A granulate silo is the most valuable store in the plant, and its contents are usually known "roughly". DeltaSil measures the mass of raw material directly on the silo legs — no crane, no emptying, no line stoppage. You know what you have, how much actually came off the bulk tanker, and when you will really run out.
The arithmetic
A full granulate silo typically represents a substantial share of the plant's working capital. In the finished goods warehouse every pallet is scanned and counted. In the silo there is a level sensor and the shift supervisor's experience.
A level sensor measures the height of the column, not mass. To get kilograms you multiply volume by an assumed bulk density — and that depends on the grade, pellet shape, regrind content and aeration after pneumatic conveying. When the material changes, the assumption stops fitting, and nobody updates the conversion factor.
DeltaSil measures the force with which the silo presses on its own legs. Aeration, angle of repose and dust build-up on the walls do not affect the measurement, because we do not calculate volume.
How it works
Eight strain sensors bolted to the supports, in four independent channels — every leg measured separately. No welding, no crane.
Five PT100 sensors: one at each leg plus an ambient reference in the shade. Outdoor silos heat unevenly — the system corrects each support separately.
Current contents of every silo, the increase during bulk tanker discharge and the rate at which material goes to production. All with date and time.
Every confirmed delivery corrects the calibration factor. No test weights, no periodic calibration service.
What you get
Actual mass in every silo, in kilograms, on screen. No converting level through a density figure that dates back two grades of material.
Mass increase during discharge versus the declared figure. It does not replace a legal-for-trade instrument, but it shows the discrepancy immediately — before the material blends into stock.
Real loss of mass over time instead of a standard consumption figure. Margin calculations rest on a measurement, not on what theoretically should have been used.
A forecast built from the real consumption rate: when you run out and when you must order at the latest. An hour of downtime on a moulding machine costs more than a month of subscription.
Plainly
| Situation | What we recommend |
|---|---|
| You work only with octabins and big bags, with no outdoor silos | Our system does not apply — we measure silos resting on steel legs. We will say so on the first call. |
| You are erecting a new silo | Classic load cell modules under the legs, designed in from the start. They are more accurate and cheaper, and on a new structure there is no reason to avoid them. |
| A small silo that can be emptied and lifted | Off-the-shelf load cell sets from the weighing market. The price difference is significant and the result comparable. |
| The silo stands, is full and works; the material is expensive; downtime costs money | That is us. A retrofit with no crane, no emptying and no downtime — exactly what it was built for. |
The questions we get most often
No. The sensors are bolted to the legs of a standing, full silo — the line keeps running. Installation typically takes one day per silo, including commissioning and operator training.
No, and that is a deliberate design decision. The system has its own controller and screen and does not touch machine or pneumatic conveying control. Maintenance does not have to approve anything or take responsibility for foreign code in their installation. Data can be exposed externally if you want to pull it into ERP.
A level sensor measures the height of the material column. Converting that to kilograms requires an assumed bulk density, which shifts with the grade of granulate, pellet shape, regrind content and aeration after pneumatic conveying. We measure the force on the legs, which is mass directly — no density assumption is needed at all.
The design target is ±1–2% on a single operation (tanker discharge, a defined production period), achieved through differential measurement and continuous self-calibration. We do not quote field figures today, because the first reference installation is planned for winter 2026/27 — we will publish it as a case study with actual measurements, not as a promise.
The system is not a legal-for-trade instrument and does not replace commercial documents. It does give you hard evidence that the mass increase differs from the declared figure — a basis for checking and for a conversation with the supplier.
No. The controller and screen are shared across the plant — each additional silo needs only its sensors and measuring channels. That is why the second and third silo cost significantly less than the first.
We measure each leg separately, in four independent channels. In a typical summing arrangement a failed sensor simply under-reads and nobody finds out. Here the system shows which leg deviates from the others — and under the DeltaSil Care subscription the alert reaches us first.
Same system, other silos
DeltaSil works on any silo standing on steel legs — the hardware is the same, only the reason for measuring changes.
A 20-minute site survey: we check leg profiles, cable routes and where the screen goes, then you get a firm quotation — or an honest answer that it would not pay off for you. We demonstrate the system on a tablet, even with no hardware installed.
contact@deltasil.eu +48 600 225 995