Spee-Dee® Packaging Machinery’s (www.spee-dee.com) testing lab can simulate production runs, giving customers assurance that their product will meet desired fill rates and accuracies.

The goal of the test lab is to duplicate a customer’s specific application by demonstrating that Spee-Dee equipment will fill and perform as expected. The key to accurately replicating an application is to ensure the proper amount of product head pressure is present in the hopper during the test run – simulating what would occur during a normal run in the customer’s plant. This process gives Spee-Dee and the customer an accurate assessment of how the equipment will perform and fill.

During testing, granular product is carried in a Frazier & Son bucket elevator, while powders are transported via a PIAB vacuum conveyor to a second floor mezzanine. Spee-Dee’s 2,400 square-foot testing lab has a variety of ancillary packaging equipment, such as conveyors, check weighers and in-feed systems to fully replicate a customer’s application and environment. High-speed cameras record the tests to show characteristics of the product charge and any problems such as drip or string out. Customers who are not able to observe the test in person will see the results on video. Vertical form, fill and seal machines can be sent to Spee-Dee and used in the testing process if the customer desires. To test high speed rotary fillers, the test lab uses a 150-foot test loop for rigid containers, which can fill up to 250 cans per minute.

Spee-Dee provides detailed results and a full summary, which includes filling accuracy, speed and other parameters, of each test to customers. The summary includes a report of any filling challenges encountered by Spee-Dee, and their recommendations of how to alleviate those challenges posed by the product or power.