Two stations on one base
A stainless bench on castors carrying two independent stations. On the left a funnel hopper sits above a down-filling nozzle, with the pail standing on a weighing platform. On the right a vertical pneumatic cylinder carries a circular head with a polyurethane pad, and a handwheel on a threaded column sets its height.
The first station fills by weight. The second presses the lid on. Between them they do the whole job for a pail line, and only one of the two is mentioned in the title.
| Image | What it shows |
|---|---|
| 1 | The machine, three-quarter view, pail on the platform |
| 2 | Lid press close-up with the handwheel adjuster |
| 3 | The whole machine on its castors, in a factory |
| 4 | Four application categories: industrial, paint, solvent, ink |
| 5 | A caliper on a sheet edge reading 3.01 mm |
| 6 | A shelf of sample pails and tins |
| 7 | A roller platform, captioned Toledo weighing sensor |
| 8 | Assembly floor and a drum storage area |
There is no specification table anywhere in the eight images, no readable nameplate, no model plate and no dimensions. What follows is built from what the photographs do show, from the arithmetic that the published claims imply, and from the manufacturer's own manual where a part is named.
The lid press the title leaves out
The title calls this a filling machine. The second station is a press, and for anyone filling pails it is the more interesting half, because closing a 20 L pail by hand all day is the part operators resent.
The design is straightforward: a cylinder pushes a disc down onto the lid, and a handwheel on a screw adjusts the head height so the same machine can close a shallow 5 L pail and a tall 20 L one. The green pad spreads the load and takes up the angle.
Force follows from bore and pressure, at 6 bar gauge:
| Bore | Force at 6 bar | In kilograms force |
|---|---|---|
| 32 mm | 483 N | 49 |
| 40 mm | 754 N | 77 |
| 50 mm | 1,178 N | 120 |
| 63 mm | 1,870 N | 191 |
| 80 mm | 3,016 N | 308 |
A 40 mm bore gives about 77 kilograms of force, which is comfortably more than a friction lid needs, and a 63 mm bore gives 191 kilograms, which is more than enough to distort a thin pail. The bore is not published, and neither is the working pressure, so the actual figure is unknown.
Air consumption is not the constraint. A 50 mm bore with a 100 mm stroke displaces about 196 cubic centimetres per stroke, which is roughly 1.4 litres of free air at 6 bar. Two strokes per pail at 120 pails an hour comes to about 330 litres an hour, under 10 litres a minute, which any workshop compressor covers.
A pail weighs more than its contents
The load cell sees gross weight, not net. For paint at 1.2 to 1.5 kilograms per litre:
| Density | 5 L net | 20 L net |
|---|---|---|
| 1.00 kg per litre | 5.0 kg | 20.0 kg |
| 1.20 | 6.0 kg | 24.0 kg |
| 1.35 | 6.8 kg | 27.0 kg |
| 1.50 | 7.5 kg | 30.0 kg |
Add the container. A 20 L steel pail runs about 1.3 kilograms, so a full 20 L pail of 1.5 density paint arrives at roughly 31 kilograms gross. A 5 L plastic pail adds about 0.45 kilograms, giving about 8 kilograms gross.
That matters because a cell sized for the largest pail spends most of its life measuring a fraction of its capacity, and resolution is a fraction of capacity rather than of the reading.
Five litres and twenty litres are not the same job
The title offers both sizes. The same absolute tolerance means different things at each:
| Band | On a 5 L fill of 7 kg | On a 20 L fill of 28 kg |
|---|---|---|
| plus or minus 10 g | 0.14 percent | 0.036 percent |
| plus or minus 20 g | 0.29 percent | 0.071 percent |
| plus or minus 50 g | 0.71 percent | 0.18 percent |
| plus or minus 140 g | 2.0 percent | 0.5 percent |
A band of ten grams is 0.14 percent of a 5 L fill and 0.036 percent of a 20 L one. Holding the same number of grams on the small pail is four times harder in relative terms, and a machine that holds a tolerance at 20 L may not hold it at 5 L.
So a quoted accuracy is meaningless without the fill size attached to it. Ask for the figure at both sizes, or ask for it as a percentage.
