All types of liquids, powders, pellets, slurries and other materials are handled in a wide variety of different types of cans, buckets, pails, drums, tanks and other types of containers. Traditionally, these have been filled by hand. Liquids are often dispensed by a manually operated pump or gravity fed valve. Other types of materials may also be gravity fed, or filled by use of a conveyor or other type of device. In all of these cases, the accuracy of filling is dependent on the operator. Of course, it is also labor intensive, as the operator is needed at all times to monitor the filling process. Industrial scales are perfect for monitoring the filling process. A bench scale is used to keep track of the weight during the filling process for smaller [+]

Millions of drums are filled with thousands of different types of materials. Almost every industry uses 55 gallon drums to store and transport liquids, slurries and powders. This includes the food industry for storage of ingredients and finished products. The pharmaceutical industry uses drums of materials throughout their operations. Almost any commercial or industrial facility can store cleaning materials, waxes and other products in these drums. Inks and varnishes are available in drums for the printing industry. Of course the chemical industry is a prime producer and consumer of materials in drums.

All of the drums must at some time, of course, be filled. An operator at the filling location may simply use a valve to fill the drum for a fixed period of time. This may not be very [+]