TMI LAUNCHES THE NEW ILERBAG HC: FFS BAGGING MACHINE WITH A CLEAN DESIGN

A technology company like TMI that develops solutions for so many different industries, will have to face from time to time a challenging project that, once taken, represents the opportunity for a quantum leap.

The experience and know-how that TMI has gained in the food industry, together with the previous experience of the customer, have led to developing a bagging machine that is highly accurate and efficient in the hygiene processes that are essential to food industry.

This was the challenge for TMI:

The customer needed a solution to bag an unstable hygroscopic product (sodium lactate) in 25kg bags for the food industry, which implied a strict washing routine. Additionally, the cost and market price of the product required a high dosing accuracy.

A crucial point was that powder release during bagging process had to be avoided at any costs and the structure had to be designed to prevent product accumulations.

The customer’s experience so far suggested that the continuous washing process needed to be improved in order to reduce the rusting, wearing and maintenance of the bagging equipment.

The customer had been bagging its product with HFFS system and wanted to continue using the same kind of technology. HFFS allows for a consumable standardisation while keeping the approved technical configuration of the bag, which protects the product from the air moisture.

The space for the machine had to be a small area, as the room to be placed needed to be completely climatized, thus saving climatization costs to the customer.

This is the solution by TMI:

Given this scenario, TMI has developed the ILERBAG HC: This special FFS bagging machine has been designed to be completely washable, tool-less operational, complying food-grade specifications and highly accurate and safe, while staying compact.

• Completely washable: The ILERBAG HC is fully water-resistant, indeed it has been completely constructed in Stainless Steel, as it must be washed thoroughly every end of cycle. To this scope a special water collection system has been designed to fit the bagging spout and connected to the customer’s drainage system. This contributes to prevent an increase of humidity in the room that could harm the conditioning of the room and with it the product itself. Additionally, several entrance points for conditioned air have been foreseen to dry the entire machine before the bagging process.
• Tool-less operation: The tool-less operation design of the dosing system guarantees accessibility and ease on the cleaning process. Its configuration with manual clamps allows the access all over the machine so that the operators can open each section easily by hand and clean it separately. Thus minimizing, on the one hand, the handling times and with it the cleaning changeover labour costs; and, on the other hand, the risk of dropping tools into the parts in contact with the product.
• Food-Grade Compliance: The ILERBAG HC has been fully designed to provide 200 filled and sealed bags per hour keeping a clean working environment. Product leakage has been minimized, whereas a supplementary aspiration system has been installed to prevent any powder to pollute the environment, for even more hygiene. Diamond shape design was used for construction of all structure elements, in order to avoid product accumulation on the machine’s surfaces. Additionally, the ground support points have been reduced to a strictly minimum, which makes the machine base and surroundings much more accessible for cleaning. Finally, the wiring has been prepared to leave all connections outside of the cleanroom, where the control cabinets are placed.
• Accurate and safe: Its dosing system consists on a Loss-weight scale with a vertical auger screw transport that assures the highest accuracy in the bagging process, while keeping the right output rhythm. A further benefit of this dosing system, in contrast to horizontal screw systems, is its small footprint. There is a double point metal detection system to ensure the safety of the bagged product.

The applications of ILERBAG HC

All these features make from ILERBAG HC a perfect machine to work in the food and the chemical industries where powdery products are produced. ILERBAG HC is suitable for those industries where a thorough cleaning and a dust-free environment are key for the proper operation of the plant. This compact solution is designed to suit small climatized or white rooms. Its tool-free configuration together with its high-accuracy contribute to increasing overall production efficiency in the bagging process, while saving a big amount of downtime implying a reduction of labour costs.

 THE BENEFITS:

• Low Downtime: The opening and cleaning times are much faster thanks to its tool-free designs, reducing labour and saving significantly in cleaning costs alone.
• + Hygiene: Cleaning and maintenance processes have been made easier and faster. The configuration of the machine provides for a roast-free washing and drying routine.
• Dust-free environment: Air-tight joints throughout the dosing system together with aspirations avoid any product leaking, providing a clean environment.
• Small footprint: Very compact solution suitable for the most challenging layout configurations.