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4 Ways Our Nutraceutical Powder Fillers Improve Accuracy

Written by Mark Navin, VP of Sales | Dec 4, 2024 9:58:05 PM

At Spee-Dee, we’ve been building auger fillers for nutraceutical powders since 1990. And in that time, one thing has become clear: filling these products accurately can be tricky, but with the right product knowledge, increasing your packaging accuracy is within reach. Keep reading to explore 4 ways our auger fillers and checkweighers increase accuracy.  

Tap Into Our Nutraceutical Powder Filling Application Experience 

There are several different variables to consider when you’re looking for an auger filler that increases the accuracy of your nutraceutical powder filling. When you lean into Spee-Dee's application knowledge, we help identify what challenges you’re facing and how to mitigate them.  

As we’ve designed and tested auger fillers through the years, we’ve learned that inaccurate filling usually comes down to just a few things. The tooling and agitator design combined with the appropriate machine settings (auger RPM, acceleration, deceleration, and agitator speed) greatly impact the success or failure of your filler. The design of the infeed system can also play a significant role. 

The design of your machine doesn’t account for everything. For instance, many nutraceutical powder manufacturers blend powders in batches and then store or transport the bulk powder in super sacks. There can often be a large variation in bulk density between super sacks, which can contribute to inaccuracies on your line.  

As Dennis Mulder, our Applications Technical Expert, mentions in the video below, chocolate flavors can be especially challenging to fill because they contain cocoa, which changes the flow characteristics of the powder. 

 

 

Our Test Lab Replicates Your Plant  

Since nutraceutical powders can be especially challenging to fill, ensuring your product will run properly on the filling solution you’re purchasing before it gets to your facility is helpful. That’s where our Test Lab comes in. This 3,000-square-foot test facility can replicate your plant conditions to run products as they would in-house. 

In the Lab, we can simulate your production run to confirm you’ll achieve your desired rate, accuracy and line efficiency.  

 

Improve Accuracy with Vacuum Tooling  

Some nutraceutical powders tend to fluidize. At Spee-Dee, we’ve developed vacuum tooling which can significantly improve the rate and accuracy of filling these products. Vacuum tooling eliminates product drip, allowing you to achieve a clean seal every time. The innovative design eliminates moving parts and provides an effortless way to improve charge separation. Our auger filler is the only one in North America that offers this feature.

 

 

Checkweigher Feedback Maintains Accuracy in Real-Time  

Checkweigher feedback is crucial for maintaining the accuracy, efficiency and quality of your nutraceutical powder filling. By providing real-time feedback on the weight of filled product, the auger filler can make immediate adjustments, ensuring each fill is consistent and precise. Our checkweigher feedback algorithm even includes a unique gain percentage feature that prevents over-adjustment. Without this feedback, there could be significant variations in the fill weight, leading to underfilling or overfilling. 

In addition to increasing the accuracy of nutraceutical powder filling, checkweigher feedback provides: 

  • Quality control, ensuring each package meets the specified weight requirements 
  • Cost efficiency, minimizing the risk of overfilling, which leads to increased material costs, or underfilling, which results in consumer complaints and possibly even fines 
  • Process optimization, collecting data to identify trends and areas for improvement in the filling process that leads to more efficient operations and reduces downtime  
  • Waste reduction 

By ensuring each package is filled accurately, checkweigher feedback becomes beneficial for both nutraceutical powder manufacturers and consumers.  

Our auger fillers and checkweighers are the perfect combination for increasing the accuracy of your nutraceutical powder packaging operations.