Hanging line with smoking rod length measurement

A system for producing sausage-shaped products, like sausages, containing a flowable filling material in a tubular or bag-shaped packaging casing and a suspension element such as a suspension loop, and for loading the produced sausage-shaped products on rod-like elements such as smoking rods, each rod-like element having a length defined between a first end and a second end;

• the system comprising:
• a clipping machine configured to produce the sausage-shaped products;
• a hanging line configured to load the produced sausage-shaped products on the rod-like elements;
• and
• a control unit controlling the operation of the clipping machine and the hanging line;
• wherein the hanging line comprises:
• a first support element configured to receive the first end of one of the rod-like elements and a second support element configured to receive the second end of the one of the rod-like elements, the first and second support elements defining a measuring position;
• and
• a third support element configured to receive the first end of the one of the rod-like elements and a fourth support element configured to receive the second end of the one of the rod-like elements, the third and fourth support elements defining a loading position for loading the produced sausage-shaped products on the rod-like elements;
• a sensor device arranged at the measuring position and configured to measure the length of the one of the rod-like elements placed in the measuring position;
• wherein the control unit is configured to compare the length with a desired length and to determine whether the length is within a tolerance range of the desired length, and wherein the control unit further causes the hanging line to load a predetermined number of sausage-shaped products on the one of the rod-like elements if the length is within the tolerance range, and causes discarding the one of the rod-like elements if the length is not within the tolerance range.