Maintenance-free filling plants

Systems from Fricke Abfülltechnik GmbH & Co. KG are used worldwide when containers such as buckets, canisters or hobbocks are filled precisely - for example with paints and varnishes, dispersions or adhesives and other building materials. Fricke has developed a highly flexible range of systems for this task, which can be adapted to different container types, among other things.
Common to all systems is the filling arm, which is pneumatically driven and moves into the container, as well as the integrated weighing cell, which enables calibratable filling. Additional modules, which can also be added at a later date, take over downstream operations such as capping and labelling the containers if required.
The concept of maximum flexibility also includes the variable positioning of the filling head. This makes it possible to fill different containers on one and the same line.
Fricke originally used a tube-in-tube system for adjusting the filling arm, but this was relatively stiff. In the search for a better solution, the company's design engineers tested various systems. The solution had to be able to withstand high loads, as the filling arm with the valve alone weighs 80 kg. Added to this are high leverage forces and the weight of the product in the feed hose. Furthermore, the linear system had to operate without lubrication, as it is used above the product containers and any contamination must be ruled out. For the same reason, abrasion-free and wear-free operation was required. Finally, costs also played an important role.
In addition to the positioning of the filling head, linear bearing technology was also required in other areas. For example, a solution had to be found for feeding the containers. And finally, cable guides for the various cables for transmitting energy and signals were required for the various moving parts of the filling system.

Adjustment of the filling arm
Those responsible at Fricke opted for screw jacks from the drylin® programme, specifically for the systems in the drylin® SLW-2080 series (see images 1 and 2 below) with a static load capacity of 1,600 N (axial) and 6,400 N (radial). At its heart are the proven hard-anodised drylin®-W profile rails and a guide carriage, which is guided by four drylin® W housing bearings (Fig. 3). The operator positions the filling head, which is mounted on the guide carriage, precisely using a hand crank that acts on a drylin® trapezoidal lead screw nut (Fig. 4). The entire system works completely lubricant-free and with minimal abrasion. In addition, the lead screw module can be moved easily and precisely via the hand wheel and trapezoidal thread despite the considerable load. With a width of 150 mm for the carriage and a very flat design, the system can be easily integrated into the environment.
The ready-to-install system is also impressive from a cost perspective: alternatives such as recirculating ball bearing guides would be significantly more expensive. And if particularly corrosive or aggressive media are to be filled, individual elements of the spindle lift table can be replaced with stainless steel components. Correspondingly resistant iglidur® materials would also be available for the sliding elements and trapezoidal lead screw nut.

Conveyor technology for feeding the containers
Our products are also installed at other points in the filling systems at Fricke. Concealed guide rails from the drylin® W-programme  (Fig. 5) ensure smooth movements and precise positioning of the containers in the conveyor technology that feeds the containers to the filling line.

Energy supply for moving system parts
The energy supply business area is also represented in the systems: Flexible plastic-energy chains  (Fig. 6) ensure the reliable transmission of energy and signals to the moving parts of the filling systems.