The Ishida multihead weigher plays a crucial role in a fully automated packing system tailored for the specialty crisps produced by Brauerei Locher, a leading Swiss brewery. By utilizing brewing by-products, this innovative system effectively packages up to 50 bags of crisps per minute across three different sizes, ensuring a maximum overfill of only 1.2g per package.
Located in Appenzell, Brauerei Locher transforms nutrient-rich brewing by-products such as yeast, wort, and spent grains into diverse food products, including snacks, pizzas, muesli, and meat substitutes. The ingredients for its Tschipps crisp brand, launched in 2017, feature barley malt wort sourced from the brewery’s production and yeast along with first wort from the fermenting cellar.
Initially, Locher outsourced the packaging of its Tschipps. However, with annual growth rates soaring between 30% and 40%, the brewery recognized the need to bring this operation in-house. This decision not only preserved value creation within the company but also aimed to enhance its carbon footprint by minimizing transportation needs.
By partnering with Itech AG, based in Rotkreuz, to install a fully automated packing system, Locher gained a reliable contact skilled in supporting the entire operational line. Consequently, Itech and Ishida collaborated to design an effective solution that included the feed system, Ishida multihead weigher, bag maker, and gantry. Additionally, the seasoning system was integrated into the production line.
The freshly fried snacks travel along a conveyor belt elevator into the seasoning system. To isolate any vibrations from the machinery that could affect the downstream multihead weigher, this component is mounted on a separate gantry. Below it, an intermittent-motion vertical bag maker, equipped with a metal detector, awaits the filled packs, which are then conveyed to a rotary packing table.
Accurate weighing is essential on the packing line. The Tschipps must be portioned and delivered to the VFFS bag maker as swiftly and precisely as possible. The Ishida multihead weigher excels in this regard, demonstrating impressive reliability. Specifically engineered for automated weighing of free-flowing dry products with low target weights, the CCW-SE3 series aligns perfectly with Locher’s application.
The 10-head Ishida CCW-SE3-210 weigher efficiently manages product flow by connecting with an upstream vibratory feeder. This feeder gently deposits the snacks onto the weigher’s dispersion table, from which the product traverses 10 radial feeder troughs to reach the ten pool and weigh hoppers.
A load cell within the dispersion table ensures that the flow to the adjustable radial feeder troughs remains steady. High-performance stepper motors control the hoppers, ensuring precise timing for consistent speed and accuracy throughout the weighing process. This smooth operation guarantees that the product flows seamlessly through the multihead weigher.
The multihead weigher then identifies a combination of weigh hoppers—typically three or four—that best meet the target weight. Each portion is meticulously dispensed via a transfer chute directly into the bag maker. Ishida’s digital filtering software ensures that weight combinations are calculated with remarkable precision, achieving an accuracy of 0.1g.
The CCW-SE3-210 weigher is not only user-friendly but also designed for optimal hygiene. Rapidly changing products and target weights is streamlined with easy-to-use preset options at the touch of a button, saving significant time. Additionally, since all contact parts can be detached, cleaned, and reinstalled without any tools, the time required for changeovers and cleaning is vastly reduced.
Locher’s current production includes snacks with fill weights of 10g, 30g, and 90g. The weigher meets the demanding customer requirements for consistent pack weights, maintaining a maximum overfill of just 1.2g per package. Depending on the target weight, the packing line operates at impressive speeds of 30 to 50 packs per minute. The Ishida CCW-SE3 is capable of even higher speeds, ensuring a robust and future-proof investment.
With an eye toward growth, Locher plans to maximize its modern snack packing line and expand the Tschipps brand. The company is set to introduce a new 150g pack size to its product range. “And one day, we intend to make sustainable use of all the wort derived from our brewing process,” states Yves Habermacher, head of food production at Locher.