By: Rebecca Fowler, director of mechanical engineering for Spee-Dee Packaging Machinery

“To me, a ‘good’ design is one that meets every customer need. For a “good” design to become “great”, it needs to be elegant. An elegant design is one that meets three main criteria: simplicity, quality and power. If filling equipment meets these three important areas, it will ensure quality for both overall operations and end product”.

Simplicity

When it comes to filling and weighing equipment, simplicity means the equipment is designed with clean lines and minimal parts. It should also be intuitive and easy to use. This is important because it minimizes training and ensures that operators can take the correct action every time and avoid the costly mistakes that often happen with other, more complex filling equipment. A simple design also ensures there are no harborage areas, which are important for facility and product safety. In addition, a simple design will have minimal parts and eliminate or reduce premature wear—ultimately extending the life

Quality

For filling equipment to be a quality machine, it must be accurate and perform accurately repeatedly on every single fill. Repeated accuracy is essential. If you fill something too much, you’re wasting product. If you don’t fill it enough, you’re not delivering value to your end users. At Spee-Dee, our quick response manufacturing (QRM) process ensures repeatable accuracy for every order, large or small. Our engineering, project management, machining, assembly, and service and installation teams work together to make sure every fill will be accurate in our customer’s facilities. 

 Accuracy is also achieved by testing, and testing with actual product. Pre-trial runs help verify how the equipment will run in our customer’s plants and help meet specifications.

Power

It’s also important for filling equipment to be powerful. It must be robust, it must be reliable and it must stand the test of time. This is essential for overall machine maintenance, in addition to uptime and the life of the machine.

After the Sale

These three components—simplicity, quality and power—make a “good” design “great” but there are a few others that ensure a return-on-investment after the sale. One is high-quality materials. Whether that is anti-static plastics when working with waste cells or higher grade aluminum anodization or 316 cell stainless, whatever will provide accurate fills in the maximum number of containers should be tested and ultimately used. Another component is change parts,and more importantly, quick change parts. This reduces

downtime when switching product or container type or size and helps increase production. Finally, a great filling equipment design will allow for future expandability. It should adapt as businesses grow and change to easily fill different container sizes and products in the future.

Does your filling euipment meet these important criteria?

Contact Spee-Dee today to learn how to make your "good" filling "great".

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STURTEVANT, Wis., July 23, 2019 — Spee-Dee Packaging Machinery is showcasing the open, accessible design of its rotary dry product filling system at PACK EXPO Las Vegas at booth C-3436, Sept. 23-25. 

Spee-Dee’s rotary filling machines feature a tool-less design that allows for effortless, simple changeovers. Filling funnels feature a patented magnetic connection that eliminates the use of fasteners to further reduce changeover time and improve cleaning. Container adapters are changed to quickly set-up for varying heights and shapes. Vibrators help settle the product into the container and optimize headspace.

In addition, a reduced footprint provides easy access to all sections of the machine, which also features full-length doors for safety. Servo drive augers raise, pivot and lower outside the guard to improve accessibility from the floor level. An optional stainless steel construction ensures long-lasting durability and a more hygienic machine.

Spee-Dee high-speed rotary fillers can be integrated with various filling systems, including Spee-Dee auger or cup fillers, or high-speed combination weighers. A Spee-Dee checkweigher can also be integrated to help ensure accurate fills and weights.

Spee-Dee’s rotary filling machines help the food, pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries fill rigid containers, including plastic tubs and bottles, glass jars, fiberboard boxes and metal cans. Solutions are available for several markets, including candy, snack foods, coffee, drink mixes, spices, nutraceuticals, pet foods and more. 

Visit Spee-Dee at booth C-3436 at PACK EXPO, Sept. 23-25, 2019 to see live demonstrations of the rotary powder fillers.

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Robert Trabbold brings more than 13 years of industry and filling experience to the Spee-Dee team

The post Spee-Dee Expands Northeast U.S. Sales Team first appeared on Spee-Dee.

“We’ve used Spee-Dee fillers for a number of years and we’re very satisfied with their equipment and performance,” says Fred Miller, Industrial Engineer, Standard Process. “One of the things we do an excellent job at is the cleaning and testing of our equipment and facilities. We follow good manufacturing practices for the dietary supplement industry. The Spee-Dee equipment was engineered to meet our high sanitary standards, and that’s one of the reasons we selected them because they met our needs.”

