{"id":39453,"date":"2026-09-18T14:41:25","date_gmt":"2026-09-18T05:41:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/monovate.net\/en\/thousands-of-ladle-pours-a-day-how-one-custom-tank-ended-a-chemical-makers-tendonitis-risk\/"},"modified":"2026-09-18T14:41:25","modified_gmt":"2026-09-18T05:41:25","slug":"thousands-of-ladle-pours-a-day-how-one-custom-tank-ended-a-chemical-makers-tendonitis-risk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/monovate.net\/en\/thousands-of-ladle-pours-a-day-how-one-custom-tank-ended-a-chemical-makers-tendonitis-risk\/","title":{"rendered":"Thousands of Ladle Pours a Day: How One Custom Tank Ended a Chemical Maker’s Tendonitis Risk"},"content":{"rendered":"

Case study: Load-cell filling and filtration unit<\/em><\/p>\n

Challenge<\/h2>\n

Filling bottles by hand with a ladle, thousands of times a day, had created a serious tendonitis risk \u2014 and because the work demanded real physical strength, it was limited to male staff only.<\/p>\n

Solution<\/h2>\n

A custom-built tank consolidating filtration and filling into one unit. Two rounds of pre-installation testing confirmed it could handle their viscous liquid reliably before committing.<\/p>\n

Result<\/h2>\n

Staff are now completely free of the tendonitis risk that came with the old process, and running filling, labeling, and packing in parallel has driven a major jump in production efficiency. The change has also opened this work to a much wider range of staff, and the company is now planning to expand the setup in stages.<\/p>\n

Customer profile:<\/strong> Kurita Chemical Laboratory Co., Ltd., a specialist manufacturer of photosensitive chemicals for screen printing plates. Founded in 1951, the company produces high-quality photosensitive chemicals, supplying customers in Japan and overseas from its base in Itabashi, Tokyo, and holds ISO 9001 certification for its quality management system.<\/p>\n

Three Years of Searching, and Finding MONOVATE<\/h2>\n

The physical toll of manual work had been a company-wide concern for some time, and the search for equipment that could automate it had been underway in earnest for three years. The company had previously purchased stainless vessels from MONOVATE, and knew from MONOVATE’s website and newsletter that custom, made-to-order equipment was also an option. Seeing an article in that newsletter about a load-cell unit \u2014 a device that automatically measures weight \u2014 sparked the thought: “this might actually work,” and they reached out.<\/p>\n

\"The
The load-cell unit that was installed<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Before committing, they ran two rounds of pre-installation testing. The first, using plain water, went well; the second used a liquid closer in viscosity to their actual material. That second test confirmed it would genuinely work, which brought real peace of mind. Working through additional customization requests along the way, and confirming there were no technical roadblocks, is what led to the final decision to install it.<\/p>\n

\"Load
Calibrating the load cell<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Thousands of Ladle Pours a Day, and the Tendonitis Risk Behind Them<\/h2>\n

Before installing this equipment, staff used a ladle to hand-fill bottles with photosensitive emulsion \u2014 a chemical used in screen printing plates \u2014 from larger containers. Weighing out the heavy raw material containers by hand was part of the job too, and it was genuinely tough physical work. Filtering the photosensitive emulsion was also done manually, so the company had been looking for equipment that could cover this entire sequence in one unit.<\/p>\n

\"The
The installed load-cell unit includes built-in filtration, drawing liquid in by creating a vacuum inside the tank<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ladling this liquid thousands of times a day, day after day, was genuinely hard on staff, and the tendonitis risk that came with it was the main reason they started looking for a better approach. Photosensitive emulsion has a viscosity similar to wood glue. It was poured straight from the ladle into containers with no funnel, a technique that took real skill \u2014 anyone less experienced would end up with the liquid running down the outside of the container.<\/p>\n

Because of how physically demanding the work is, it had been handled exclusively by male staff. With this new equipment in place, female staff will be able to take on the work too \u2014 a change that should help further with both efficiency and consistency.<\/p>\n

\"Photosensitive
The photosensitive emulsion raw material<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Parallel Workflows, and a Better Work Environment<\/h2>\n

A motorized two-way ball valve, controlled by preset weight targets, automatically stops filling once the target weight is reached, removing the need for a staff member to watch it constantly. The load cell detects weight in real time, and the valve closes automatically once the target is hit.<\/p>\n

That frees staff to handle labeling and packing at the same time, which should meaningfully improve overall efficiency. Currently, the process runs sequentially \u2014 filling, then labeling, then packing, one step fully finishing before the next begins. With this equipment, staff can instead set up bottles for filling, label the ones that just finished, and set up the next round of bottles, all running in parallel.<\/p>\n

Pump-based filling was considered too, but pump cleaning is a real hassle \u2014 so the final design instead uses gravity for natural filling, with pressure inside the tank raised as needed to push the liquid through.<\/p>\n

\"Filling
Filling controlled automatically by the motorized two-way ball valve<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Expanding in Stages<\/h2>\n

One unit alone doesn’t cover everything yet \u2014 if this one performs well, a second unit is already planned. Because different products still need to run in parallel, some manual work remains under the current setup, but success here would lead directly to adding another unit.<\/p>\n

This is very much a first-generation model. The plan is to watch how it performs, then refine and improve on it with a second-generation version down the line.<\/p>\n

A note on measurement regulations:<\/strong> Under Japan’s Measurement Act, the load-cell unit installed in this case cannot be used as final filling equipment. This equipment was installed specifically to reduce the manual labor involved in sub-dividing product, and Kurita Chemical Laboratory separately confirms final weight using certified weighing equipment after filling. Confirming final product weight always requires the appropriate certified measurement equipment.<\/p>\n

\n

From the sales team: From the initial inquiry a few years back, through an introduction to the load-cell unit at a trade show, we spent real time working through the specification together to arrive at the right product. Combining load-cell weighing with vacuum filtration in one unit made this a technically demanding build, and we’re glad we could deliver something the customer is genuinely satisfied with.<\/em><\/p>\n

Editor’s note: This interview left us genuinely impressed by how seriously the team approached improving their own floor. Hearing about three years of searching for the right equipment, and a perspective that puts worker health first, was a reminder to keep bringing our best proposals forward. Our sincere thanks to Kurita Chemical Laboratory for the time and the detailed look at their operation.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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