Multihead weigher Troubleshooting

Symptoms: Average pack weight drifts well above target, combination misses force larger dumps, product cost per pack rises. Likely causes: Too few heads available for combinations; Uneven feed onto the top cone; Radial feeder amplitudes badly set; Sticky product clumping. Fixes: Bring disabled heads back into service and fix chronic stickers; the algorithm needs several stable heads per dump to hit target tightly. Centre the infeed and set the dispersion vibrator so all pool hoppers fill evenly; starved heads force poor combinations. Tune per-head vibration so each weigh hopper receives close to target-divided-by-heads grams; oversized single-head loads wreck combination maths. Adjust product coating or temperature upstream and use dimpled or coated contact surfaces so portions release cleanly. Prevention: Weekly head-availability review, giveaway trending per SKU, feeder amplitude checks at changeover, scheduled load-cell calibration.

Symptoms: Machine pauses waiting for a valid combination, reject rate climbs, downstream bagger starves. Likely causes: Load cell drift or damage; Product bridging in pool hoppers; Static or product hang-up in weigh buckets; Unstable infeed rate. Fixes: Run the calibration check with test weights per head; replace cells that will not zero or repeat. Fit or tune hopper agitation, review product size vs hopper geometry and reduce moisture pickup at the infeed. Clean and polish buckets, fit anti-static measures and check dump-door timing and seals. Level-control the infeed conveyor to keep the top cone in its working band instead of flood-and-starve cycles. Prevention: Daily test-weight checks, bucket and hopper cleaning at every changeover, infeed level control tuned per product.

Symptoms: Residue builds through the shift, portions hang then avalanche as double drops, washdown takes longer each night. Likely causes: Wet or oily product on plain surfaces; Scratched or worn contact surfaces; Condensation after washdown; Vibration settings too gentle to self-clean. Fixes: Specify dimpled, embossed or fluoropolymer-coated contact parts for sticky recipes. Replace polished parts once scratched; damage gives product a key to grip. Dry the machine fully and let it reach ambient before restart; cold surfaces sweat and glue fines to steel. Add short clean-out bursts between dumps for high-residue products. Prevention: Surface-finish inspection in PM, correct contact-part spec per recipe, full dry-down after washdown.