Thanks to the development of the Feige ePower equipment variant, more and more components of Feige Filling's filling systems can also be offered with an electric drive. The first completely electric drum filling system will be presented at Achema. This is interesting for companies from the chemical to the construction industry, for paint and varnish production through to the food industry.
Pneumatic drives are standard in industry. The mechanics of filling systems are also traditionally moved with compressed air. This has advantages, as pneumatic systems are tried and tested, inexpensive and available. However, there are also significant disadvantages: Compressed air generation, distribution and maintenance are expensive, and the connections are also prone to leaks. Feige Filling, the global market leader for filling technology based in Bad Oldesloe in northern Germany, has been working for years to optimise the use of compressed air. filling mechanisms for its customers from a wide range of industries more efficiently to design.
The Elementra 29 is Feige Filling's first drum filling system to be operated completely electrically. Previously, the lifting unit and the base height adjustment had already been offered in an electric version, Now an electric opening cylinder completes the all-electric machine. In future, customers will be able to choose whether the system is fully electrically or pneumatically driven, or only partially electrically or pneumatically driven, to best suit their requirements.
In contrast to the pneumatic drive, which is still available, the electrically driven system makes cost-intensive compressed air generation, preparation and distribution a thing of the past. The blowing off of compressed air by the ejectors and any compressed air leaks from seals, hoses or connectors are also a thing of the past. In addition, small leaks in particular, which significantly increase the costs of compressed air production, are difficult to detect.
The use of electric actuators also reduces set-up times during product changeovers. The electric actuators also require no or at least very little maintenance. If you also compare the entire service life of the technology with that of compressed air-operated devices, despite the generally higher purchase costs, this is confirmed in the majority of cases, that electric actuators lead to lower total cost of ownership.
The Elementra 29 therefore works much more efficiently. This means that both Highly viscous foods such as ketchup, jam or fats, but also low-viscosity products can be easily filled and packaged with the appropriate filling unit.
Function of the electrical components
The electric lifting unit is responsible for dosing and filling exactly to the filling level according to the weight value. This eliminates excessive immersion and lifting impulses and speeds up the lifting and lowering of the filling spout. The Electric base height adjustment is recipe-controlled, manual adjustment is completely eliminated. Handling for the operator is ergonomically designed.
A new feature is the electric opening cylinder, which continuously controls the recipe-controlled opening angle. The filling start is pressure-reduced: The filling valve is opened with a reduced opening angle at the start of filling. This ensures that no excessive spraying occurs in the empty container, even at full pump pressure. The product flow can be optimally regulated for different products and containers. However, not all of Feige Filling's filling systems are yet fully electric: Depending on the requirements, pneumatic parts may be installed that have not yet been replaced. However, the Feige engineers are working flat out on this.
Web HMI further developed for customer requirements
Like all machines in the Elementra range, the new electric Elementra 29 is equipped with a touchscreen and the web-based Feige Web-HMI as standard. With multi-touch and gesture control, it has been specially developed to meet the requirements of operators and ensures greater productivity and transparency as well as shorter familiarisation times for new employees. The intuitive design of the touchscreen enables Faster orientation and smartphone-like operation as with drop-down boxes and slide switches. The interface also runs on almost any end device such as mobile phones and tablets. It is platform-independent and can be operated on several devices simultaneously, and it is also possible to document different statuses in the logbook.
With the user-friendly touchscreen, setpoint specifications for the fine flow value can be saved and adjusted directly in the „Product“ sub-recipe. In this way Product specifications and container sizes taken into account individually and thus achieve optimum results. The quick-change filling valve holder made of high-quality stainless steel enables the filling valve to be removed or inserted at lightning speed. This minimises downtime and maximises the efficiency of the production line.
In future, customers can expect even more from the Feige Web HMI: The developers are working on a broader use of the interface. It is conceivable, for example, that messages will arrive on the smartphone as soon as the barrels in the barrel store are running low. As the HMI is web-based, the company sees a wealth of further development opportunities.
