What is the Moisture/Hardness Control System (MHCS)?
The MHCS manages the moisture content of the final product by accurately (+/-0.15%) measuring the moisture content of the incoming raw material through the use of our moisture detecting camera. Before the 
incoming raw material is presented to the Pug Mill or other mixing device, an in-line belt scale measures the weight of the raw material and transmits this to the MHCS. The distances to the Belt Scale from the mixer as well as the distance of the Moisture Camera from the mixer are stored in a set-up table. This allows the MHCS to align the moisture content data and weight data in data bundles as the product moves on the belt toward the mixer. The position of each foot of raw material along the belt is known and kept track of for every data package. In the event the belt stops, the MHCS knows where the material is in relation to the mixer until it is eventually processed. In the event of a power outage the UPS will keep the MHCS alive for a period long 
enough to store the positional data of the raw material along the belt and the runtime parameters on its hard drive. Therefore when power returns, the controller can pick up the process where it left off before the outage. Another advantage of the positional tracking is that varying belt speeds and varying weights will not present a problem in metering the final makeup water to the mixer.
The MHCS will calculate the additional required water in order to bring the desired moisture content of the 
raw material up to a set point determined by our customer’s process needs. Water additions, although continuous and steady, are added in metered packets which correspond to data packets along the belt. After the current packet is added to the mixer, the control measures how accurately it did as a feedback mechanism. Any errors in water amounts are either added or subtracted to the next addition packet in order to be continuously correcting and achieving tighter control.