In terms of complex production processes, manufacturers in a number of industries count on the expertise of plant engineers. The goal is to create tailor-made solutions which can be seamlessly integrated into manufacturers’ production lines and applications. In order to best achieve this, process integrators choose their suppliers with great care. Consequently, providers such as global industrial weighing and inspection technology makers, Minebea Intec, as well as offering an extensive, high-quality portfolio of products, they also offer engineering services.
In plant and mechanical engineering, components and technologies for highly developed joint systems are being combined all over the world. The industry is constantly growing and accounts for a considerable share of the world’s total industrial production. Sales of EUR 280.9 billion were forecast for this year in the mechanical engineering industry in Germany alone and are expected to reach EUR 294 billion by 2023. There are many challenges – and demands – since bringing together components and technologies from different disciplines means increased responsibility. If a number of suppliers and subcontractors are involved, the plant engineer is often in the place of an intermediary between customers and service providers.
Matthias Rehren, global sales manager of OEM Business, Minebea Intec, said, “Our customers know that we’re there to offer our complete support in their specific situation. Aside from providing high-quality, durable weighing and inspection technologies, we offer them not only expert advice when choosing the best solutions, but also design support when it comes to integrating our products into existing constructions, as well as individual, customer-specific solutions.”
Reliability and expertise – a good partner can offer both
The scope and complexity of projects can be as varied as plant engineering itself. Partners can impress with reliable technologies and precise communication.
“We make sure our plant engineering customers are fully informed and have access to competent contact persons at all times whatever the requirement, be it installing a stand alone checkweigher in a clean stable production area or large silos within a considerable seismic activity region,” added Rehren.
Handling a plant engineering task is often a one-off project and Minebea Intec takes each one as an individual case. When it comes to designing a new weighing solution, trust in the product and supplier expertise are a must. Process integrators usually aim to establish long-term relationships with their suppliers and want to be sure that the solution they choose will improve the efficiency of their equipment, whatever the circumstances. This is where the company’s technical support helps – from construction to preventative maintenance after installation. The manufacturer of weighing and inspection solutions for process vessels, bench and platform scales, checkweighers and foreign body detection systems supports system integrators in every stage of their project. This involves considering scale and detection accuracy, environmental impact and data communication. Matthias Rehren gives two examples of this.
Installation-safe weighing solution - made in Germany
The weighing module Novego from the company offers a good example. One of its key USPs is its imperviousness to transverse forces, which can lead to undesirable measurement uncertainties in many weighing processes. Transverse forces like these can occur, for example, when switching on rotating mixing devices and lead to erroneous weighing results. This weighing module can negate these effects to the minimum and guarantee precise measuring results in manufacturing processes, even with transverse forces of up to 20 per cent of the load. Novego does not only impress due to its imperviousness to transverse forces, it has a whole package of other impressive features to offer.
Since its market launch in 2018, a number of notable process integrators, such as Italian company Logica Progetti or Pharmatech, have opted for the hygienically designed weighing module – not least because of how easy it is to install.
“The weighing module Novego can, along with other features, be supplied with a built-in adapter for height adjustment of up to 8 cm and tilt correction for sloped surfaces with a gradient of up to 3°, thereby rendering additional constructions largely unnecessary. In many facilities, above all in the food, pharmaceutical and chemical industries, equipment like this significantly reduces the work involved in installation,” added Rehren.
Thanks to the converter Connexx, the weighing module Novego can also be designed as a digital weighing solution, which offers additional process control possibilities.