When it comes to powdered materials such as flour, spices, protein powder, coffee, and milk powder, we often think of them in precise and exquisite packaging on the market shelves. Have we ever thought about what kind of machine can fill these powdered materials into containers, pouches or bags accurately? This article will show you the working principle of auger filling machine.
The auger filling machine is a high-precision, efficient and versatile machine for quantitative filling of free-flowing or non-free-flowing granular materials and powder products into containers, pouches or bags. The machine reference applies the working principle of the auger, keeping the pitch of the spiral blades the same, thus ensuring that each spiral pitch is filled with materials of the same volume and particle size. The material is conveyed forward by rotation, and the predetermined amount of product is accurately and consistently dispensed.
The motor and drive system are the power source for rotating the auger. But why is there a motor? Since the auger screw rotates in the opposite position to the agitator blades, a separate agitator motor is required to control the speed and rotation direction of the agitator to control the filling rate and accuracy. The use of servo motors can meet customers' requirements for high-precision powder metering.
A hopper is a large storage container used to pre-hold powdered products. It features an inclined or conical bottom design to ensure a smooth, uninterrupted flow of material into the auger. For some sticky powders, a stirring mechanism can be used to prevent the powder from clogging and not flowing into the auger properly. In addition, for the food industry, 304 stainless steel hoppers can be used to ensure that food packaging hygiene standards are met, and for the chemical industry, 316 stainless steel hoppers can be used to prevent powder radiation hoppers
The tooling used in the auger filling machine consist of an auger screw, agitator blades and a funnel. These components can all be replaced depending on product characteristics, fill weight, container shape and other factors:
An auger screw – Rotates vertically inside the hopper and feeds the product into the funnel.
A funnel/tube – The outlet of the hopper in which the lower parallel flights of the auger screw doses.
An agitator blade – Helps in feeding the powder product into the auger.
The control panel is an interface that allows the operator to set and adjust machine parameters, such as auger speed, filling volume, and operating mode. It usually includes a touch screen or buttons. With the increasing development of machine automation, auger filling machines can be equipped with PLC to achieve an integrated filling system of filling, labeling, and capping.
For some pharmaceutical, protein powder and milk powder industries, the auger filling machine can be equipped with a weighing system, which provides real-time weight feedback through a weighing sensor and removes all weights that exceed the acceptable range, ensuring the accuracy of the final product weight.
The operator precisely adjusts parameters such as filling volume and auger speed through the control system.
The material enters the hopper from the vacuum feeder, and the stirring device ensures that the material flows evenly to avoid blockage.
The auger rotates under the drive of the motor to push the material from the hopper to the filling head. (The auger design (such as pitch, diameter) can directly affect the filling volume and accuracy according to the customer's filling volume and accuracy requirements.
Confirm which method is used as the metering：
Volumetric metering: The filling volume is determined by controlling the number of revolutions or time of the auger.
Weighing metering: During the filling process, the weight is fed back in real-time through the weighing sensor. When the target weight is reached, the filling is stopped, and the weight that does not meet the standard is automatically removed.
The container arrives at the filling position from the bottle unscrambler via the conveyor belt. The positioning device ensures that the container is aligned with the filling head, and the bottle clamping device fixes the container to prevent it from moving during the filling process. When the preset filling volume is reached, the bottle clamping or positioning device will release the container and transfer it to the next process (such as sealing and labeling).
When the container is accurately positioned and the metering is completed, the filling port is opened and the material flows into the container through the filling port
When the preset filling volume is reached, the filling port is closed and the material flow is stopped. For a small amount of residual material, the equipment will remove it by vibration or air blowing to ensure the accuracy of the next filling and no material dripping to affect the packaging appearance.
The equipment can be equipped with a CIP cleaning system. There is no need to disassemble the equipment. The residue, dirt, and microorganisms inside the equipment are removed directly by cleaning material (such as water, acid, alkali, etc.) to ensure that the equipment is hygienic and meets production standards.
- Choose the right auger type: Different auger designs are suitable for different materials. Choose the right auger design (such as single screw, double screw) according to the material characteristics (such as fluidity, particle size, viscosity).
