Case Study: Cheese Bags Leak Tested By Bonfiglioli Machine

It is well known that Bonfiglioli Engineering enjoys the trust of customers worldwide in various industry sectors as manufacturer and supplier of leak testing machinery.

This was the case for an esteemed client of Bonfiglioli operating in the food industry who required a machine able to detect leakages in packaged cheese. The ideal solution was the Bonfiglioli SXE in line leak tester machine for testing food pouches. The SXE is sturdy and compact making it ideal to fit in current production lines and the stainless steel structure is designed to be efficiently washed down thus making very hygienic. The machine could reach speeds from 30 ppm up to 120 ppm depending on the size of the pouch and could detect micro holes from 200 to 300 microns.

The pouches are transported between two synchronised 3 meter long conveyors. The upper conveyor, at an adjustable height, exerts a slight pressure onto the pouches on the lower conveyor in the testing area. Two sensors present at the inlet and exit of the testing cycle measure the force exerted by the pouches onto the lower conveyor. If a leaker is present the force exerted on inlet would be greater than the force on exit.

If the measured readings of the two force sensors are equal or less than a pre-set threshold limit the pouch is considered as good. Otherwise, if the difference between the two readings is greater than the threshold limit or the first reading is less than a minimum pre-set value, the pouch is considered as a reject and automatically excluded from the line.

The successful execution of this project was possible to good communication from the early stages of project between Bonfiglioli's highly skilled engineers and designers who continuously customise machinery such as the SXE for the such manufacturers.

The client commented that this project resulted in a machine being cost-effective, 100% reliable and repeatable. Bonfiglioli has once again exceeded their client's expectations.

The SXE's advantages are:

• Very accurate leak testing capability
  
• User-friendly for machine operators
  
• 3 - 5 minute tooling changeover time
  
• Minimum noise levels
  
• Low-energy consumption

The machine is completely driven by a sophisticated electronic system; designed and tested by Bonfiglioli Engineering's qualified electronic engineering staff. The system can be equipped with a computer for the collection and production of test data. The mechanical structure is very sturdy and compact to assure the reliability and low maintenance costs.

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Source: TASI Group: Bonfiglioli Engineering and Sepha