Determining the most cost-effective automation level for your valve bag packaging system
Packaging dry bulk materials into valve bags involves several steps. Deciding which of these steps to automate, and to what degree, can make your bag packaging system more cost effective. This article describes a method that's been used to determine the most cost-effective automation level by evaluating different system configurations and operating scenarios in terms of annual bag packaging volume. The evaluation was executed by a computer model; with or without a computer, you can perform the same evaluation using the same general guidelines and your own bag packaging parameters.
If you package dry bulk materials in valve bags [either multiwall paper or plastic film] or if you're selecting a new valve bag packaging system, you may wonder how much of the system should be automated to ensure it's as cost effective as possible. But determining the most cost-effective automation level means considering many parameters: What equipment does your system require? How much material does your plant package annually? In the long term, what tradeoffs between capital costs and annual operating costs do various system configurations offer?