Standard Process and its more than 300 employees are devoted to improving the quality of life by providing the safest, most effective, highest quality dietary supplements through health care professionals. Founded in 1929, Standard Process produces and packages a variety of whole food supplements for men, women, children, and animals.

The goal of the upgrade was to increase productivity of the bulk packaging line, while also better maximizing the capabilities of a case loader that feeds the line. The case loader outpaced the single filling unit, which prevented the line from reaching its full potential. The upgrade would help balance out capabilities of the entire line, while in the process increasing output.

The bulk packaging line involves packaging dietary powder into containers of varying size, depending on the production run. The process starts by removing powder out of 55-gal stainless-steel totes and delivering it directly into one of two Spee-Dee sanitary servo auger filler hoppers via a pneumatic vacuum system.

An employee places containers on a conveyor system, which are then orientated into a single-file line and readied for filling. On this specific production run, containers receive powder equally from each filler. After powder is dispensed from the second filler it moves to the capping machine where it is sealed and ready for shipment.

The reason why each filler only fills containers halfway is for added accuracy. With the previous filler, Standard Process was continually overfilling the containers to compensate for variations in the fill to ensure the customer received the amount of powder stated on the product label. With the new dual filling from the Spee-Dee fillers, the vials are being filled accurately to the specified amount, which reduces overfill by more than 4%, Miller said. On a normal production run for this application, the company fills 31 500-cc containers/min.

When the batch is finished, the entire room is cleaned and sanitized and the equipment is disassembled for cleaning. Being able to quickly disassemble the hopper and filler for cleaning is another reason why Standard Process selected Spee-Dee

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Spee-Dee® Packaging Machinery, Inc. is an industry leading supplier of powder fillers, auger fillers and dry product filling system solutions for the food, pharmaceutical and chemical industries. Since the 1940s, companies from around the world have turned to Spee-Dee for greatly improved efficiency and productivity. For more information about our dry product auger fillers, visit Spee-Dee’s web site at www.spee-dee.com or call 877-375-2121

The post New sanitary auger fillers improve filling accuracy first appeared on Spee-Dee.

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Spee-Dee® Packaging Machinery, Inc. is an industry leading supplier of powder fillers, auger fillers and dry product filling system solutions for the food, pharmaceutical and chemical industries. Since the 1940s, companies from around the world have turned to Spee-Dee for greatly improved efficiency and productivity. For more information about our dry product auger fillers, visit Spee-Dee’s web site at www.spee-dee.com or call 877-375-2121.

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Mark Navin, Ron Fojtik and Timm Johnson joined Spee-Dee in 1995.

The success of any company is typically due in large part to the longevity and skill of its people. That’s certainly the case with Spee-Dee Packaging Machinery, which is celebrating a significant milestone in 2015 with the 20-year anniversary of three employees. Mark Navin, Ron Fojtik and Timm Johnson all launched their careers at Spee-Dee in 1995 and today hold key leadership positions within the company.

Left to Right: Timm Johnson, Mark Navin and Ron Fojtik launched their careers with Spee-Dee in 1995.

Timm Johnson
Timm Johnson’s first day on the job as a national sales manager was on Feb. 5, 1995. In the past 20 years, Timm has taken great satisfaction in watching the company steadily grow.

“We have grown from a little known player in the market to the leader with many Fortune 500 food companies,” said Johnson, now Spee-Dee’s Vice President, Sales and Marketing. “We are well known throughout the packaging industry; we are considered the best at what we do. That has been extremely rewarding.”

Mark Navin
Mark Navin began his career at Spee-Dee as a Sales Coordinator on Aug. 1, 1995. He attributes his longevity at Spee-Dee to working with great people who share a common whatever-it-takes attitude to getting the job done.

“The thing I enjoy most about working at Spee-Dee is helping customers solve their problem by seeing a new project through from start to finish,” Navin said, who is now a Strategic Account Manager.