- Adjust pitch and diameter: Pitch and diameter affect the material conveying volume and accuracy
- Reduce auger wear: Check the auger wear regularly and replace the seriously worn auger in time.
- Use high-precision motor: Abandon the traditional clutch brake system and equip with servo motor to accurately control the auger rotation speed and number of turns.
- Optimize speed parameters: Adjust the auger speed according to the material characteristics and filling volume, and continuously optimize the screw speed that best suits the material
- Volumetric metering: Measuring materials by controlling the number of auger rotations or time, suitable for materials with good fluidity.
- Weighing metering: Use high-precision weighing sensors during the filling process, stop filling after reaching the target weight, suitable for materials with high precision requirements.
- Improve material properties: Ensure that the material is dry and uniform, and avoid caking or sticking.
- Use agitator: Install an agitator in the hopper to prevent material clogging.
- Vibration assistance: Install a vibrator in the hopper or screw to promote material flow.
Site preparation: Ensure that the surface where the machine is placed is level and stable.
Machine positioning: Place the machine in the designated area, install the anchor bolts, and fix the equipment. Ensure stability without shaking. And leave enough space for operation and maintenance.
Power and gas source connection（Motor and Drive System）: Connect the power cord according to the power requirements (such as 220V or 380V). Gas source requirements (usually 0.5-0.7 MPa), connect the gas source pipeline.
Hopper loading: Load the expected product into the hopper through the vacuum feeder and ensure smooth flow without material leakage.
Filling head and container positioning device: a. Filling head: Adjust the height and position of the filling head according to the container size; b. Ensure that the container is aligned with the filling head, and install the container positioning device (such as a bottle clamp or positioning plate).
Calibration and testing:
- No-load operation:
Start the equipment without material filling and check whether each component is operating normally.
Check whether the auger rotation, filling head and conveyor belt are running smoothly.
- Load operation:
After adding the material, conduct a trial run to check whether the filling accuracy and speed meet the preset parameter requirements. Adjust the auger speed, filling speed and container positioning device to ensure the filling volume is accurate.
Final operation: Based on the above tests, make improvements to ensure the filling volume is accurate. After repeating 2-3 times without error, the machine is installed.
Not clear enough? Watch the video explanation：
1. Classification by the number of filling heads
(1) Single-head auger filler
Equipped with one filling head, it can only fill one container at a time. The machine has a simple structure and low cost, and is suitable for small-scale production without strict speed requirements
(2) Multi-head auger filler
Equipped with multiple filling heads (such as 2 heads, 4 heads, 6 heads, etc.), it can fill multiple containers at the same time.
Suitable for large-scale production, thereby improving production efficiency
2. Classification by metering method
(1) Volumetric auger filler
Measuring materials by controlling the number of revolutions or time of the auger, suitable for materials with good fluidity.
(2) Weighing auger filler
Features: Real-time weighing through weight sensors and feedback to the control system, filling stops when the target weight is reached. High filling accuracy, suitable for high-value or high-precision materials
3. Classification by degree of automation
(1) Semi-automatic auger filling machine
It is necessary to manually place and remove the container to complete the filling process. Because it involves manual intervention, it is named semi-automatic auger filling machine
(2) Fully automatic auger filling machine
From container transportation, filling to sealing, it is fully automated and does not require manual intervention.
Auger filling machines are used in many industries that require filling of powder or powdered granules, including
Flour, sugar, coffee powder, spices, milk powder, protein powder.
Medicines, granulated Chinese medicine and nutritional supplements.
Powdered detergents, fertilizers and industrial chemicals.
Talc, glitter, pearl powder
Whether it is food, medicine, chemicals or cosmetics industry, the auger filling machine plays a vital role in the modern production line. Through the comprehensive explanation of this article, you should have some understanding of the working principle of the auger filling machine. As a manufacturer of auger filling machines, landpack has been committed to providing you with various packaging solutions such as powders, granules, liquids. Contact us for more details.
Copyright © Foshan Land Packaging Machinery Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved | Sitemap
