When processors of flour, or flour-based mixtures, want to
package their product into bags for sale/shipment to potential customers, the
go-to machine is usually an auger type filler
Flour by its nature is not a constantly fluidisable material and thus not a good candidate for air packers and not free flowing enough to work on gravity type fillers.
Add in the ingredients in a typical bakery mix (sugar, shortening baking soda, and flavorings) and these poor flow characteristics become amplified along with the increased sensitivity to cross contamination.
Most auger fillers have a single auger and were designed to handle industrial minerals. They are simple machines that are designed to be robust and work on the same material day in and day out but they are the slowest of all fillers and food grade was usually not part of the original design basis. In the early 90’s there was a surge in demand of bakery mix production and packaging with the invention of the home bread machine that every housewife got for Christmas.
While the standard auger fillers worked with the mixes, they had three major drawbacks:
1. They were slow
2. They were not accurate enough
3. They were not cleanable
So to answer this demand, Magnum System’s Taylor Products brand set out to design auger filler that not only solves these drawbacks, has previsions for filling various container types, prevent dust, and pairs with automated bag placing based on automation/manpower required.
The bagging machine created was the APO Dual (Auger Packer Open mouth Dual).
1. The two augers (one 8” and one 4”) increase speed of fill.
2. The two augers increase the accuracy and repeatability of target fill.
3. Designed with a drop bottom chamber, removable augers and agitators, and even designed to be able to be 3A dairy certified, ensures ease of cleaning.
4. Multiple Discharge adapters allow for container versatility.
5. Inflatable spout ensures superior dust control.
6. Paired with bag placing equipment allows automation if required.
The APO Dual is a “Gross Weigh” filler, meaning that the container being filled is weighed as it is filled. It uses two horizontally mounted augers, one eight inch and one four inch to meter and control material flow.
These augers each have a positive shut-off cap to ensure halted flow when they stop for increased accuracy assurance. Located above the auger inlet, a ribbon type agitator ensures consistent flow and even feed to the augers.
The augers discharge through an enclosed chamber to an inflatable spout where the container (or its liner) is normally attached for filling. The unit is load cell based with a digital scale. To begin a fill cycle, an operator places a container onto the inflatable spout and signals the process to start by either a hand bump or foot switch. The spout is inflated to form a dust tight seal and both augers begin to fill.
At the first pre-act condition, typically around 65 percent of the target fill, the larger auger stops its fill, while the smaller auger continues to fill. At a second pre-act condition, the smaller auger, which is equipped with a variable speed drive, slows to a dibble speed for the final top off.
Flour by its nature is not a constantly fluidisable material and thus not a good candidate for air packers and not free flowing enough to work on gravity type fillers.
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| Image credit: Magnum Systems |
Add in the ingredients in a typical bakery mix (sugar, shortening baking soda, and flavorings) and these poor flow characteristics become amplified along with the increased sensitivity to cross contamination.
Most auger fillers have a single auger and were designed to handle industrial minerals. They are simple machines that are designed to be robust and work on the same material day in and day out but they are the slowest of all fillers and food grade was usually not part of the original design basis. In the early 90’s there was a surge in demand of bakery mix production and packaging with the invention of the home bread machine that every housewife got for Christmas.
While the standard auger fillers worked with the mixes, they had three major drawbacks:
1. They were slow
2. They were not accurate enough
3. They were not cleanable
So to answer this demand, Magnum System’s Taylor Products brand set out to design auger filler that not only solves these drawbacks, has previsions for filling various container types, prevent dust, and pairs with automated bag placing based on automation/manpower required.
The bagging machine created was the APO Dual (Auger Packer Open mouth Dual).
1. The two augers (one 8” and one 4”) increase speed of fill.
2. The two augers increase the accuracy and repeatability of target fill.
3. Designed with a drop bottom chamber, removable augers and agitators, and even designed to be able to be 3A dairy certified, ensures ease of cleaning.
4. Multiple Discharge adapters allow for container versatility.
5. Inflatable spout ensures superior dust control.
6. Paired with bag placing equipment allows automation if required.
The APO Dual is a “Gross Weigh” filler, meaning that the container being filled is weighed as it is filled. It uses two horizontally mounted augers, one eight inch and one four inch to meter and control material flow.
These augers each have a positive shut-off cap to ensure halted flow when they stop for increased accuracy assurance. Located above the auger inlet, a ribbon type agitator ensures consistent flow and even feed to the augers.
The augers discharge through an enclosed chamber to an inflatable spout where the container (or its liner) is normally attached for filling. The unit is load cell based with a digital scale. To begin a fill cycle, an operator places a container onto the inflatable spout and signals the process to start by either a hand bump or foot switch. The spout is inflated to form a dust tight seal and both augers begin to fill.
At the first pre-act condition, typically around 65 percent of the target fill, the larger auger stops its fill, while the smaller auger continues to fill. At a second pre-act condition, the smaller auger, which is equipped with a variable speed drive, slows to a dibble speed for the final top off.
By using this sequence maximum efficiency in balancing speed and accuracy is achieved. When finished, the scale verifies that the bag is within the processors over/under acceptable limits from the target fill weight.
If acceptable, the inflatable head is deflated and the container released. If out of tolerance range, an alarm is signalled and the operator must clear it to proceed, alerting the operator to an upset condition.
Visit the Magnum Systems website, HERE.
Read the full article, HERE.
The Global Miller
This blog is maintained by The Global Miller staff and is supported by the magazine Milling and Grain
which is published by Perendale Publishers Limited.
For additional daily news from milling around the world: global-milling.com
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