A well-known pet food brand manufacturer has recently undertaken significant investment in a new bagging line at their manufacturing facility. The premium quality pet food, produced from natural ingredients demands a quality production facility that can be operated efficiently and hygienically using well-designed process equipment. CKF Systems Ltd were pleased to be selected to supply the new equipment for their Kibble feed system and bag handling production lines.
Challenge
The pet food manufacturer has invested in new capital equipment for their next generation bagging line. To ensure a seamless production transition, the new system was required to be brought on line at the same time as continuing to run their existing feed and bagging system. The CKF Engineering team were asked to design and commission two systems for the conversion, the first to handle the dry, loose Kibble to both bagging machines and the second to transfer finished bags from either bagging discharge to the existing palletiser.
The dry loose kibble with peek flow at 15000kg/hr has to transfer and divert efficiently between both existing and new production lines. De-commissioning of the existing line would be undertaken at a later date, so the CKF system design was required to ensure an easy transition from the dual facility to a single, final production configuration. Our customer offers a range of products to the market, differing in weight, size, material wrap and seal. The full product range had to run at up to 25 bags/min on the CKF supplied transfer system with minimal operator intervention. As with the Kibble system, the CKF design needed to run initially from both existing and new bagging outfeeds with a later reconfiguration to remove the old redundant line.
Solution
Designed, manufactured and installed by CKF, the Kibble transfer system utilises our latest hygienic range of conveying technology. Manufactured in Stainless steel, the conveyors, hoppers and divert chutes are designed to maintain product integrity and free flow throughout the transfers. The Kibble product is protected throughout its journey with removeable covers, some with strategic vision panels. The equipment also features access and safety rated egress points for the removal and collection of dust and fines. Using the latest Volta homogeneous, clean drive belting system with flights and side walls, the system delivers an efficient, hygienic transfer, for the dry, loose kibble prior to the multi-head weighers and bagging.
The new bag transfer system, installed and commissioned by the CKF team of Engineers, incorporates metal detection, check weigh, reject stations and a spiral elevating conveyor prior to delivering the range of bags to the upgraded layer palletiser. Bags discharged from both the old and new bagging machines are transferred on mobile conveyors for flexibility in the desired line operation. With the ability to handle the range of bag sizes and material types, there are automatic bag reject stations positioned on the out feed of the Metal detection and the check-weighing machines. A bag “laydown” system provides for bag re-orientation prior to elevating the bags on a spiral conveyor to the high-level entry of the bag conditioner and palletising.
The CKF equipment is manufactured in Stainless Steel and utilises both straight running and side-flexing Intralox Modular Belting.
The kibble and bag transfer systems deliver the next generation of automation and efficiency for our customer.
