Pig Feed Bagging Machine in Russia

Why the Cooperative Replaced Manual Bagging

The central mill buys feed ingredients, manufactures compound pig feed and distributes finished products to member farms. Because feed is transferred between the cooperative and individual members by weight, the packing section needs repeatable weighing as well as sufficient throughput. Manual filling followed by adjustment on a separate platform scale introduced unnecessary handling and made it difficult to maintain the same weighing procedure throughout a long production shift.

The project therefore focused on automating one defined operation: dosing a preset amount of dry pelleted pig feed into each bag. The existing feed production system, finished-product bins, sewing operation and warehouse handling could remain in use where their capacities matched the new bagger. Installing a standalone machine allowed the cooperative to improve the weighing and filling stage without replacing functional equipment elsewhere in the plant.

DCS-50K Capacity for 25 kg and 40 kg Pig Feed Bags

The tonnes-per-hour figures need to be read together with bag weight. The DCS-50K does not suddenly become a mechanically larger machine when switching from 25 kg to 40 kg bags; the higher T/H figure results because every completed filling cycle contains more product. For the customer, bags per minute, tonnes per hour and the capacity of the downstream sewing and palletizing stations therefore have to be considered together.

How 5–6 Bags Per Minute Fits an 18,000 T/Y Feed Mill

The cooperative uses both bag formats rather than packing every tonne into one size. If approximately 70% of the annual feed volume is distributed in 25 kg bags and 30% in 40 kg bags, 18,000 tonnes would correspond to roughly 504,000 twenty-five-kilogram bags and 135,000 forty-kilogram bags, or about 639,000 bags per year in total.

At a machine filling rate of 5–6 bags per minute, that quantity represents approximately 1,775–2,130 theoretical filling hours per year. Across 300 operating days, the average is roughly 6–7 effective bagging hours per day. This calculation shows why the selected machine can match the scale of the cooperative without claiming that every 18,000 tonnes must pass through the machine at one fixed T/H rate.

Actual packaging time will be longer if operators pause for bag changes, product changeovers, cleaning, calibration checks or pallet handling. The complete line can also run more slowly than the filler if sewing or manual bag placement cannot sustain 5–6 cycles per minute. RICHI therefore evaluates both the weighing machine and the surrounding packaging workflow.

Why Gravity Feeding Fits Dry Pig Feed Pellets

The cooperative's packaged products are dry compound pig feed pellets rather than mash feed or fine premix powder. Properly cooled and screened pellets have relatively stable bulk density and flow readily from the finished-product bin, making gravity feeding an appropriate configuration. Product falls from the hopper into the weighing section without requiring an auger to force poorly flowing powder toward the scale.

The feed mill manufactures products for different stages of pig production, so pellet diameter can vary from smaller piglet products to approximately 4–5 mm grower, finisher and sow feeds. The DCS-50K does not need a different feeding principle for each of these normal pellet sizes as long as the product remains sufficiently dry and free-flowing.

Gravity feeding should not be presented as the best solution for every pig feed. If another mill packages oily mash, cohesive powder or a product with poor flow characteristics, RICHI would reassess the feeder type. The reason the DCS-50K works for this project is the physical behavior of the customer's finished pellets, not simply the fact that the product is pig feed.

Weight Accuracy and Routine Check Weighing

The approximately ±0.2% dynamic accuracy is a reference performance specification, not a promise that every 25 kg bag will always differ by no more than exactly 50 g. Feed bulk density, material flow, weighing cut-off, vibration, air pressure and scale calibration all influence real operation. The bagging station therefore needs a verification procedure even after the automatic filler has been installed.

For a 25 kg production run, the operator selects the corresponding target and verifies representative filled bags using an appropriate check scale. When switching to 40 kg bags, the target, bag clamp position and associated settings are checked again. Recalibration is performed when verification indicates drift rather than assuming that every product or bag-size change automatically requires the same fixed five-minute calibration procedure.

This is particularly important in a cooperative environment. Consistent weight control depends on both the machine and the plant's quality procedure. The digital weighing controller gives the operator immediate information during filling, while independent check weighing provides confirmation that the complete system remains within the plant's required tolerance.

What Pig Feed the Belgorod Mill Packages

The feed mill produces compound feeds for piglets, growers, finishers and breeding sows. Formulations change according to production stage rather than following one permanent percentage recipe. Wheat, barley and corn can provide cereal energy, while soybean meal, sunflower meal and other protein ingredients are selected according to nutrition requirements, availability and price. Minerals, vitamins, amino acids and other micro-ingredients are added through the feed mill's formulation system.

This raw-material pattern is realistic for Belgorod because the region combines intensive livestock production with substantial crop production. For the bagging machine, however, the important parameter is the condition of the finished product rather than the precise formulation upstream. Pellets should leave the cooler and screener in a stable, free-flowing condition before entering the finished-feed bin above the DCS-50K.

Excessive fines affect gravity flow and can increase dust at the filling spout. Pellets that are still hot or contain unstable moisture should not be sent directly into bags simply because the filler has enough capacity. Cooling and screening therefore remain essential upstream operations even though they are not part of the DCS-50K itself.

Bagging Speed Depends on the Entire Packaging Section

The reference 5–6 bags per minute describes the filling capability under suitable operating conditions. A complete packaging line also includes empty-bag placement, clamping, weighing, discharge, bag release, conveying, sewing and pallet handling. If any one of these stages cannot keep up, the real line capacity drops below the nominal filler rate.

