further enhancements to accuracy, due to the development of a new algorithm, which the company says can perform combination calculations five times faster than previously possible, thus cutting product giveaway to near zero.
A Windows XP operating system allows integration and advanced networking capabilities, and the system also features an enhanced, easy-to-use remote control unit with inbuilt tutorial assistance and ultra-clear graphics.
The new weigher incorporates several easy-clean features and an improved drive unit design. It has also been designed to optimize energy efficiency, resulting in energy consumption being 50 per cent lower than previous models. Added to this a new automatic feeder drive system and self-tuning feeders further enhance the smooth handling of difficult products.
The RRL also provides an integrated, automated solution for the weighing and packing of fresh products into top sealed trays, comprising a tray denester, multihead weigher, checkweigher, tray sealer, metal detector, weigh price labeller, label verification and pick and place packer. Applications include meat, poultry, fish, ready meals and salads.
The equipment has been designed to maximise production throughput as well as packing line efficiency and quality, which is why a series of reject systems automatically remove metal contaminated product, incorrectly labelled packs and incomplete Eurocrates without stopping the line.
At Interpack the flexibility of the line to be adapted for different product requirements will be demonstrated by the incorporation of both a traditional circular multihead weigher and linear fresh food weigher. Whilst the circular multihead is suitable for fresh products that are less sticky, Ishida says that the FFW is typically fitted with belt feeders and is more suitable for very sticky products such as marinated meat and vegetables.
The system is the first machine to apply the combination weighing principle to the handling of sticky products that could, until recently, be weighed and packed only manually. This means that it dramatically reduces product giveaway compared with manual weighing processes, offers consistent weighing results and reduces manual operation to a minimum to save labour costs and to comply with strict hygiene standards.
Considering the benefits, Ishida estimates that typical payback periods will be under one year.
Other Ishida equipment on show at Interpack will include a complete packing system for snack food products, a high performance Ishida tray sealer, the latest checkweigher models and a seal tester for large flexible bags and shallow thermoformed trays.
