CCW Salt Sticks Packaging - Long And Fragile But No Longer A Problem To Pack

Packaging The problem so far thas been on how to perform the weighing, filling and packaging of such fragile products without risking to brake and waste too much of this valuable food product during the filling and packaging process.

The challenge on packaging saltsticks is of course related to their length and their fragility. Due to their thin, lengthy form they are likely not only to break but also to form blockages because they can get out of direction and alignment easily when being conveyed. Once only few of them lose their direction of flow, they tangle together and there we have them all messed up easily.

Manual packing may be an alternative to automated saltstick packaging systems, however is labour and thus cost intensive and also comes naturally along with its typical hygiene problems.

The packaging machine manufacturer Ishida seems to have a feasible solution for this special food packaging problem. They have signed up contracts with ETI Group recently. ETI Group is a leading food producer of cookies, biscuits, cupcakes, cheese sticks and - saltsticks. The Turish company addressed Ishida via their local Turkish agent, Elbak in order to assist them in automation of their saltstick filling and packaging lines.

As a solution to the saltstick packaging task Ishida supplied 7 modified food packaging machines of the type CCW-RZ-214W-S/20-PB. The machines have been delivered to the shop floor of the ETI Group factory in Turkey.

A crosshead feeder is moving the salt sticks to the top of the weighing unit. Within the weigher tehy are spread out onto especially designed, extra long convex radial feeder troughs. These troughs have been designed with special shaped ends in order to aid a slight transition from nearly horizontal to vertical position. Both, pool and weigh hoppers are equiped with funnel inserts to assist in maintaining the correct salt stick orientation.

The saltsticks then fall out of the weigh hoppers onto an upper discharge chute that has been equiped with a special profile. This profile prevents the sticks from swirling and also assists them to maintain their correct orientation.

After this a pneumatic operated ring shutter stops the salt sticks briefly, thus slowing down their falling speed, considerably reducing braking sticks and other damage.

At this point, the product exits the weigher via a parabolic lower discharge chute. A timing hopper mechanism with an iris again stops each stick weighment briefly, shortly before they enter the bagmaking unit. The bagmaker then compacts the weighted saltsticks into a tight, perfectly oriented product bundle that is now ready for packaging.