Checkweigher Types and Applications: Selection Guide with Industry Case Studies
In today's fast-paced manufacturing world, ensuring every product meets exact weight specifications is crucial for quality control, regulatory compliance, and customer satisfaction. Online checkweighers play a vital role in this process, automatically verifying the weight of items on production lines to prevent underfills, overfills, or inconsistencies that could lead to waste, fines, or reputational damage. Whether you're in food processing, pharmaceuticals, logistics, or cosmetics, selecting the right checkweigher can transform your operations by boosting efficiency and accuracy.
As a leading provider of intelligent weighing solutions, SameGram has been at the forefront of this technology for over 20 years. With more than 5,000 units delivered worldwide and a state-of-the-art 4,000+ square meter manufacturing facility, we specialize in high-precision, customizable checkweighers that integrate seamlessly into diverse production environments. Our in-house R&D team focuses on innovation, delivering systems that exceed industry standards for speed, hygiene, and reliability. In this guide, we'll explore checkweigher types, their applications across industries, key selection factors, and real-world case studies to help you make an informed decision.
Understanding Checkweigher Types: Which One Fits Your Needs?
Checkweighers come in various designs, each tailored to specific production demands. Choosing the right type depends on your product characteristics, line speed, and environmental conditions. Here's a breakdown of the main types, drawing from practical insights to address common challenges like handling fragile items or high-volume throughput.
Static Checkweighers
Static checkweighers are ideal for manual or spot-checking scenarios where products are weighed while stationary. They're perfect for quality assurance teams verifying samples, such as raw meats, soft fruits, or pharmaceutical batches, to ensure compliance with net weight regulations. These systems excel in environments requiring precise tare weight tests or rework stations to adjust underweight items.
For high-speed lines, dynamic checkweighers weigh products as they move along a conveyor, often at the end of packaging to catch final inconsistencies. They're equipped with rejection mechanisms, like pneumatic pushers, to automatically remove off-spec items, minimizing downtime and waste.
SameGram's in-motion checkweighers, such as our high-precision inline models, offer belt speeds up to 120m/min and accuracies as fine as ±0.02g. These are designed for seamless integration, with modular structures that adapt to your existing setup. If you're dealing with variable product shapes—like bottles, cans, or pouches—this type ensures smooth transfers without compromising speed, addressing issues like vibration-induced inaccuracies in fast-moving environments.
SC1-H-3512L1 is a high precision checkweigher designed for production line with high precision needs like pharmaceuticals
The SC3-10060L50 is an dynamic end of line checkweigher machine with built-in rejector, especially designed for large items.
The SC1-C-3523L1 is the most suitable checkweigher for small packages. It has positive and negative weight selection functions and is compact and economical.
SC-C is a can checkweigher designed for cans ,jars and bottles，which is a reliable online checkweigher machine for production line.
Multi-Lane Checkweighers
Multi-lane systems handle multiple product streams simultaneously, making them efficient for high-output fillers. By dividing the load across lanes (e.g., 2x, 4x, or 8x), they maintain accuracy at lower per-lane speeds, reducing floor space and simplifying maintenance compared to multiple single units.
Our SameGram multi-lane checkweighers, like the SCP6 model, support weighing ranges from 0.1-100g with ±0.02-0.05g precision, ideal for small packages such as tablets or stick packs. This design solves bottlenecks in pharmaceutical or food lines, where high filler rates could otherwise overwhelm standard systems, leading to improved overall equipment effectiveness (OEE).
Combination systems integrate checkweighing with other inspections, such as metal detection or labeling, for a compact, multi-functional setup. Specialized variants, like gravity or chain checkweighers, x-ray systems checkweigher solutions, cater to fragile products or rugged environments.
SameGram excels in a customizable combination checkweigher, incorporating features like real-time data logging and Ethernet connectivity. For hazardous settings, our explosion-proof models with IP65 ratings ensure safety without sacrificing performance, helping industries like chemicals maintain compliance in dusty or moist conditions.
SCL-7035L5 is a weigh price labeler that integrates a weighing machine with label printer(s),which is very widely used
SCI is an automatic Checkweigher integrates industrial inkjet printer for real-time checkweighing and inkjet printing.
SCL-10060L50 is an automatic weigh price labeler with scanning, weighing scale label printing, and template customization.
SCL-8050L30 is an advanced automatic price weigh label machine with dynamic weighing, label editing, and MES/ERP integration.
SCM-4530L2 is a checkweigher metal detector combination system ,ideal for food processing and pharmaceutical on compact lines.
Industry Applications: How Automatic Checkweighers Solve Real-World Problems
Inline checkweighers aren't one-size-fits-all; their applications vary by sector, addressing unique challenges like hygiene in food processing or precision in pharma. Below, we dive into key industries, highlighting how these systems enhance compliance, reduce giveaway, and optimize workflows.