One division of the load cell
Resolution is capacity divided by divisions, and a cell carries a class that fixes the divisions:
| Cell capacity | C3, 3000 divisions | C6, 6000 divisions |
|---|---|---|
| 20 kg | 6.67 g | 3.33 g |
| 30 kg | 10.00 g | 5.00 g |
| 50 kg | 16.67 g | 8.33 g |
| 100 kg | 33.33 g | 16.67 g |
| 150 kg | 50.00 g | 25.00 g |
Take a 50 kilogram C3 cell, which is a sensible choice for a machine that fills up to 31 kilograms gross. One division is 16.67 grams. A tolerance of plus or minus 10 grams is 0.6 of a division, which the cell cannot resolve at all, and plus or minus 20 grams is 1.2 divisions, which is inside the noise.
At plus or minus 50 grams, three divisions, it becomes workable. At plus or minus 140 grams, which is 0.5 percent of a 28 kilogram fill, it is eight divisions and entirely comfortable.
None of this is a criticism of the machine. It is the reason the load cell capacity has to be matched to the tolerance you actually need, and why a bigger cell is not automatically better: a 150 kilogram cell would put one division at 50 grams and make a tight fill impossible on a 5 L pail.
Toledo is a brand, not a specification
One image is captioned Toledo weighing sensor, which points at Mettler-Toledo, a genuine and well regarded supplier of load cells. That is a meaningful signal about the component, and it is the only component in the machine with a named maker.
It is not a specification. A load cell is defined by its capacity, its accuracy class, its material and its protection rating, and none of those appear. The same brand makes cells from a few kilograms to several tonnes, in aluminium and in stainless steel, in C3 and in C6.
The photograph also shows the cell under a roller platform, while the machine photograph at the top of the gallery shows a plain plate. So at least two platform builds exist and the listing does not say which one ships.
What the Ex box covers, and what it does not
The control enclosure is a cast housing with a bolted cover, marked Ex in red on the face, with a red plate reading to the effect that the cover must not be opened while live. Given that one of the advertised applications is chemical solvents, that marking is the right instinct.
An Ex enclosure is not an Ex machine. Protection has to cover every electrical item in the hazardous area, and this machine has at least three beyond the box:
the load cell sits under the pail, in the filling zone; the solenoid valves that operate the fill valve and the press are electrical and sit on the machine; and any foot switch or start button outside the box is electrical too.
Whether those items are rated is not stated, and the enclosure shows only the letters Ex. A full marking reads as an apparatus group, a temperature class and a protection level, against a certificate number, and it defines the zone the equipment may be installed in. None of that appears anywhere in the eight images.
If you are filling solvent-based paint, this is the first document to ask for, ahead of price. If you are filling water-based emulsion, an Ex box is a bonus rather than a requirement, and the money may be better spent on accuracy.
Gravity or pump
In every photograph the hopper sits directly above the nozzle and the pail stands below it. No pump appears in any of the eight images. That arrangement fills by gravity through a valve.
Gravity is fine for low viscosity material and it is simpler, cheaper and easier to clean than a pump. It is also honest about its limits: flow depends on head and nozzle area, and viscosity eats into both.
The CSY weighing fillers in this catalogue take the other route, with a diaphragm pump in the line, which is what you want for gel and paste. If your product is thixotropic paint, the pump question decides whether 20 litres is practical at all.
Nozzle size against throughput
Throughput sets a flow rate. For a given number of pails an hour:
| Pails per hour | Flow needed at 5 L | Flow needed at 20 L |
|---|---|---|
| 60 | 0.083 L per second | 0.333 L per second |
| 90 | 0.125 | 0.500 |
| 120 | 0.167 | 0.667 |
| 180 | 0.250 | 1.000 |
Now the physical side. Gravity discharge through an orifice follows the square root of head, so for a target flow the nozzle diameter is fixed by how far the surface is above the valve:
| Head above the nozzle | Diameter for 0.667 L per second | Diameter for 1.0 L per second |
|---|---|---|
| 0.3 m | 24.2 mm | 29.6 mm |
| 0.5 m | 21.3 mm | 26.0 mm |
| 0.8 m | 18.9 mm | 23.1 mm |
Those figures assume a discharge coefficient of 0.6, which is reasonable for a short nozzle, and water-like behaviour. Paint at 1.2 to 1.5 kilograms per litre is denser and, more importantly, more viscous, so the real diameter will be larger or the real flow slower.
