Ishida Europe’s newest range of multihead weighers, the RV series, has been independently certified as having a market-leading level of water and dust-ingress protection for its WP waterproof models. This makes them ideal for all types of fresh and frozen-food applications, which require regular wash downs between shifts.
IP rating tests were carried out at a leading UK independent-testing centre, which proved that the Ishida RV’s design and assembly consistently comply with the highest industry standards. These relate to dust and water-ingress resistance, including the most stringent IP-69K test. This means the weighers are more water resistant than ever before, and are suited to applications where equipment has to be thoroughly sanitised.
In addition, the RV-WP range is also certified for IP-6X (dust tight), IP-X5 (protected against water jets), IP-X6 (against powerful water jets) and IP-X7 (protected against temporary immersion).
All tests were in accordance with BS EN 60529:1992 and Ishida believes it is the first company in its sector to have these tests completed and ratings awarded by an official external body.
The RV-WP models incorporate a number of design features to prevent water ingress and facilitate fast and easy cleaning. These include upgraded seal and gasket designs, and enhanced manufacturing assembly processes with increased fixing points for uniformed gasket compression.
The machines also have angled surfaces for rapid wash down and run off (ensuring faster drying times) and reduced crevices in bushings and hoppers, which helps to eliminate bacteria traps. As a result, the weighers offer maximum hygiene while minimising downtime for cleaning.
Ishida Europe’s multihead weigher applications specialist Nigel Smith said: "The successful compliance of these tests strongly demonstrates that our RV-WP specification machines are rigorously engineered for waterproof protection.
"Scrupulous hygiene standards are essential for any fresh or frozen-food operation, but if a weigher is out of service for too long for cleaning, this can have a negative effect on production throughput and targets. Our RV-WP range has therefore not only been designed to be tough enough to handle anything during production, but also to be able to withstand a thorough clean in the fastest possible time."
Launched last summer, the Ishida CCW-RV delivers the best levels of accuracy of any multihead weigher and, in addition to consistent weighing at close-to-zero giveaway, is now some 15% faster than previous ranges.
