The Kurt Top Load Gage System measures real-time forces exerted on a container during filling and sealing operations.
Kurt Top Load Gages consists of the following components:
- Interior Electronics
- Capable of recording downward forces up to 500 pounds (Model A) or 1,000 pounds (model B)
- Data collection speed of 50 readings per second
- Optional 500 readings per second
- Data storage of 4,000 samples
- Optional expansion to 20,000 samples
- Blue tooth or wired communication capable
- Sealed cap at the bottom to protect connections and On/Off Switch
User configurable parameters include:
- Set specific pound threshold to begin collecting data
- Set number of samples to record once threshold is attained
- Exterior Shell
- Designed to mimic a specific container size
- Interface cable for wired applications
- Software CD with Installation and User Manual
- Optional AirCable interface for Blue tooth communication
Wide-ranging applications
Although developed and used extensively for food and beverage containers, the Top Load gage is effective in virtually any kind of container filling and capping operation. The Top Load gage continuously captures the forces the container endures during the filling, capping and other processes where such information is valuable. The Top Load gage is a small (exact container sized) device that is battery operated and is designed to be placed in-line where a container would normally travel. The electronics are sealed so that it can be ‘filled’ like a normal container. The Top Load gage has also been found very useful when placed in the lower sections in shipping containers to record exact loads during transit.
The Top Load Gage consists of two major components. The first is the exterior ‘shell’ that is made of the lightweight Delrin polymer. (The shell is the black piece in the photo below). The shell is designed to look like the container that is being tested. Each containers size and/or style may need a specific exterior shell that mimics the real container through the process.
The second is the Interior Electronic core (the silver piece in the photo above) of the gage holds the electronics and sensor that monitor the forces that the container experiences during the packaging and sealing process. The gage electronics include the processors, non-volatile flash memory, Bluetooth wireless communication and the battery that allows the device to work as a remote collection station. The interior electronics portion can be used in any container size that is not physically smaller then the electronics package.
The Bluetooth connectivity allows the unit to transmit wirelessly to a Bluetooth ready computing device. The communication will take place wirelessly within 3 feet (line-of-sight). This ability to communicate wirelessly eliminates the need to open the unit to connect to a wired connection in wet environments.
The unit can be configured to have a maximum force load of 500 pounds (Model A) or 1000 (Model B) pounds. The determination needs to be defined at time of purchase.
Once in operation, the Top Load gage will monitor the load continuously. It will begin collecting data when a minimum threshold level is attained and will then collect data for a predetermined amount of samples at a defined sampling rate (up to 500 samples/second). Once the number of samples required to collect is complete, the device will begin the process again and collect until memory is full or it is removed and stopped. The threshold, number of samples and sampling rate are user configurable. Once the data has been collected, the top load gage can be connected to a PC and the data can be downloaded either into Excel or the KurtSPC software.
The flash memory will store up to 20,000 samples.
