For many years, our customer has been one of the world's leading companies in the field of filling and packaging machine technology for pharmacueticals and cosmetics. Their filling machines for syringes, bottles and vials with volumes up to 1 liter can fill up to 60,000 items per hour.

These machines offer 100-percent in-process control (IPC) by weighing all filled vials, as is required by the pharmaceutical industry. The machines' fast cadence and requirement to fill small and large containers places heavy demands on the performance of the incorporated weighing technology. Due to the combined accuracy and high weighing capacity of the WMS weigh module, it facilitates accurate weight control for all sizes of pharmaceutical packaging on the same machine.

New weigh module meets even tougher requirements

A recent demand for an exceptionally multi-faceted, high-speed machine required a weighing range higher than the 510 grams for the WM503 weigh module previously used. The limited amount of space available also meant a reduced overall width was necessary.

METTLER TOLEDO was in a position to present  WMS1203C, which fulfills the tougher requirements for rapid filling of all sizes. It has high readability and reproducibility of 1 milligrams across the entire weighing range of 1200 grams. This makes the weigh module capable of supporting a special heavy weighing pan for various container formats and for weighing both small and large containers accurately.  

The approximate weighing time is a mere 0.3 seconds per weighment. Despite the high-speed weighing technology, several modules needed to be arranged in parallel to reliably check the entire output. For this reason, the customer integrated several WMS weigh modules in one parallel row with a track width of 30 millimeters.

The arrangement in this limited amount of space led to an eccentric load pick-up by the weigh module, but this did not adversely affect the level of accuracy. The weigh module also has a built-in calibration weight, ensuring smooth functioning and allowing inspection at any time, even when a special weighing pan is fitted.

Top marks all around

Our customers’ engineers, by employing multiple WMS weigh modules in parallel, have turned a scalable weighing system into a reality. Individual weighing points can be added or removed from the machine without any problem. In the event of a failure, the local service technician will replace the affected module in just a few simple steps. The high weighing capacity and the option of eccentric load pick-up support the use of attachment equipment without restricting the vial volume.

With the new WMS weigh module, the customer has a complete weighing technology solution. See how this kind of innovative weighing technology can help speed up your filling process.