Finding the right level measurement control sensor for a difficult application in the food manufacturing industry was a challenge for UK company, Premier Foods. This company produces packaged dried foods such as soups, powdered gravies and pastas with de-hydrated sauces.
Level switches, or sensors, are required to control the level of dried product going into the feed hoppers. These machines vary in size and run at different speeds, with a range of agitators and vibrators assisting the flow of the powders. From the funnel of the hopper, the dried food mix then falls into the sachets or containers, which are filled and sealed by the packaging machines.
The packaging machines fill between 160 and 600 sachets a minute, handling different flavours and consistencies of powders. Some are drier, some contain larger particles and others are more adhesive as the ingredients contain minute amounts of natural oils. To ensure even flow and mixing, the hoppers incorporate a small rotating agitator to ensure consistent product flow and mix. Previous switches had shown problems with reliability, particularly when products were changed over.
VEGA was able to supply the latest in vibrating level switch technology, the VEGAWAVE. This sensor comes with quick release, hygienic fitting to enable speedy removal and clean-down of the machine between product changes. The units have proved reliable with the different products running through the machine and the design is robust enough to work alongside the agitators positioned inside the small hoppers. The VEGAWAVE is mounted from any direction, an added advantage over proximity-based detectors, which need a window into the vessel. There is concern over this type of window, which could crack or chip leaving tiny shards of undetected plastic in the product.
Vibrating level switches combine mechanical detection, using the damping of a vibrating element, with the reliability of solid-state electronics. Self-checking is built in and the electronic monitoring of the vibration frequency means that any damage, high build-up, or device failure makes the switch an inherently safe device.
Vibrating technology is also easy to set up compared to capacitive techniques and more reliable when compared to rotating paddle devices. The VEGAWAVE fork vibrating switch comes with a wide range of options to suit any budget. They are also available with ATEX (dust and gas) and SIL conformance.
For more information contact John Groom, VEGA Instruments, +27 (0)11 958 1901, [email protected]
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