In the process, Matt Brewing became the first brewer in the world to use the CM9400 Canweigh checkweigher from Mettler-Toledo Hi-Speed.
"We were looking for a new fill-level monitor for our canning line,
but we were concerned about the reliability of many of the systems we
saw," said Jim Kuhr, Director of Brewery Operations at Matt Brewing
Company. "We visited Mettler-Toledo Hi-Speed to look at the case
weigher we had already committed to. While we were there, they showed
us the CM9400 Canweigh. They gave us a quote and it was competitive.
We thought the Canweigh would be more accurate and more reliable than
traditional fill-level inspection systems."
The patented CM9400 is suitable for many production lines that traditionally have
not been good candidates for checkweighing. The CM9400 is the only
checkweigher in the world that handles a flow of containers
seam-to-seam with no separation, says Mettler-toledo Hi-Speed. Other checkweighers must separate containers to achieve isolated time on the weighpan by accelerating them prior to the weighpan and then decelerating them.
By weighing seam-to-seam, the CM9400 helps maintain the stability of
containers through the checkweigher, which reduces line jams and
increases uptime. Additionally, this system has fewer components than
traditional checkweighers, which simplifies both maintenance and
sanitation. Worker safety is improved and changeovers are faster
because there are no line-time management components such as a
feedscrew. The CM9400 also requires less line space than traditional
checkweighers.
"The accuracy of the Hi-Speed Canweigh is very good - it is consistent
down to one or two grams," noted Rich Swanson, Packaging Manager at
Matt Brewing Company. "We're running 600 containers per minute on the
canning line, but the checkweigher is capable of running 750 so we've
got room to grow."
The CM9400 achieves high accuracy at high speeds while weighing
seam-to-seam cans, bottles or jars with a weighpan that is virtually
the same length as the container being weighed. This is accomplished
by supporting the containers on two chains that are positioned near
the outer edges of the container instead of the middle. Traditional
checkweighers with chains in the middle perceive the length of the
container to be its diameter. With chains near the edges, the
container is supported on shorter lengths of chain, which enables the
weighpan to perceive the length of the container to be essentially
one-third of its diameter. This allows the CM9400 to achieve the
necessary isolated time on the weighpan without acceleration and
deceleration.
By eliminating acceleration common to other checkweighers, the CM9400
maximizes time-to-weigh, which contributes to good weigh accuracy. It
also improves container handling and the reject system's ability to
accurately remove out-of-tolerance packages. Furthermore, it reduces
damage to containers and, for customers inspecting open containers
after the filler, it reduces spillage.
Matt Brewing is using the CM9400 to inspect 12-oz and 16-oz cans of
Saranac and Utica Club beers as well as private label and contract
brewed beers. Changing over the checkweigher to handle a different
size is fast and easy because there are no container-specific
time-management components such as a feedscrew to change. "The
Canweigh takes less than two minutes to change, including
calibration," said Swanson. "Everything is done on the touchscreen."
"The CM9400 is very easy to use. Everything is right there on the
screen - it's very visual," added Kuhr. The checkweigher features a
15-inch color display that offers at-a-glance production monitoring.
"We measure the success of the Canweigh based on the accuracy of the
weigh, the reliability of the system, and customer service," concluded
Kuhr. "The relationship we have with a supplier is very important,
especially with a piece of equipment like a checkweigher because if it
goes down, we shut the whole line down. If we have a problem, we need
a fast response."
"The CM9400 is the shining star on our production line," said Swanson.
"We need to give Don Stewart, our sales rep from Flo-Dynamics, some of
the credit. He is very good at solving unique production challenges
and he certainly helped us find an unusual solution here with the
Canweigh."