This point is especially important for 40 kg bags. Although 5–6 bags per minute mathematically represents 12–14.4 T/H, manual handling of that many 40 kg bags would create a much more demanding downstream workflow than the same cycle rate with smaller bags. The cooperative therefore needs enough conveyor length and a realistic labor or palletizing arrangement rather than treating the theoretical filling rate as the guaranteed finished-pallet throughput.

RICHI reviews the discharge elevation and sewing-machine interface when integrating the bagger into the existing workshop. The objective is a continuous path from the finished-feed bin to the closed bag without requiring workers to repeatedly lift or reweigh filled sacks between separate stations.

Dust, Pneumatics and Cold-Climate Operation

Pelleted pig feed produces less airborne powder than fine mash, but fines are still released when material falls through the filling spout and when filled bags are moved. The bagging station therefore benefits from enclosed transfer and local dust extraction where the plant layout permits. Keeping the scale and surrounding structure clean also reduces the chance that accumulated material interferes with moving parts or routine inspection.

The DCS-50K uses pneumatic components for functions such as bag clamping, so the installation requires a stable supply of clean, dry compressed air at the pressure specified for the supplied system. Moisture in compressed air is undesirable in any climate and becomes particularly important in cold regions because condensate can create pneumatic problems if the air system or workshop is allowed to fall outside its intended operating conditions.

The Belgorod climate does not mean the machine should simply be described as guaranteed to work at −20°C. Industrial weighing and pneumatic equipment should preferably operate inside a controlled feed-mill environment within the specified temperature range. Electrical cabinets, load cells, pneumatic lines and elastomer components all need to be protected from extreme conditions rather than relying on unverified claims about special winter rubber compounds.

Sewn Bags and Changeover Between 25 kg and 40 kg

The cooperative retained sewn-mouth packaging rather than adding a heat-sealing system that was unnecessary for its selected bags. After filling, each bag moves to the existing sewing station and then to the pallet-handling area. The exact bag material and liner specification are selected according to the cooperative's packaging requirements; sewing is a closure method, not proof that every Russian pig feed producer uses the same type of paper sack.

Changing between 25 kg and 40 kg production involves more than entering a new number on the controller. Operators need to confirm the correct target weight, ensure the bag fits the clamp and filling spout properly, check the product recipe if the feed type also changes and verify filled bags after startup. This procedure protects weighing performance without creating an unnecessary claim that the entire machine must be mechanically recalibrated for every changeover.

Shipping from Qingdao to Novorossiysk

The DCS-50K Pig Feed Bagging Machine in Russia was prepared for export from Qingdao, China, with Novorossiysk used as the Russian destination seaport before inland movement toward the Belgorod region. Actual ocean routing can involve carrier-specific transshipment arrangements, so the project does not rely on one fixed sailing time or claim that Qingdao-to-Novorossiysk is always a direct service.

Before shipment, RICHI confirms the packaging machine dimensions, finished-feed-bin interface, required installation height, electrical conditions, compressed-air connection, conveyor position and sewing-machine arrangement. These details matter because the DCS-50K is being inserted into an operating feed mill rather than supplied as part of a completely new turnkey plant.

What a Pig Feed Mill Should Confirm Before Choosing a Bagger

• Product form: Dry pellets, mash and fine powder do not necessarily require the same feeding mechanism.
• Bag weights: This project uses 25 kg and 40 kg bags, which create different T/H at the same bags-per-minute rate.
• Required speed: The DCS-50K provides a reference 5–6 bags/min for suitable material and operating conditions.
• Weight accuracy: Reference dynamic accuracy is approximately ±0.2%, equal to about ±50 g at 25 kg and ±80 g at 40 kg.
• Annual bagged tonnage: Selection should use the tonnes actually packed in bags, not automatically the entire feed-mill capacity.
• Downstream handling: Sewing, conveyors and palletizing must support the selected filling rate.
• Utilities: Electrical supply and clean, dry compressed air must match the delivered machine specification.

Pig Feed Bagging Machine in Russia for an 18,000 T/Y Cooperative Mill

This Pig Feed Bagging Machine in Russia project uses one RICHI DCS-50K gravity-fed weighing and filling machine at a cooperative feed mill in the Belgorod region. The plant manufactures approximately 18,000 tonnes of compound pig feed annually and packages dry pellets primarily in 25 kg and 40 kg sewn bags. The selected machine provides a clear reference capacity of approximately 5–6 bags per minute, corresponding to 7.5–9 T/H at 25 kg per bag and 12–14.4 T/H at 40 kg per bag before downstream line limitations are considered.

The reference dynamic weighing accuracy is approximately ±0.2%. For the two project bag sizes, that corresponds to approximately ±50 g and ±80 g respectively. These figures are used as equipment references rather than substituted with unverified claims of ±10 g or ±20 g actual plant performance. Routine check weighing remains part of the operating procedure.

For another pig feed mill evaluating a bagging machine, RICHI Machinery needs the finished product form, pellet or mash characteristics, bulk density, moisture, required bag sizes, bags per minute, annual bagged tonnage, existing finished-feed bin, available installation height, compressed-air conditions, bag material, closing method, conveyor arrangement and palletizing method. These parameters determine whether the DCS-50K gravity-fed configuration matches the project or whether another feeding and weighing system is more appropriate.