A new customer came to us looking for a semi-automatic machine that can both fill and empty drums and IBCs with three different specialty liquid products. The specialty products this customer is looking to fill, and extract are flammable and the machine would require explosion proofing and a grounding system.
The Solution
Haver & Boecker USA, under the Feige Filling brand, sat down with this customer to gain an understanding of these specialty products and ensure the solution would satisfy all the safety requirements needed and the timeline of the customer. The solution moving forward was an Elementra 16 liquid filling machine that was executed in both explosion proof and full Stainless Steel. Additionally, to support the grounding requirements, we equipped this filler with a grounding module that has an LED indicator to display the grounding status to the operator. Also, software safety parameters were implemented so that the machine that will halt filling if grounding status changes mid-fill or if the container is not grounded before filling.
Next, this machine was also equipped to perform nitrogen purging before filling inside the container as well as continuously above the product surface while filling and emptying the product as the lance raises and lowers by weight. This was made possible by providing a custom lance that features the nitrogen purging line and outlet within the lance itself. To support additional customer preferences, this Elementra 16 also features a Siemens PLC with Profinet to support connecting this machine to the customers’ existing network.
To perform the emptying of containers, the Elementra 16 submerges the lance just below the product surface and sends a signal to the customer’s onsite vacuum system to begin extraction. The lance will continue to lower by weight and nitrogen purging is performed above the product surface during the entire product extraction process. Once the preset parameters are met, another signal is sent to the vacuum system to stop extraction.
