Filling Systems (Short Term Project - STP Number 2).
Abstract
The Project objective was the design, fabrication and evaluation of food ingredient filling systems for rigid and flexible containers including Tray Pack Cans and MRE Pouches. These systems were designed for a wide range of products at the demonstration site using the existing powered conveyor/seamer and the horizontal form/fill/seal lines. Ingredients and filling machines were classified into four categories: Liquids (pumpables), Placeables (rojboflcs) Meat (solids - high value) and Vegetables (solids - lower value). An electronically controlled rotary pump filler from Oden was modified to a 3 head/6 nozzle design producing substantial cost savings while maintaining all performance requirements. An Adept PackOne Robot was integrated with a EwingGear machine vision system to provide item acquisition, orientation and size conformance. The meat filler (Solbem Tumble Filler) and Vegetable filler (FEMC Volumetric Filler) were integrated by Solbern to include novel variable volume Transfer Cups for either MRE Pouches or Tray Pack Cans. A Non-traditional Capital Investment Criteria analysis was conducted on the meat filling system concluding that the proposed system promised significant savings.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 1995
- Accession Number
- ADA298208
Entities
Organizations
- Rutgers University Department of Food Science