Ron Fojtik
When it comes anything electrical, Ron Fojtik is the resident expert. Fojtik, who began at Spee-Dee in November 1995, has held a variety of positions including:

• Electrical Designer
• Electrical Engineer
• Electrical Engineering Manager
• Engineering Manager
• Director of Electrical Engineering

Today, Fojtik is the Director of Electrical Engineering/IT Manager, and says the thing he enjoys most about working at Spee-Dee is the family atmosphere and customer interaction he partakes in every day.

To more information on Spee-Dee Packaging Machinery, call 877-375-2121, or visit www.spee-dee.com.

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Spee-Dee® Packaging Machinery, Inc. is an industry leading supplier of powder fillers, auger fillers and dry product filling system solutions for the food, pharmaceutical and chemical industries. Since the 1940s, companies from around the world have turned to Spee-Dee for greatly improved efficiency and productivity. For more information about our dry product auger fillers, visit Spee-Dee’s web site at www.spee-dee.com or call 877-375-2121.

The post Three Spee-Dee employees celebrate 20-year anniversaries first appeared on Spee-Dee.

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Spee-Dee® Packaging Machinery, Inc. is an industry leading supplier of powder fillers, auger fillers and dry product filling system solutions for the food, pharmaceutical and chemical industries. Since the 1940s, companies from around the world have turned to Spee-Dee for greatly improved efficiency and productivity. For more information about our dry product auger fillers, visit Spee-Dee’s web site at www.spee-dee.com or call 877-375-2121.

The post Spee-Dee Test Lab Replicates Customer Applications For Accurate Production first appeared on Spee-Dee.

Combination filling systems use two or more fillers to fill multiple ingredients into a single container. They come in a variety of designs to meet the wide range of multi-component products. Spee-Dee Packaging Machinery offers several combination fillers to meet various production needs and line configurations.

Servo motors are incorporated to give optimal control while maintaining a reduced mounting profile. A single electrical cabinet houses the PLC based electrical system. A single operator interface touch screen controls the machine. Both fillers are secured to a single mounting platform for integration on the automatic bag making equipment.

1. Cup and Auger: Used to fill products that contain a particulate and a powder.
Perfect for: soup mixes, stuffing mixes, rice and spice meals, beans and spice meals and dessert mixes.
2. Auger and Auger: Used to fill two powdered products into one container; can be timed to fill simultaneously for a blended mix or sequentially to let one ingredient rest on top.
Perfect for: applications with a powdered premix and a powdered main ingredient; like instant potatoes.
3. Cup/Auger/Cup: Used to fill one powder and two particulate products in one container.
Perfect for: instant oatmeal packs or cups; which would include oats, a powdered premix and dried fruit.
4. Auger or Cup/Combination Scale: A separate auger of cup filler is used to add a single ingredient into another product that is being filled using a combination scale.

Perfect for: adding a seasoning to a crouton product; adding an expensive candy to a trail mix; or adding nuts to a cereal where the main line needs to be protected from a potential allergen (like peanuts and tree nuts).

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Spee-Dee® Packaging Machinery, Inc. is an industry leading supplier of powder fillers, auger fillers and dry product filling system solutions for the food, pharmaceutical and chemical industries. Since the 1940s, companies from around the world have turned to Spee-Dee for greatly improved efficiency and productivity. For more information about our dry product auger fillers, visit Spee-Dee’s web site at www.spee-dee.com or call 877-375-2121.

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Precision performance is extremely important when it comes to filling dry products for the food industry. If your application calls for filling containers with 425 grams of product, that amount needs to be in each container. Inaccurate fills can result in lost revenue from product giveaway, and loss of credibility in the eyes of your customers.

The best way to ensure your powder filling machine’s performance is through pre-installation testing. While most reputable suppliers do offer to test their machines for customers, the manner in which they do test varies wildly. The purpose of this article is to illustrate the importance of pre-installation testing, and demonstrate the manner in which specific areas being tested, such as product in-feed, product flow, cutoff, dust … and even the test laboratory itself … all play critical roles in determining the accurate performance specifications of your filler.

Rationale for Pre-Installation Testing

A common question people ask is: How accurate will their new machine be? That question can only be answered after the machine has been properly tested. It is impossible to quote accuracy without knowing all the parameters of the project. That’s because accuracy is affected by several factors, such as the product itself, the type of container that’s being filled, fill size and fill speed — all of which contribute to the overall accuracy rate. The only way to effectively quote accuracy is to test product and machine in a test laboratory.

