Full to the brim with intelligent details: KOSME Group makes filling machines FIT®

Although it looks trivial at first, when you take a closer look at it, decanting liquids on an industrial scale is extremely complex. For example, numerous measurements and checks have to be made in fractions of a second here, and not only should this occur without disturbing the flow of operation, it should also, ideally, continually optimize it. A challenge that is tailor-made for the KOSME Group. And the manufacturer of filling and packaging machinery is now responding with a new generation of intelligent filling machines, whose secret star is the FIT® digital load cell from HBM.

As a subsidiary of Krones AG, the global market leader for filling machines for liquids in plastic and glass bottles and cans, as well as their labeling and packaging, the KOSME Group stands for competitive and reliable solutions in the packaging & beverage scene. The latest proof is the new WEIGHFILL net weight filling machines with innovative, digital weighing technology, developed in cooperation with HBM.

KOSME puts liquid in tanks

KOSME developed the new WEIGHFILL fillers with a low-pressure storage tank for special applications. Because they are easy to wash out and sterilize, the fill material can quickly be changed. Foamy, runny and thick liquids can be decanted just as easily as sticky, conductive and non-conductive ones. One of the things that makes this possible is the use of intelligent, yet robust measurement technology from HBM - the FIT digital load cell. Because the FIT^® load cell monitors and controls the cutoff points, the bottling process can be permanently monitored and optimized for maximum accuracy. Before starting the filling process, each tank is checked for the acceptable tare weight. Doing this ensures that no faulty tanks or tanks filled with inadmissible material are included in the bottling process.

… HBM is a crucial part of the process intelligence in the filler.

In every phase of the filling process – from charging to zeroing, to fine flow and coarse flow, to reflow and the final check – HBM’s digital load cell takes on these important tasks within the new net weight filler from KOSME. But FIT^® can do more than this. As the first digital load cell on the market, it has built-in electronics to control complex filling processes. What this actually means is this: The intelligent load cell does not just provide all the important measured values, it also analyzes them and uses them to continuously improve the bottling process. So the FIT^® administers taring and controls the newly developed filler valves, including the entire filling process.

In parallel with this, the digital load cell evaluates all the stations of the fill cycle and identifies in real time the perfect cutoff points during filling. And best of all, FIT^® learns continually, each time it fills. The cell then automatically uses this valuable knowledge to optimize the fill result.
The advantages are clear. The continual improvements made by the self-learning digital load cell do not just save time and money within a specific filling process. For example, temperature variations and the associated differences in the behavior of the fill material are independently compensated, in favor of the perfect fill. In addition to this, 32 parameter sets for different fill quantities can also be stored in the EEPROM, safe from power failure. This means that the plant can be quickly and easily converted to different quantities and materials.

“FIT® is the capable, cutting-edge technology for every filling task!”

Designed for use in a constantly damp environment, the FIT^® digital load cell not only has digital outputs and inputs, it also has a separate RS 485 BUS that can be used as a diagnosis channel. That way, permanent analyses for error recovery are possible. All the electronics are also contained in the load cell – no additional electronics are required to control the filling processes. The innovative FIT^® load cell thus combines the advantages of a standard solution with maximum flexibility and a wide range of applications. HBM’s free AED Panel Software is perfectly matched to FIT^® and makes using them far easier. For example, it is very easy to detect and filter out system vibrations, and to calibrate and parameterize the weigher unit.