GEA HYGiTip bag emptying system

The HYGiTip bag emptying system from GEA opens and discharges 25 kg bags of powdered ingredients into food production lines automatically, without operator involvement, minimising contamination risks and virtually eliminating powder waste.

The system, which maintains control of the bag at all times, is designed to ensure accurate repeatability and safely extracts the waste packaging for recycling. The system can be used in a range of processing applications, including milk powders, nutritional formula, dairy and food ingredients, coffee, tea, bakery and confectionery ingredients and pet food.

It is a fully enclosed automatic bag emptying system that is hygienic, safe and ensures product integrity while being designed to reduce operating costs.

The system receives depalletised bags which are introduced manually using a vacuum lifter or by a robotic depalletiser.

Some key features of the product are the Positive Grip mechanism (patent pending) and the Clean Cut rotary blades.

The Positive Grip mechanism controls the bag during the entire process. Once gripped, the clamping device inverts the bag to a vertical position where static bag spikes penetrate the body of the bag prior to cutting. This provides further support and equalises the pressure within the bag to aid powder discharge. Handling the bag in this way helps ensure reliable repeatability and mitigates any distortion of the bag which would otherwise leave powder residue behind. The bag is always held away from the powder stream to minimise the risk of contamination.

The Clean Cut system has twin, non-serrated, curved slicing knives that use a rotary action to slice open the bags. The absence of any sawing action means plastic contamination cannot be introduced to the downstream process. The knives cut through the bags on three sides, from the inside out, allowing the bottom corners of the suspended bag to be unfolded and cut simultaneously, preventing pockets that could trap powder and therefore maximising discharge efficiency.