The goal of a pre-installation test is to replicate, as close as possible, the actual environment in which the fill will be operating in your facility. Conducting tests this way provides results that give a fairly precise view of how accurate the fills will be when the equipment is operational in a facility. The best testing results are seen when conditions most closely mimic your actual environment. This eliminates variables that can affect the outcome. And one such variable is hopper pressure.

Product In-Feed

Most fillers operate in plants with a constant stream of raw material (or product) that’s constantly being fed into the hopper. The more product that’s in the hopper, the more it weighs, and that pressure can affect the accuracy of the fill. That’s why it’s important during the testing process to have an in-feed system that provides a constant supply of product, i.e., trying to best replicate how the product is going to be fed into machine in your facility.

To accomplish this, Spee-Dee installed a multiple in-feed system with horizontal in-feed screw bucket conveyors and a pneumatic conveyor to use in its test lab. The objective is to learn exactly how the product is being fed into the machine, how it flows through the hopper and into the hopper. Using an in-feed system helps supply product to the hopper at a consistent rate, and keeps product at the same height and pressure in the hopper throughout the test. By feeding a steady stream of product into the hopper, Spee-Dee is able to perform longer test runs at actual speed to gain more reliable and accurate data.

Many filler manufacturers don’t have an adequate in-feed system, much less the needed room to install one. A filler machine that’s outfitted with a bagger and in-feed system can be 12 feet high or more. Some vendors test their machines by having an employee hand-feed product into the hopper. While the weight and pressure of product in the hopper can be matched for a few seconds at the start of the test, it cannot be sustained for any meaningful length of time by having an employee scoop product into the hopper. This leads to unreliable results, as the weight and pressure of product doesn’t come close to matching your actual application throughout the duration of the test. Conducting a test for at least five minutes is crucial to obtaining real-time data on the fills and calculating accuracy rate for your specific application.

Product Flow

Another area that’s being tested is the product itself. Characteristics such as its density, consistency and they way it flows are all evaluated in how it interacts with the filling machine. Temperature and humidity can also alter the product and affect the fills. Some products retain moisture more than others, which can change density throughout the day in a humid environment. These are variables that admittedly are difficult to replicate in a test lab, but need to be considered in the overall testing process as they all factor into the goal of trying to achieve accurate test results.

Product Cutoff and Dust

Proper testing also asks the question: Can we stop the product after the fill? If an auger is filling 90 pouches a minute, then it needs to stop the flow 90 times each and every minute.

Just a little drip of product landing in the seal area of a pouch or package can compromise the integrity of the seal, which leads to product leaking and premature spoilage. Furthermore, dripping product looks sloppy and unprofessional, and reflects poorly on the brand. Additionally, each drip is lost revenue; a small drip may not seem like a big deal, but it does add up over time. It’s important to select a filler with the proper tooling to help eliminate product drip. That’s why pre-installation testing is the perfect time to catch any drips, and make the necessary adjustments to ensure product flow stops with each fill.

Dust is another component examined in the testing process. Some powders, such as powdered drink mix, are extremely fine and cause dust during filling. Excessive dust may need to be captured as it can affect the sealing process.

When completed, test results including filling accuracy, speed and test parameters provide an accurate assessment of how the filling system will perform in your facility.

Summary

Every filling machine needs to be properly tested prior to installation. Testing gives assurances that the machine will meet your filling specifications. Many simply want to know how fast and accurate their machine can fill during a production run. But arriving at those results involves evaluating several factors of the entire filling process – and that can only be done in a professionally designed test laboratory. Testing strips down and removes all the guesswork and unknowns of the filler – leaving you with solid, valid data and peace-of-mind that their filler will perform as expected. That’s the value of per-installation testing.

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Spee-Dee® Packaging Machinery, Inc. is an industry leading supplier of powder fillers, auger fillers and dry product filling system solutions for the food, pharmaceutical and chemical industries. Since the 1940s, companies from around the world have turned to Spee-Dee for greatly improved efficiency and productivity. For more information about our dry product auger fillers, visit Spee-Dee’s web site at www.spee-dee.com or call 877-375-2121.

The post The Value of Properly Testing Dry Powder Filling Machines Prior to Installation first appeared on Spee-Dee.