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Selecting the Right Bag and Bagging Equipment
Many of our customers are acquiring bagging equipment for the first time, and appreciate the in-depth experience we can offer. If you are evaluating the best type of bagging solution for your product packing requirements, the information below is an excellent place to start.
Valve Bag Fillers for Fast, Easy Filling of Food-Grade and Non-Food Grade Applications
Valve bag fillers are well suited for both manual and automated applications ranging from building products and minerals to seed and food products. Because the filling spout inserts into the opening of the bag, the product flow is totally enclosed during the filling process controlling potential spillage and dust emissions.
Four Types of Valve Bag Fillers
There are four basic types valve bag with automated valve bag placerof valve bag fillers: air, auger, impeller & gravity. They are frequently used to bag products such as cement, concrete, minerals, fertilizer, resins, chemicals, flour, starch, feed, salt, sugar and wood products.
Valve bags are pre-formed bags with a fill spout, or valve, in one corner to allow for fast and easy filling. The valve is made with an inner flap which functions as a self-closing check valve (no secondary sealing step required) after filling. More valve bags are used worldwide than any other bag style. These bags can be manufactured with a variety of styles of valve sleeves to meet the needs of the specific application including poly sleeves, tuck-in sleeves, heat seal and sonic-seal sleeves. Valve bags can be equipped with PE-free film or PE-liners where enhanced moisture protection is needed.
Gain Packaging Versatility with Open Mouth Bags
Open mouth bag fillers are very simple, fast filling and easy filling of both food grade and non-food grade materials. They are well suited for both manual and automated applications. Open mouth filling systems are ideal for hard to handle materials or products that are dry, free flowing and minimally dusty ranging from landscaping materials, feed, seed & fertilizer to food products.
Two Types of Open Mouth Bag Fillers
There are two classes of open mouth bag fillers: gross weigh (fill and weigh simultaneously) and net weigh (pre-weigh and fill as a secondary step). Within those 2 classes of fillers, each can be fed by one of the following types of feed systems: gravity, vibratory pan fed, belt fed and auger fed.
Open mouth bags are pre-formed bags that arrive from the factory closed on one end and open on the other end. The closed end is typically the end of the bag that the end user will recognize as the top of the bag. The factory-made seal or closure of the top of the bag makes it more visually appealing.
Varieties of Open Mouth Bags
Open mouth bags can be manufactured in a variety of different styles and constructions. There are pinch bottom (paper) bags, sewn open mouth (both paper and plastic) and heat sealed (film) bags. Depending on the construction of the bag, open mouth bags are closed by a process of sewing, heat sealing or gluing.
Sewn open mouth bags are the preferred choice for agricultural, feed and seed applications. They are economical, tough, and can easily be opened with a pull tab chord at the top. Open mouth bags can be manufactured with PE-free film or PE-liners where enhanced moisture protection is needed.
They are frequently used to bag products such as flour, agricultural, animal feed and seed, nuts, landscaping materials, chemicals & food products.
Reduce Operating Costs with Bulk Bags
Bulk bag fillers are a very efficient, fast filling and economical method of packaging both agricultural and industrial materials. They can be designed to operate as either manual or automated systems. Primarily designed for agricultural and industrial usage, bulk bags are commonly used to package materials like fertilizer, food grains, seeds, flour, sugar, salt, animal feed, industrial minerals and industrial chemicals.
The Two Classes of Bulk Bag Fillers
There are two classes of bulk bag fillers: suspended “hanging” style fillers and bottom supported “platform” style fillers. Either style can be designed with a gross weigh (fill and weigh simultaneously) or net weigh (pre-weigh and fill as a secondary step) type of weighing scale. Most bulk bag fillers are fed by either a gravity flow gate (ex. slide-gate or butterfly valve), rotary valve or an auger feeder.
The Advantages of Bulk Bags
Bulk bags offer several advantages over other types of packaging. They improve plant safety by reducing the amount of physical handling required to load and unload the packaged material since they are designed to be moved by mechanical means (fork truck, pallet jack, or hoist).
Bulk bags are frequently used as storage silos, day bins for short term storage and intermediate hoppers in product processing systems.
Bulk bags or FIBCs (Flexible Intermediate Bulk Containers) are large woven polypropylene bags capable of storing and transporting the heavy loads of dry flowable bulk materials weighing up to 4,000 lb. (1,818 KG). Bulk bags are designed to take a high amount of abuse that would quickly destroy other types of packaging. There are several bag designs available: spout top, duffel top or open top and flat bottom, discharge spout or port-hole bottom. Bag Style selection will depend on the requirements of the application.
The operating cost per container is typically reduced when bulk bags are used. Filling, lifting, opening, dumping, and disposal of forty, 50-lb paper bags is in most cases more costly and time consuming than positioning and opening one single 2000-lb. bulk bag. Bulk bags can also be handled, transported and stored without pallets because integrated lifting loops are built into the upper corners of each bag further adding to cost savings and reducing the disposal costs of used packaging materials.
Additionally, bag capacity increases, the empty bag weight as a percentage of bulk material weight transported decreases. This means more material can be shipped with less packaging for the same cost. Bulk bags can also be positioned and stacked more efficiently to heights exceeding that of smaller bags, maximizing shipping container usage and storage facility space.
Latest Production Tip
The Importance of Pressure for Cement Bagging Machine PerformanceJune 28, 2016 - 7:09 pmIt’s not surprising that pressure is an important factor in bagging dry bulk powders; for a cement bagging machine or concrete bagging machine it is especially critical to speed and weight accuracy. This article explains how one customer significantly improved productivity and accuracy by following the fundamentals. Our Model 730 Pressure Flow Air Packer is one […]
The Fundamental Pillars of Smart Industrial BaggingJune 24, 2016 - 8:10 pmRegardless of which type of bag an operation uses – valve, open mouth or bulk bag – the ultimate goal of virtually every industrial bagging operation is to fill and seal as many bags as possible cleanly and accurately within a specified time period. Yet while the goal is simple, bagging dry bulk solids can […]