Scale Hopper

The scale hopper is a weighing station that sits at the front of the opening line and controls how much of each fiber goes into a batch. Whether you are running synthetic, natural or recycled textile fibers, the ratios have to be held tight to get a uniform web, predictable strength and sensible material costs. This machine measures every batch before it moves on to opening and blending.

Fiber is fed onto an electronic balance by a spike lattice, and a load cell reads the weight so the correct amount is delivered for the set ratio. That accuracy is where the savings come from: you stop overfeeding expensive fiber and you cut the density swings that show up later as web defects. The control panel keeps setup and day-to-day operation simple.

In a typical layout the scale hopper is installed after the bale opener or cylinder opener and ahead of the blending chamber or carding machine, so each fiber type is portioned to the production formula. Tie it into a central controller and you also get automatic data logging for process analysis and traceability. Each model can be fitted with optional sensors, automatic gate systems, and interfaces to the opening or blending machines around it.