The practical reading: to fill 20 L pails at 120 an hour by gravity you need a nozzle in the low twenties of millimetres and a healthy head. If the supplier quotes a nozzle well below that, the hourly rate will not be met.
The cycle arithmetic
A semi-automatic machine has three times inside every pail: fill, press, and the operator swapping containers.
Take ten seconds to remove a full pail and place an empty one, four seconds on the press, and a fourteen second fill. That is 28 seconds per pail, or about 128 pails an hour, and that is the ceiling before any interruption.
At 28 kilograms gross per pail, 128 pails an hour is about 3.6 tonnes of product an hour. That is a serious output for one operator and one nozzle, and it is the number to check against your own demand before paying for anything faster.
Where it usually falls short is not the fill. It is the operator waiting, or the lid not seating squarely on a pail that is slightly out of round. Ask how the press handles a pail that is not perfect.
Three point zero one millimetres
One image shows a digital caliper on a sheet edge reading 3.01 millimetres, with the caption claiming the plate is up to that thickness. Three millimetres of stainless is a sensible gauge for a hopper and a machine base: it resists denting, it takes a weld, and it holds its shape under a 31 kilogram pail.
The caption above the photograph, however, talks about spoon products. That wording belongs to a different product line and has been carried into this gallery by mistake. The measurement is real; the claim about which part it belongs to is not established.
Two platform variants in one gallery
The first image shows the pail standing on a plain stainless plate. The Toledo image shows a roller platform with the cell beneath it. Both are described as the weighing station.
They serve different lines. A plain plate suits an operator lifting pails on and off by hand. A roller top suits a conveyor, where pails roll on and roll off and nobody lifts 31 kilograms forty times an hour.
Which one ships is not stated, and it changes both the price and the layout of the line.
What is not published
| What the page should state | What it states |
|---|---|
| Weighing range and minimum graduation | nothing |
| Load cell capacity, class and model | the brand name Toledo, and nothing else |
| Filling accuracy | nothing |
| Filling speed or flow rate | nothing |
| Nozzle diameter | nothing |
| Hopper volume | nothing |
| Machine dimensions and weight | nothing |
| Electrical rating, and whether the load cell is Ex rated | nothing |
| Air pressure and consumption | nothing |
| Material grade for the product path and the seals | nothing |
| Full Ex code, certificate number and zone | only the letters Ex on the box |
| Whether a pump is fitted | no pump appears in any of the eight images |
The machine in the photographs is a real, coherent piece of equipment: a gravity filler with a load cell, a pneumatic lid press with height adjustment, and an Ex-marked control enclosure on castors. None of that is in doubt.
What is missing is every number that would let you specify it, compare it, or hold a supplier to it. This is the same gap as the XSH-2 listing in this catalogue, and the answer is the same: ask for the figures in writing before the order.
What to put in the enquiry
| Question | Why it decides something |
|---|---|
| Load cell capacity, class and model number | Sets the smallest step, and therefore the tightest tolerance the machine can hold |
| Weighing range and display graduation | Decides whether 5 L and 20 L can share one set of parameters |
| Quoted filling accuracy, in grams, and at what fill size | A gram figure means different things at 5 L and 20 L |
| Flow rate in litres per minute, and nozzle diameter | Together these set the achievable hourly rate |
| Is a pump fitted, or is the feed by gravity | Decides whether 20 L of viscous paint is practical |
| Full Ex code, certificate number and the zone the machine is rated for | The box carries Ex and nothing else |
| Is the load cell itself Ex rated, and are the solenoid valves | An Ex enclosure does not make the machine Ex |
| Plain plate or roller platform | Both appear in the gallery |
| Material grade for wetted parts and seal compound | Solvent resistance is not the same as water resistance |
| Machine dimensions, weight and air consumption | Needed to plan the line and the compressor |
Before you order
Decide the tolerance first, in grams and at the smaller of your two fill sizes. That single number sets the load cell capacity, which sets the machine. A supplier who answers the tolerance question with a capacity and a class has understood the job; one who answers with a brand name has not.
Then decide whether you are in a hazardous area. If the answer is yes, the Ex certificate is not a detail to sort out after delivery, it is the thing that decides whether the machine can be installed.
And check the lid. A press that seats a lid squarely on a pail that has been dropped is worth more in a real workshop than a fill tolerance ten grams tighter than anyone asked for.