Food and Beverage Industry
In food production, checkweigher machines ensure packages meet labeled weights, preventing underfills that violate regulations like NIST or FDA standards. They handle diverse items—from potato chips to canned goods—detecting overfills that erode profits through excess giveaway.
For example, in a high-volume snack line, a dynamic checkweigher can monitor throughput at 300 pieces per minute, rejecting anomalies to maintain consistency. SameGram's hygienic designs, with stainless steel and flushable structures meeting GMP/ISO standards, make them perfect for wet environments like dairy or meat processing, where easy cleaning prevents contamination and downtime.
Pharmaceutical and Healthcare
Pharma demands ultra-high accuracy for small items like tablets or vials, where even minor deviations can impact dosing and lead to recalls. Checkweighers here support GMP compliance, with features for traceability and audit trails.
SameGram's pharmaceutical-grade models offer accuracies down to ±0.02g and multi-lane capabilities for batch sampling, solving issues like inconsistent fills in clinical trials. By integrating with ERP systems, they provide real-time data for process adjustments, reducing waste and ensuring every product meets therapeutic standards.
Cosmetics and Daily Chemical Industry
In the cosmetics sector, where products like skincare creams and lotions require precise filling to meet consumer expectations and regulatory standards, checkweighers are essential for maintaining consistency after filling and sealing. They address common issues such as variations in viscous materials or packaging tolerances, ensuring each item aligns with design specifications for safety and quality.
SameGram's checkweighers, with their high-precision sensors and customizable rejection systems, are particularly effective here. For instance, they can handle delicate containers at speeds up to 120m/min while providing detailed data analytics to refine production processes.
Logistics and Other Sectors
In logistics, checkweighers verify parcel weights for shipping accuracy, integrating with barcode scanning for efficient sorting. For cosmetics or agriculture, they handle powders or bulk items, preventing overpacking that increases costs.
Our heavy-duty checkweighers, with ranges up to 80kg and speeds of 5-120m/min, address large parcel challenges in e-commerce, improving throughput and reducing manual errors.
Selection Guide: Key Factors to Consider for Optimal Performance
Selecting a checkweigher involves balancing your specific needs with practical features. Here's a step-by-step guide to help you avoid common pitfalls like mismatched speeds or environmental incompatibilities.
1. Assess Product Characteristics: Consider weight range, size, shape, and variability. For irregular items, opt for adaptable conveyors. SameGram's models cover 0.1g to 80kg, ensuring versatility.
2. Evaluate Speed and Throughput: Match your line's pace—high-speed options like our 300 pcs/min systems prevent bottlenecks without sacrificing accuracy.
3. Prioritize Accuracy and Repeatability: Look for low error margins (±0.02g in our ultra-fast models) and regular calibration features to maintain precision over time.
4. Consider Environmental Factors: In moist or dusty settings, choose IP-rated, corrosion-resistant designs. Our flushable structures simplify maintenance.
5. Integration and Data Management: Ensure compatibility with existing equipment. SameGram systems offer USB/Ethernet connectivity for real-time monitoring and reporting, aiding in OEE improvements.
6. Budget and ROI: Factor in long-term savings from reduced waste. Our customizable solutions, backed by a 12-month warranty and lifetime support, deliver quick ROI through efficiency gains.
7. Regulatory Compliance: Select systems meeting FDA, USDA, or MID standards to avoid fines.
By focusing on these, you'll resolve issues like production delays or non-compliance, as seen in our over 5,000 success stories.
Case Studies: Proven Success in Action
In the cosmetics industry, a company specializing in skincare product development, production, and sales integrated a SameGram checkweigher suited to their line. After filling and sealing, products like creams and lotions are conveyed to the weighing zone. The system's sensors activate instantly to measure weight and relay data to the controller. Qualified items proceed, while deviations trigger alerts and automatic rejection, ensuring only compliant products advance. Beyond detection, SameGram's system excels in data logging and analysis, recording weights in real-time and generating reports for deeper insights into line performance. This enables proactive issue resolution, process optimization, and improved efficiency and uniformity.
By adopting SameGram's checkweigher, this cosmetics firm not only safeguarded product quality and safety but also elevated production management, gaining a competitive edge in the market.
Why Choose SameGram for Your Checkweigher Needs?
With our commitment to innovation and customer success, SameGram stands out as your trusted partner. Our factory's rigorous quality controls— including IQC, PQC, and FAT—ensure every unit is reliable. Visit our product list or contact us.
Ready to optimize your line? Reach out today for a customized consultation and elevate your production standards.
