Bulk Bag Fillers Load Delicate Fruit and Nuts without Damage

A supplier of a mixed fruit and nut product needed a way to load 660-lb batches into bulk bags without damage. The product contained whole walnuts that were particularly fragile.

Spiroflow has a long history of designing custom bulk bag fillers and dischargers to meet individual customer needs.

“This challenge was an excellent opportunity for Spiroflow to apply our ingenuity and vast bulk materials handling experience,” noted Spiroflow’s CEO Jeffrey Dudas. “As a result, Spiroflow developed and now has available a new ‘Rise and Fall’ model for our bulk bag filler product range.”

The Application

To prevent fruit and nuts from falling the full height into an empty bulk bag, the bottom of the empty bag had to be raised to just below the filling tube outlet. The gap between the end of the tube and the bottom of the bag was just enough to let the nuts gently flow into the bag without damage. The bag was then lowered slowly to allow filling to continue.

“Anyone involved with dry particulate materials readily appreciates that lowering of the bag controls the flow of the fruit and nuts down the filling tube,” noted Dudas. “This is due to the self-choking action caused by the natural angle of repose of the product as it exits the tube and spreads out. Accordingly, the bottom of the bag is incrementally lowered until it is filled to the desired weight. Following gentle vibration, the bag is ready to be removed.”

Six Bulk Bag Fillers Supplied

For this application, six ‘Rise and Fall’ bulk bag fillers were supplied by Spiroflow. Four of the bulk bag fillers came with a gain-in-weight system that monitored weight of the product flowing into the bag. A gentle vibration consolidated the bag’s content.

The other two bulk bag fillers were supplied with just vibration and no weighing. Vibration not only makes the bags aesthetically pleasing but, more importantly, safe to handle, transport, and store.

Options Can Be Added

A benefit of Spiroflow’s bulk bag fillers is the greater ability to add custom features to meet individual user requirements. Options available for the new “Rise and Fall” bulk bag filler include pallet dispensers, pallet delivery conveyors, bag inflation, weighing, displaced air filtration, vibration, and automatic removal of filled bags.

Spiroflow Systems is a worldwide supplier of a wide range of both standard and custom powder handling equipment, specializing in bulk bag dischargers and fillers, aeromechanical, tubular drag and pneumatic conveyors, a range of 50-lb bag packing and unloading equipment, flexible storage silos, and the ‘Pacepacker’ range of automatic packing, pick and place, and palletizing solutions. For more information, call 704-291-9595 or visit www.spiroflowsystems.com.