Frequently asked questions
Does this machine fill and close the pail?
Yes. There are two stations on one base: a gravity filler with a weighing platform, and a pneumatic lid press with a polyurethane pad and a handwheel height adjustment. The title calls it a filling machine and does not mention the press.
What filling accuracy can it hold?
That depends on the load cell, which is not published. A 50 kg C3 cell resolves 16.67 g per division, so a plus or minus 10 g band is inside one division and not achievable, while plus or minus 50 g is three divisions and workable. Ask for the capacity and class.
Why does 5 L matter if the machine also does 20 L?
Because a tolerance in grams is a much larger share of a small fill. Plus or minus 10 g is 0.036 percent of 28 kg but 0.14 percent of 7 kg, four times harder in relative terms. A machine that holds a band at 20 L may not hold it at 5 L.
Is the machine explosion proof?
The control enclosure is Ex marked, but that covers one box. The load cell, the solenoid valves and any external switch also sit in the filling area and their rating is not stated. No full Ex code, certificate number or zone appears, so the machine should not be treated as Ex rated without those documents.
Is there a pump?
No pump appears in any of the eight photographs. The hopper sits directly above the nozzle and the pail stands below, so the feed is by gravity through a valve. That is fine for low viscosity material and marginal for thick paint, which is why the flow rate and nozzle size need to be confirmed.
How many pails an hour can it do?
No figure is published. The arithmetic bounds it: with ten seconds of handling, four seconds of pressing and a fourteen second fill, the cycle is 28 seconds, which is about 128 pails an hour. At 20 L that needs a flow of 0.667 litres per second and a nozzle in the low twenties of millimetres.
What air supply does it need?
The press cylinder is small. A 50 mm bore with a 100 mm stroke uses about 1.4 litres of free air per stroke at 6 bar, so two strokes per pail at 120 pails an hour is about 330 litres an hour, under 10 litres a minute. The working pressure and bore are not published, so confirm both.
What is the Toledo reference worth?
It identifies the load cell brand, which is a genuine quality signal, but says nothing about capacity, class, material or protection rating. The same brand covers a very wide range. Ask for the model number and the calibration certificate.
Key specifications
Frequently asked questions
- Does this machine fill and close the pail?
- Yes. There are two stations on one base: a gravity filler with a weighing platform, and a pneumatic lid press with a polyurethane pad and a handwheel height adjustment. The title calls it a filling machine and does not mention the press.
- What filling accuracy can it hold?
- That depends on the load cell, which is not published. A 50 kg C3 cell resolves 16.67 g per division, so a plus or minus 10 g band is inside one division and not achievable, while plus or minus 50 g is three divisions and workable. Ask for the capacity and class.
- Why does 5 L matter if the machine also does 20 L?
- Because a tolerance in grams is a much larger share of a small fill. Plus or minus 10 g is 0.036 percent of 28 kg but 0.14 percent of 7 kg, four times harder in relative terms. A machine that holds a band at 20 L may not hold it at 5 L.
- Is the machine explosion proof?
- The control enclosure is Ex marked, but that covers one box. The load cell, the solenoid valves and any external switch also sit in the filling area and their rating is not stated. No full Ex code, certificate number or zone appears, so the machine should not be treated as Ex rated without those documents.
- Is there a pump?
- No pump appears in any of the eight photographs. The hopper sits directly above the nozzle and the pail stands below, so the feed is by gravity through a valve. That is fine for low viscosity material and marginal for thick paint, which is why the flow rate and nozzle size need to be confirmed.
- How many pails an hour can it do?
- No figure is published. The arithmetic bounds it: with ten seconds of handling, four seconds of pressing and a fourteen second fill, the cycle is 28 seconds, which is about 128 pails an hour. At 20 L that needs a flow of 0.667 litres per second and a nozzle in the low twenties of millimetres.
- What air supply does it need?
- The press cylinder is small. A 50 mm bore with a 100 mm stroke uses about 1.4 litres of free air per stroke at 6 bar, so two strokes per pail at 120 pails an hour is about 330 litres an hour, under 10 litres a minute. The working pressure and bore are not published, so confirm both.
- What is the Toledo reference worth?
- It identifies the load cell brand, which is a genuine quality signal, but says nothing about capacity, class, material or protection rating. The same brand covers a very wide range. Ask for the model number and the calibration certificate.