K-Tron Smart Weigh Belt Feeders Handle Fragile Bulk Materials at Higher Feed Rates
Digital weighing technology and secondary weigh deck with continuous online auto tare are features that distinguish Smart Weigh Belt Feeders from conventional weigh belt feeders.
K-Tron Smart Weigh Belt Feeders 
View Video: Smart Weigh Belt Feeder: Assembly and Disassembly Made Easy
Smart Weigh Belt (SWB) Feeders are a key component used for the weighing of a variety of bulk solids in a wide range of processes. The most typical application is for feeding / weighing into a continuous process. The process material may enter the Smart Weigh Belt directly from an upstream hopper or via a prefeed device like a screw feeder.
The Smart Weigh Belt can be used as a feeder, batcher, or meter. By utilizing different control software, the Smart Weigh Belt can be used to feed material into a batch system. For inventory control or metering, the Smart Weigh Belt can be placed into a constant speed configuration to measure or totalize the amount fed into a process.
The Smart Weigh Belt offers gentle material handling, an important benefit compared to other feed devices like a screw feeder when handling the following materials:
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Flakes (e.g. corn flakes, bran flakes, and wheat flakes)
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Lumpy bulk solids (e.g. vegetables and fruits)
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Shear sensitive materials (e.g. corn flakes, frozen vegetables and frozen fruits)
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High abrasive bulk solids - due to a low friction coefficient applied to the materials
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Low melting bulk solids (e.g. fat flakes)
When to choose a weigh belt feeder rather then a loss-in-weight screw feeder:
- Relatively lower price for high mass flow feed rates
- No refill device required
- Compact height allows easy fit in low headroom situations
Models Available
The Smart Weigh Belt can be supplied in two different belt widths: 300 mm and 600 mm. The mass and volume rate is strongly dependent on the bulk density, the maximum allowable height of the bulk solid on the belt and belt speed. Therefore it is possible to calculate the flow rates if these three parameters are defined.
An Open Frame (OF) version can be provided to allow direct discharge onto the belt surface. This feature can also be an important benefit for fragile materials like potato chips, when easy access is needed or when feeding very warm or very cold materials.
Online Auto Tare with Optional Second Weigh Bridge
K-Tron's Smart Weigh Belt is the first weigh belt feeder to offer continuous online auto tare compensation. In the past, sticky products adhering to the belt of the feeder degraded weighing precision and caused the need for frequent cleaning, maintenance, and calibration.
The Smart Weigh Belt offers the innovative option of two Smart Force Transducer (SFT) weighing units. The first SFT measures the actual belt weight before receiving the material, but includes the weight of material sticking to the belt. The second SFT determines the gross weight after receiving material onto the belt. The feeder compensates for the difference and belt speed regulation guarantees highly accurate and longterm feeding stability.
Even when feeding sticky materials, you get increased accuracy and reduced downtime for cleaning, maintenance, and calibration. The new tare technology also provides an automatic cleaning indicator and increases the feeding range of the weigh belt feeder, allowing it to accurately feed lower than 50 lb/hr.
Weigh Belt Feeder Theory of Operation
Mass Flow = Belt Speed x Material Weight or lbs/min = ft/min x lbs/ft
Product line includes the SWB-300 and SWB-600 with feed rates of as low as 20 kg/kr (44 lbs/hr) and as high as 40,000 kg/hr (88,000 lbs/hr).
The Smart Weigh Belt uses digital load cells instead of analog load cells with the following benefits:
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High resolution (1:4,000,000)
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Insensitivity to electrical noise during data transfer
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On-board microprocessor to linearize the weight output and compensate for temperature fluctuations
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Calibration done at the factory
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Elimination of low frequency vibrations without reducing the resolution