FORTRESS Technology Europe has launched a new upstream inline food processing checkweigher.
Designed for automated raw ingredient processing lines, the launch of the hygienic Raptor Inline Checkweigher gives bakery, meat, seafood and prepared food manufacturers an in-motion weighing system that connects to upstream portion control equipment.
Described as ‘simple’ to integrate into existing production lines, including alongside sausage stuffers, meat and plant-based burger forming and portioning lines, cheese cutters, as well as bread, pizza and cake dough dividers, Fortress said the solution ‘guarantees’ uniform portion weights at rates exceeding 9,000 units per hour.
Capable of weighing items as light as a garlic dough ball up to a 6kg cheese block, the new Raptor Inline Checkweigher automatically rejects product units under or overweight by as little as 0.5 grams. Simultaneously, the machine’s fibre optic controlled software communicates back to upstream portion control equipment in real time to adjust the position of cutting blades.
Daniel Shail, Fortress Europe’s applications engineer, said, “Leaving the weight check until the end of the process is one of the most wasteful activities as it could result in an entire consignment of baked or packaged products being recalled, not to mention the many hours wasted in production and workforce salaries.”
Automated inline checkweighing allows for individual pieces that are off target weight to be removed and reworked, as well as providing corrective feedback to the upstream portioning equipment.
Daniel added, “Weighing raw product on the conveyor line without removing it to place on a separate scale is the most efficient method. It also mitigates against potential human contaminants. For products with a number of processing variables, such as different densities, lean-to-fat ratios and even live raw bread dough, these different weight variations all need to be factored in.”
The Raptor Inline Checkweigher’s ‘ultra-hygienic’ washdown design with a Clean-in-Place (CIP) mode, has been engineered for ‘easy and deep’ sanitation to prevent cross contact contamination. The tight-fitting conveyor and Fortress Technology’s ‘no-tool’ conveyor removal innovation is designed to overcome the challenge of loosening belt tension during cleaning and maintenance. In just seconds, operators can unclip and disconnect the conveyor motor and lift out the entire conveyor assembly. This, Fortress added, allows for the belt support frame to be fully-sanitised too, reducing the build-up of loose product.
To keep the machine compact, Fortress engineered the reject unit to sit beneath the conveyor within the body of the machine. If the checkweigher identifies products that don’t meet the target weight specifications, the conveyor dips, dropping products into a BRC-approved reject bin.
Addressing the potential issue of airflow negatively influencing weighing accuracy or airborne contaminants landing on raw ingredients, the checkweigher also boasts an interlocked conveyor cover with special engineered cut outs.
Data gathered via the Raptor’s management control system can also help track uptime and address inefficiencies. Using the swipe touchscreen, processors can select the statistical parameters most relevant to their operation, including giveaway by weight and percentage, portions per minute, and rejected product numbers. The graphical display logs and reports reject integrity compliance tests.
For enhanced traceability, reports – configured by time, date or product code – can be downloaded and converted to common management reporting and software applications.
