Would you like to find out more about weighing components and solutions for the food industry?
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Weighing Technology in the Food Industry
Food production is all about efficiency while meeting customer demands and fulfilling national and international hygiene standards. Freshness and shelf life are becoming increasingly important. A hygienic production environment is an absolute prerequisite. Whether in dosing, filling, or mixing, the industrial handling of food goes hand in hand with reliable, user-friendly technology and equipment that is easy to clean.
HBK is a member of the European Hygienic Engineering and Design Group (EHEDG) and is actively involved in advancing hygiene standards for the food industry. Our portfolio includes two EHEDG-certified platform load cells designed for integration into hygienically demanding environments. In addition, HBK weighing indicators and electronics are proven in the optimization of checkweighing or batching processes, among others. With matching cables, accessories, and software solutions from Hottinger Brüel & Kjær, a complete measurement solution can easily be realized from a single source.
Just like other sectors, the food industry is undergoing an increasing transformation towards automation. Cleaning procedures are also often automated, placing special demands on plants and components as disassembly must be avoided.
Machine downtime and the associated costs can only be reduced if all relevant components in a plant are easy to clean. A stainless-steel housing, designed without sharp corners and edges, prevents contamination. Liquids just roll off and do not leave any residue – as is the case with the PW25, PW27, PW27A, PW37P and Z6R load cells.
EHEDG certification and IP68/IP69k protection make the PW27A and PW37P series load cells ideal for the filling, packaging, or weighing of foodstuffs. Other user benefits include built-in overload protection (PW27A), industry-standard dimensions and attached plug for easy installation (PW37P).
IoT enables the food and packaging industries to achieve major efficiency and productivity gains. In addition to its simplified operation, digital weighing technology in particular offers enormous potential for determining quantities quickly and precisely and processing measurement data at high speeds, which can lead to high savings in dynamic weighing applications.
To implement smart weighing solutions, measurement chains need the latest interfaces, filters, and algorithms, as well as fast and reliable data transmission and diagnostics with legal-for-trade resolution. HBK weighing electronics are also easy to use due to their network-compatible PC software or integrated web servers.
The PAD digital transducer electronics offer a low-cost, plug-and-play entry into the digital world and can be installed near the sensor or in the control cabinet. The stainless-steel housing protects against liquids and dirt. The PAD can be conveniently integrated into various systems via RS485 and CANopen interfaces.
The DSE sensor electronics are suitable for highly dynamic, automated weighing and automation applications. It has PROFINET and EtherCAT interfaces, an intuitive web interface, and can be installed and commissioned in record speed. A hygienic design, high accuracy, and the transmission of up to 2,000 measured values per second are additional benefits.
WTX weighing terminals are suitable for static, dynamic, and legal-for-trade applications, have user-friendly colour displays and can be quickly set up using the free PanelX software. WTX110 is preferable for industries with strict hygiene requirements and is also suitable for digital sensors, while WTX120 has Industrial Ethernet and fieldbus interfaces.
Software facilitates the setup, use and troubleshooting of the sensors and amplifiers used. The focus should be on flexibility, connectivity, and user-friendliness, as well as suitability for the respective application.
PanelX offers a convenient way to parameterize your HBK products and has an intuitive user interface especially tailored to the requirements of weighing applications.
In addition to the established software PanelX, HBK has developed various innovative software solutions for the visualization, parameterization, measurement data acquisition and service of our industrial and weighing electronics: Choose between APIs, apps, or web servers.
Would you like to find out more about weighing components and solutions for the food industry?
Contact us! We are happy to hear from you.
Load cells and weighing components from Hottinger Brüel & Kjær have been established in almost all areas of food production, processing, or control for decades, making us a reliable partner for businesses operating in or for the food industry.
Find examples for applications and a small selection of success stories below: