FAQ

The volumetric benchtop dispenser is entirely pneumatic and requires a compressor or mains compressed air to operate. The machine operates at 6 bar.

No electricity is needed, unless there is a heated hopper and/or agitator with electric operation. In this case, both a pneumatic and an electric connection will be needed.

We have 7 feeder models, from the smallest that doses between 1cc and 38cc to the largest that handles sizes from 200cc up to 5600cc. All models have a min-max dosing range, so it will be necessary to identify the model suitable for filling the largest number of customer formats.

In doing so, however, it must be borne in mind that the model chosen must be centred on the formats: for example, if you mainly need to fill small (20ml) and medium (250ml) doses and occasionally need to work with a larger format (500ml), it will be advisable to opt for a 5-250cc model, which will be more accurate on small doses than a 20-700cc model, while at the same time it will still be possible to fill 500ml with two 250ml doses.

The piston works like a syringe, sucking in product that arrives by gravity from the hopper (or directly from the customer's tank) and pushing it out when the operator presses the pedal.

After dispensing the product, the piston automatically returns to the suction position to be ready for the next dosage. The dosing cycle is therefore composed of a push phase and a suction phase.

It is always preferable for the product to arrive by gravity, so to be fed from above via a hopper. The hopper can be filled manually by the operator or automatically via a product feed pump.

The bench-top piston filling machine is the most compact solution of those proposed. It sits on a work table and can be easily moved if necessary. In addition, it is the solution that allows the least number of components in contact with the product, which means that cleaning operations will be faster. The loading of the hopper, in this case, is about 2 metres above the ground, considering a machine support surface at a height of about 80 cm.

The wheeled floor structure, on the other hand, has the hopper positioned at the bottom and this makes loading the product easier for the operator, at about 1mt from the ground. This configuration can be particularly useful for those who have to load a hot product by hand, to reduce the risk of scalding during feeding the hopper.

It is also much easier to directly connect the trolley structure to the cooking or product storage tank with a hose. In this case, product contamination is avoided, which is certainly advantageous in terms of hygiene and simplifies work.

Depending on the customer's requirements and the characteristics of the product to be dosed, we can make 15lt or 30lt conical hoppers, or 50lt or 100lt horizontal hoppers, with a product heating and/or mixing system. Mixing in our hoppers is not process mixing, but is useful to keep the pieces in suspension and/or the product heated evenly.

Our standard hoppers are conical in a choice of 6lt, 15lt or 30lt. We also have 15lt and 30lt cylindrical hoppers available. All hoppers are made of AISI 316 stainless steel.

The hourly output of the semi-automatic dosing unit with foot pedal operation depends on several factors such as the viscosity of the product, the size of the bottle neck, the quantity to be dosed in the container, and the speed of the operator. Generally speaking, we can say that the speed of the semi-automatic filling machine is around 400-500 pieces/hour on a 250ml size, but there are also fast operators who can reach 800-900 pieces/hour.

Mainly the seals that are in contact with the product, i.e. the seals of the piston inside the cylinder, the tri-clamp seals, the o-rings and the valve cone.

The volume is adjusted manually through the handwheel with numeric indicator located at the rear of the dispenser. Adjustments are made by disconnecting the compressed air from the machine.

1. Turn the handwheel to increase or decrease the dispensed volume. Looking at the numeric counter gives an immediate indication of the change.
2. Reconnect the compressed air and make a dosing test to check whether the set volume corresponds to the desired volume. The second dosage will be reliable as the machine has entered the cycle.
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 until the desired volume has been reached. At that point, simply make a note of the corresponding number, to be set the next time.

Once the adjustment has been made, the dispenser will dispense the set amount each time the pedal is pressed.

The machine has an on/off switch that allows an initial rinse cycle. Once production is finished, the cleaning product is placed into the hopper and a collection bucket is placed under the nozzle to collect the discharge liquid. Activating the selector switch will simulate continuous dosing, sucking in and dosing the product without stopping. In this way most of the residue is eliminated.

The machine can then be disassembled for more thorough cleaning.

Ask for our tutorial for complete dosing unit assembly and disassembly!