Caseweigher is controlled via touchscreen display.

Mettler-Toledo, Inc. Jan 04, 2007

Press Release Summary:

Accessed via display readable at up to 20 ft, 40/100 Caseweigher enables items up to 44 x 24 in. to be weighed at speeds up to 300 fpm. System comes in 2 capacities, featuring electromagnetic force restoration load cell that delivers accuracy of 5 g for loads up to 88 lb and 10 g for loads up to 220 lb. PC-based system allows checkweigher to store production data and present it on Internet and to communicate with and control other intelligent sensor machines on plant networks.

Original Press Release:

Hi-Speed brings High Speed, High Accuracy Caseweigher to US Market...

Booth S-1639, PackExpo, Chicago - October 29, 2006 - Mettler-Toledo Hi-Speed will introduce the 40/100 Caseweigher to the North American market at the PackExpo in Chicago today. The highly accurate, high-speed caseweigher will apply Hi-Speed's state of the art displays and controls for ease of use and simple integration into the production line.

The 40/100 comes in two capacities - one for loads up to 40 kilograms (88 pounds) and another for loads up to 100 kilograms (220 pounds). Items up to 44 inches by 24 inches can be weighed at speeds of up to 300 feet per minute. The 40/100's electromagnetic force restoration load cell delivers accuracies of 5 grams for the 40-kilogram model and 10 grams for the 100-kilogram machine.

New Displays Increase Productivity
Access to the 40/100's functions comes through intuitive, menu-driven touchscreen displays. The XS Control system's familiar, browser-like navigation gives users fast access to basic controls and read-outs, while allowing them to drill down easily into machine and line performance measures and statistics. The displays are readable at up to 20 feet, allowing a single operator to see and control multiple machines.

Each touchscreen provides as many as 23 unique control areas; touchable "buttons" leading to more information. "For instance, there is a seven-to-eight line 'message center' at the bottom of the main screen that scrolls short reports about machine status, fault events, and errors," said John Uber, Hi-Speed business development manager. "Touching that takes users to a full-screen view where they can see every event with the time it occurred. This makes trouble-shooting much easier." Similarly, line changeovers require only three taps on the screen, shortening downtime.

Open Architecture Improves Efficiency
These displays are the front end for a new electronics package for the 40/100, an industrial-strength PC-based system using the Open Modular Architecture Controls (OMAC) for easy integration into production lines. The new system also allows the checkweigher to be set up as an OLE for Process and Control (OPC) server to store production data and present it on the Internet.

The 40/100 can use this industry standard to communicate with and control other intelligent sensor machines on plant networks via serial, Ethernet, Ethernet IP, USB, Bluetooth (for wireless report printing), Fieldbus, PROFIBUS, DeviceNet, or ControlNet. This network also allows the 40/100 to provide feedback for continuous process improvement. For instance, a trend toward excessive unit weight could trigger a signal from the 40/100 to a filler machine to reduce fill and bring unit weight back within the targeted range, reducing rejections and waste.

About Mettler-Toledo Hi-Speed Checkweigher
Mettler-Toledo Hi-Speed is North America's largest checkweigher manufacturer. In 1981, the company joined METTLER TOLEDO, the world's largest manufacturer of weighing solutions for laboratory, industrial, and food retailing applications, with more than 8,000 employees and $1.5 billion (US dollars) revenue in 2005. Hi-Speed, with sister companies Safeline and Garvens, make up the Mettler-Toledo Product Inspection Division, the world's largest manufacturer and marketer of checkweighers, metal detection devices, and other end-of-line inspection systems serving local and multi-national customers worldwide.