SILO WEIGHING SYSTEMS AND THEIR APPLICATIONS IN VARIOUS INDUSTRIES

 A Silo is a structure built to store materials in bulk. Usually used for bulk storage of grain, coal, cement, carbon black, woodchips, food products etc. They are commonly used for businesses that deal with manufacturing like Fast-moving consumer goods manufacturer, cement manufacturers, Wineries. Most of all Tower Silos, Bunker Silos and Bag silos have the most widespread usage. A silo weighing system is used to monitor the material weight that goes in or out of a Silo System. Although designed for Silos, They can also be used on any vessel that has legs and a supporting structure. The utilization of the Silo weighing system ranges from small process vessels/ Hoppers with capabilities less than 200 kg like the ones used in microbreweries to high capacity storage Silos of 100 tonnes or more like the ones use d in chemical manufacturing. One of the major uses of the silo weighing system is inventory management as it assists in finding the exact weight stored in a Silo at any time.

A Silo Weighing System usually comprises three or four load cells. Load cells are electrical transducers that convert mechanical signals like pressure into electrical signals that can be processed to obtain the desired output reading. Apart from the Silo load cells, they also comprise a weighing module, a junction box and a weight indicator and transmitter. The role of the weighing module is to ensure that the correct vertical force is applied to each load cell to prevent it from getting affected by other forces and to ensure repeatability. The junction box helps in unifying the signals coming from all the load cells and send them to the transmitter or indicator. The Silo Weighing System can be easily calibrated by filling the silo with a pre-weighed material or placing or hanging certified test weights on the silo.

The ideal use of a Silo Weighing System is where fitting a standard load cell is not possible or is not cost-effective. The unique feature of a Silo Weighing system is that instead of informing about the contents inside the vessels and empty signal or full signal, or even as a percentage of the full signal based on level measurement, It measures the actual weight of the vessel/tank as well as its contents to give a true picture of the amount on hand. This is especially necessary for companies that are in the business of distribution or mixing. For example, A dairy business with a distribution network throughout a state will need large silos for the storage of milk procured from multiple sources. Since they have to distribute it throughout the state and in the exact measurements of which the order is given, they need to know the actual real-time weight of the contents present inside the vessel.

Over the last few years, Kanta King has been providing Silo Weighing systems and solutions and prefers Thames Side Loadcell System for the same. This Loadcell System consists of Loadcells, Mounting Assemblies, Junction Box and Indicators. The number of load cell depends on the count of pedestals on which the Silo is mounted.