Why the Grain & Food/Beverage Industry Needs the SLDL53 3D Radar Level Scanner

SOLIDAT · SLDL53 3D Radar Level Scanner | Industry Application Series 5

Solution overview: The SLDL53 3D Radar Level Scanner - also referred to as a 3D Radar Level Meter, Radar Level Scanner or 3D Level Scanner - is both a bulk solids level sensor and a bulk solids volume measurement system that forms a silo inventory monitoring system. Using non-contact 3D level measurement, it performs 3D material surface mapping and 3D radar volume measurement across the whole surface and provides average/minimum/maximum level monitoring; it delivers reliable level measurement in dusty silos, supports silo wall build-up monitoring and silo bridging and ratholing monitoring, scales across multiple silos and yards with multi-scanner data fusion, and through ERP integration for silo inventory feeds a silo digital twin and smart inventory management.

From grain reserves, vegetable-oil crushing, flour and bakery, sugar refining to brewing, the food and beverage industry stores large quantities of bulk agricultural products and ingredients - wheat, corn, rice, soybeans, oilseeds, flour, sugar and malt. These materials concern food security, book-to-physical reconciliation and food safety, with vast numbers of concrete silos, steel silos and finished-product bins. Inventory has long relied on labor - slow and unable to reflect the true surface. The SLDL53 3D radar level meter is a hygienic bulk-solids level sensor providing non-contact 3D level measurement for grain silo inventory monitoring and grain silo 3D inventory.

Fig.1  Grain processing - raw, process and finished silos throughout receiving, storage and processing

1. Measurement Pain Points in Grain and Food Silos

• Food security requires book-to-physical accuracy: Reserve-grain rotation and trade settlement demand accurate inventory; manual clearing and taping are slow and error-prone.
• Off-center, segregated, bridged surfaces: Filling forms a cone and automatic segregation, while discharge causes off-centering, bridging and wall build-up that single-point gauges cannot capture - hence silo bridging and ratholing monitoring.
• High dust and hygiene requirements: Flour and sugar dust is heavy, and food-grade applications demand clean, non-contact, contamination-free equipment.
• Many silo types and large numbers: Concrete silos, shallow circular silos, steel silos and proportioning bins coexist, requiring per-silo metering and centralized monitoring in a silo inventory monitoring system.

Fig.2  Twin galvanized grain steel silos - large-diameter grain silos need 3D volume inventory

Fig.3  3D material surface mapping and point-cloud inventory model generated in SoltaView (non-contact whole-surface scanning).

2. Targeted Capabilities of the SLDL53

• Non-contact, contamination-free: Roof-mounted without touching the grain, with PTFE+PEEK antenna and no moving parts, meeting food hygiene and low-maintenance requirements.
• Whole-silo 3D imaging: 360 deg scanning reconstructs the grain cone, off-centering and side-wall build-up, outputting average/minimum/maximum level monitoring and volume/weight through 3D material surface mapping.
• Stable in dust: The terahertz wave penetrates flour and sugar dust without losing signal during filling - reliable level measurement in dusty silos.
• Automatic inventory calculation: Volume x bulk density outputs grain weight and automatically generates ledgers and reports for traceability and smart inventory management.
• Centralized multi-silo monitoring: The SLDL53-20 networks up to 255 units with multi-scanner data fusion for a "single view" of the entire grain depot or plant.

Fig.4  Flour-mill silo battery - stable measurement in dusty flour/sugar conditions

Fig.5  Vegetable-oil processing - sunflower, palm, sesame, rapeseed, peanut and soybean seed silos

3. Coverage of Food & Beverage Sub-Sectors

• Sugar: Inventory metering of beet, lime and finished-sugar raw, process and product silos - sugar storage level and volume measurement.
• Brewing: Level and inventory of raw grain, malt and finished storage silos to ensure continuous mashing and brewing supply.
• Bakery/flour: Dusty measurement of flour, sugar and mix finished bins and mixer process bins - flour mill silo level and inventory monitoring.
• Vegetable oil / feed: Oilseed, husk silos and feed mill silo inventory monitoring.

Fig.6  Sugar processing - raw, process and finished-sugar silos

Fig.7  Brewing - raw-material, conversion and finished-storage silos

4. Software, Integration and Selection

SoltaView provides 3D grain-pile imaging, inventory/weight, historical trends, centralized multi-silo monitoring, integrated temperature/humidity management and reports/alarms. It supports Modbus, TCP/IP, AUTBUS and Ethernet-APL, and connects to grain-depot informatization, smart grain systems and enterprise ERP for ERP integration of silo inventory, achieving "one file per silo, book-to-physical consistency" and a silo digital twin.

Fig.8  SLDL53-10 radar head and controller - non-contact with no material contamination, suited to food applications

5. Model Selection

Model	Key Features	Range / Scan	Typical Applications
SLDL53-10	Soltascan3D single head, 120-140GHz terahertz, point cloud + AI 3D modeling	120 m, 360 deg H / 110 deg V	Single / standard silos, bins & hoppers
SLDL53-20	Multi-head data fusion, up to 255 units networked, 5G/AUTBUS	120 m, scalable stitching	Large silo farms, multi-silo monitoring
SLDL53-30	6-radar parallel fast scanning, rapid inventory	300 m	Large open / circular stockyards, coal yards
SLDL53-40	Phased-array 3D radar, optional ceramic antenna, heavy dust	120 m, 90 deg V	Heavy-dust, severe-service silos
SLDL53-60	Sonic3DScan ultrasonic 3D, corrosive / foam media	Per application	Special media, ultrasonic-suited cases
SLDL53-70	Laserscan laser stockpile scanner, high-density point cloud	Large stockpiles	Coal/material inventory, stacker-reclaimer automation
SLDL53-80	StrlightScan conveyor belt 3D inspection	Online	Flow/volume/foreign object/belt misalignment/tear

Recommendation: SLDL53-10 for concrete/steel/finished silos; SLDL53-20 network for large shallow circular silos and silo farms; SLDL53-30 /70 for large grain-logistics yards; SLDL53-80 for conveying and truck loading.

About SOLIDAT

SOLIDAT Applied Technologies, a member of the SOLIDAT group, was founded in 1981, initially providing radar and vibration-analysis technology for the aerospace industry. In 1996 it acquired SOLID Scientific Research & Development, gaining advanced ultrasonic and sonar technology together with the MonoScan and SMARTSCAN trademarks; in 1999 it acquired SOLTA Advanced Technologies, gaining advanced radar technology and the SOLTASCAN trademark. After more than four decades, SOLIDAT has become a globally recognized high-technology intelligent-instrument group at the forefront of radar, ultrasonic, sonar and electromagnetic sensing.

The SLDL53 Soltascan3D 3D Radar Level Scanner is a bulk-solids level sensor and bulk-solids volume measurement system, widely applied in power, metallurgy, cement & building materials, coal & mining, grain & food, petrochemical & plastics, pulp & paper and biomass industries, forming a silo inventory monitoring system that delivers a "transparent silo, smart inventory and unattended operation".

Website: www.solidat.net  |  China Office: +86-10-86468485

Send us your silo dimensions, material, range and communication requirements; SOLIDAT engineers will provide a selection proposal and instrument layout drawing.