Company: Flexicon

Website: www.flexicon.com

Equipment Snapshot: A new sanitary bulk bag filling system from Flexicon features dual SWING-DOWN fillers fed by high capacity weigh hoppers, achieving fill rates of up to 40 bulk bags per hour.

The patented filler design simultaneously lowers and pivots each fill head into a vertically-oriented position that places the inflatable spout connection collar, inflator button, and four bag loop latches within reach of an operator standing on the plant floor. This significantly increases the safety and speed of connecting bulk bags, as the operator can connect each bag loop and the bag spout without having to stand on a ladder or reach over equipment to secure the bag. 

Bagging rates are further increased by drastically reducing the time needed to load material into the bag. Whereas conventional fillers are typically mounted on load cells, allowing a PLC to open and close a valve or start and stop a conveyor to slowly fill the bag by weight, the new system employs dual gain-in-weight hoppers positioned above the bulk bag fillers. This allows pre-weighed material to descend into the bag at extremely high rates, and saves additional time by refilling the weigh hopper while the full bag is being removed and an empty bag is being connected.

Once the inflator button is pressed and the collar secures the bag spout, filling operations are automatic: the fill head raises and returns to horizontal orientation; a dedicated blower fills the bag with air which removes creases in the bag, allowing the material to fill corners to create a stable bag; the surge hopper’s roller gate valve opens; pre-weighed material fills the bag; the valve closes; the inlet seal deflates and the bag loop latches release, allowing a forklift to remove the filled, palletized bag.

Ports on each filler are vented to a dust collection system to prevent displaced air and dust from escaping into the plant environment.

While a bag is being filled and then forklifted on one side, an operator can connect an empty bag on the opposite side, maximizing output. Widened base frames allow filling of portable totes in addition to bulk bags.

The all-stainless steel system is finished to sanitary standards and equipped with a NEMA 4X controls enclosure, allowing wash-down.

The company also manufactures bulk bag dischargers, bulk bag conditioners, drum fillers, drum/box/container dumpers, bag dump stations, flexible screw conveyors, tubular cable conveyors, pneumatic conveying systems, weigh batching and blending systems, and engineered plant-wide bulk handling systems with automated controls.