The silo weighing equipment is intended for accurate and reliable measuring of the amount of material in the silo or storage containers. It is a ready-made compact package that can be programmed to display the amount of material in a container, for example in kilograms, cubes or litres. Silo weighing can also be used to unload or dispense liquid or bulk material in a silo.
What kind of challenges can be solved with the help of silo weighing?
- Silo weighing is the only reliable way to measure the amount of material in a silo.
- The dustiness of the material in the silo does not affect the reliability of the measurement.
- Weighing is exceptionally reliable compared to measurements based on surface level sensors.
- The benefit of weighing avoids production stoppage due to unexpected ending of material.
- Thanks to the freely adjustable lower limit alarm, stock replenishment can be implemented in a timely manner.
- Silo weighing can be used to control filling and avoid overfilling.
What aspects are important to consider when planning and implementing silo weighing?
The designer of the silo structure must take into account the implementation of the silo weighing in their own structural design. The most critical area of safety is the design work of load-bearing structures and its dimensioning. In addition, to ensure the reliable operation of the weighing, the correct connections of piping’s to the silo structure must be considered.
The supplier of the equipment must have sufficient experience and expertise in the handling of the materials for which the silo weighing equipment is designed and implemented. The silo weighing equipment shall have freely adjustable upper and lower limit alarms and shall permit interference-free measuring in weighing. It is also important to ensure that the scale is suitable for potentially explosive (EX) conditions, if necessary. In these matters, the customer should consult the supplier of the weighing equipment already during pre-planning and design. It is also important for the life cycle and serviceability of the device, as well as for cost-effective calibration, that the weighing equipment is implemented in the correct way.
If the question is the case of commercial weighing, i.e. when the silo weighing result is used to determine the price of a product or service, the structure and operation of the scale must meet certain criteria laid down by law, directives and many other standards. The design of scale therefore requires more in-depth expertise compared to a scale used in non-commercial use in order to comply with the statutory compliance.
Why is Lahti Precision the best partner when designing silo weighing?
Thanks to our expertise, our customers get the right information on how to start designing and implementing a structure. We have been designing similar solutions for many of our customers around the world for decades, so we have strong expertise and experience in implementing optimal, risk-free solutions for the customer.
The silos can be equipped according to the customer’s wishes and equipped with various accessories and functionalities in addition to weighing. Our patented fluidization equipment ensures smooth material transfer – fluid hoses and fluid elements prevent material from vaulting and achieve even material discharge out of silos. Our scale programs are self-learning, aiming for optimal accuracy after each dosing for the next dosing. Dosing devices can be used, for example, double or two-position butterfly valves controlled by scale control, the coarse and fine feeding functions of which provide a fast and accurate weighing result and material flow. Our scale terminals have versatile connection options to the customer’s system.
What are the other advantages of the products offered by Lahti Precision compared to similar products or services offered by others?
- We can carry out installation supervision and commissioning of silo weighing
- Our range also includes weighing components for large silos
- We can also implement scales for potentially explosive spaces
- The containers can be equipped with mixers if necessary
- We also manufacture certified scales
- We have a wide range of sensor installation kits that can be used to prevent and protect, for example, damage and tilting of a silo.
How the cooperation continues after the delivery of the silo weighing device?
Our comprehensive lifecycle services, such as scale tuning, maintenance, calibration and fast spare parts delivery, supports the scale operation and maintenance. Lahti Precision has an accredited K019 calibration laboratory, which is a testament to an expert and reliable calibration service. We can also perform a seal of maintained and certified scale. Our range includes inspection and calibration weights for checking the scales, stabilising, tuning and calibration of scales. To the scales it is also possible to add calibration structures to the reference sensor / jack method if the scale cannot be calibrated with a traditionally known mass or material or the silo is really large.
More efficient logistics with the mScales weighing service
Our digital weighing service mScales combines all logistics scales and business systems into one seamless entity. It automates the weighing process and the weighing and communication related to the weighing is handled in real time. All information related to weighing is thus smoothly available to all stakeholders. Continuous condition monitoring of the scales is handled by a remote service and thus unwanted production stoppages are avoided.