Using the Manual Toggle Screen on Your Automatic Filling Machine

Automatic liquid fillers are normally controlled by a simple to use touchscreen interface. In other words, outside of the physical adjustments to fill heads, conveyor rails and the like, the parameters for any given bottle and product combination to be run on the filler can be set and adjusted from one central location. In addition to set up, other screens on the operator interface will help with saving and recalling information, troubleshooting, maintenance, cleaning and more. Here we will take a closer look at the Manual Toggle screen found on Liquid Packaging Solutions' filling machines, which will help the operator of the machine in set up, maintenance, troubleshooting and clean up.

The manual toggle screen allows the operator to take control of several different components of a filling machine that would normally function in an automatic manner during production runs. Though the components will differ depending on the specific project at hand, a number of controls will be pretty much standard on all of the filling equipment. A few of these common components and their controls include:

• Conveyor: The manual toggle screen allows the operator to run the conveyor if necessary. This can be used to run bottles into the fill area for set up or to clear bottles from the fill area in the event of a bottle jam anywhere on the packaging line.

• Entry & Exit Gates: For filling machines using pin, or gate, indexing, these controls allow the operator of the machine to open the gates for extended periods of time. Gates may be opened for set up of or maintenance for the conveyor system, allowing containers to flow freely through the fill area.

• Drip Tray: Quite simply, the drip tray exists to catch the occasional drip from the fill nozzles, assisting in keeping the fill area and everything that passes through the area clean. The manual toggle screen allows the operator to retract the drip tray to move it out of the way during set up, clean up or machine maintenance.

• Head Dive: Depending on the type of liquid filler being used, fill heads may dive down into, or seal the opening of, the bottles. The manual toggle screen allows the operator to dive the heads to their lowest position, which can help to ensure bottles will not be crushed during production, thus assisting in the set up of the machinery.

• Locate: The locate control allows the operator to extend or retract the neck, or bottle, grabbers on the filling machine. These grabbers help to stabilize bottles as they are being filled. Giving manual control to the operator can help to ensure the bottles and nozzles are properly positioned during initial set up.

• Fill Pump: Quite simply, on bottle filling equipment that uses a pump, this setting allows the operator to manually turn the pump on and off. Having this control over the pump can assist in cleaning as well as locating the source of some troubleshooting issues.

• Fill Head Controls: Manual Toggle screens will include controls for each individual fill head on the bottle filler as well as one control for all of the fill heads. Individual fill head control can assist in cleaning and troubleshooting if one or more heads become clogged. Controlling all the fill heads at once may help to assist in the cleaning of the machine at the end of the production day.

Of course, both the controls and the reasons stated above for using the controls are far from an exhaustive list. Each unique filling machine will include unique manual toggle controls. Likewise, each of those controls will have unique purposes based on the product, production, bottle and many other factors. The Manual Toggle screen is simply one of many tools centrally located on the operator interface to make the equipment as simple as possible to use while also increasing efficiency. If you would like to learn more about controls for liquid filling equipment, or about the machines themselves, give LPS a call today to speak with a Packaging Specialist.