Mill for cryogenic ultrafine grinding
Processors of heat sensitive products such as polymers, elastomers, pharmaceutical products and foodstuffs now have the option for cryogenic ultrafine grinding with a milling system that incorporates the proven capabilities of the Alpine Contraplex 160 C, a contra-rotating pin mill, available from Hosokawa Micron Ltd.
Precrushing energy is reduced as liquid nitrogen causes the feed material to become brittle, allowing the mill to achieve high levels of grinding performance. The cryogenic mode prevents grinding losses and thermal damage to the feed material that would otherwise be caused by the volatisation or overheating of constituent ingredients. In addition, the inert gas atmosphere provides a high degree of safety when grinding flammable and potentially explosive products.
Mill design prevents product deposits and ensures trouble free continuous grinding even on sticky products. The speed of the pin disc on the housing side is 16,500 rpm, with a speed of 12,000 rpm on the door side, giving a relative circumferential speed of 240 m per sec.
Mills operate over a temperature range down to -80°C at mill exit and, dependent on the product, a throughput capacity of between 5 and 150 kg per hr is achievable with a fineness range between 20µm and 80 µm. The mill can also be operated without liquid nitrogen.
The range of contra-rotating Contraplex pin mills includes machine sizes from 160C to 1120CW, suitable for a wide variety of different products.
www.hosokawa.co.uk
Discharger for pneumatic conveying
Fkexicon’s new BFF series bulk bag discharger, for use with inline, pneumatic conveying systems, is designed to eliminate dust during untying, discharging, collapsing, retying and removal of bulk bags while increasing safety and promoting complete discharge of bag contents.
A new bag-to-conveyor interface utilises an upper section containing a Spout-Lock® clamp ring positioned above a pneumatically actuated Tele-Tube® telescoping tube which allows dustight connections between bag spout and hopper, as well as automatic tensioning of the bag as it empties, promoting flow and evacuation. The lower section comprises a small surge hopper that directs material into a pneumatic pick-up adapter with four conveying line connections.
The telescoping tube raises the clamp ring assembly that seals the clean side of the bag spout to the clean side of the telescoping tube then lowers until the bag spout is pulled taut. Once the spout is untied, the telescoping assembly exerts continual downward tension on the spout, elongating the bag as it empties.
Sealing between bag spout and clamp ring allows fully open discharge from bag spouts of all popular diameters, eliminating the valves that are commonly used to lessen the dust escape that can occur when bag spouts hang loosely in hopper intake chutes.
The system is vented to an optional Bag-Vac® dust collection device that collapses empty bags prior to retying and disconnection, eliminating dust emissions.
Options include a Power-Cincher® pneumatically actuated flow control valve, which allows retying of partially empty bags, and Flow-Flexer™ bag activators that raise and lower opposite bottom edges of the bag at timed intervals, loosening compacted materials and promoting material flow into the discharge spout.
BFF units utilise top-mounted receiving cups and removable bag-lifting frames for forklift loading of bulk bags at low cost. Dischargers are also offered with a cantilevered I-beam and electric hoist and trolley to raise and position bulk bags without a forklift. Both Series of dischargers are fitted as standard with patented Z-Clip™ strap holders for rapid, secure insertion and removal of bag straps. Integrated scale systems are also available for direct batching.
www.flexicon.com
Pivot-down fill head design
Flexicon's SWING-DOWN™ bulk bag filler, to be shown at this year’s Interpack exhibition, features a pivot-down fill head that enables operators to connect empty bags at floor level and resume filling operations rapidly. This eliminates the need to climb steps, strain to reach overhead connection points or risk injury, problems that can be associated with conventional bulk bag fillers.
The patent applied for design simultaneously lowers and pivots the fill head, stopping it in a vertically oriented position, placing the bag inlet spout inflatable connection, inflator button and four bag loop latches within arm's length of the operator at floor level.
A remote console or wall-mounted panel houses the controls that raise and pivot the fill head into a locked, horizontal fill position, automatically inflate the bag to remove creases, actuate a flow control valve or feed device and stop the flow of material once a preset fill weight has been reached. Vibratory decks are an option for de-aerating and densifying material in the bag at preset points to create a solid, stable bag for shipment.
Once bags are filled, the controller deflates the spout connection collar, releases the loop latches and raises the fill head to disengage the spout, enabling the bag to exit the filler automatically on a roller conveyor. A novel latch mechanism automatically resets the latch after releasing the bag loops and re-positions it as the fill head pivots into a vertical position, enabling the latch to receive bag loops inserted by an operator and to re-latch automatically, securing the bag.
There is a choice of finishes on the steel structure including stainless steel to meet food, dairy or pharmaceutical standards. Units are offered with material delivery systems integrated with upstream process equipment or other material source.
www.flexicon.co.uk
Even smarter flow meter
K-Tron Feeder Group is offering a new version of its Smart Flow Meter 275, model K-SF275-A. Incorporating the mechanical design of the Smart Flow Meter 350 introduced in 2001, the 275A now uses SFT III, K-Tron's latest generation Smart Force Transducer weighing technology. There are options for installation in hazardous areas to meet the ATEX Directive.
Two capacities are available - Model SFM 275A for flows from 5 - 60 cu m per hr and Model SFM 350 for flows from 10 - 200 cu m per hr, with accuracies of better than +0.5 per cent or +1 per cent depending on the application. Units can be used as a feeder, meter or batcher to measure true mass flow.
Benefits to the user include no moving parts directly exposed to material, no interruption of flow, little or no field calibration, low maintenance and superior accuracy.
The SFM is often used for high rate feeding in resin production and plastics compounding processes, a built-in bypass feature allowing it to be tared at any time during the measuring process. Both models are rated IP 65/NEMA 4 with all stainless steel construction and an access door provided for easy cleaning.
www.ktron.com
Increased range of Alpine wet grinding mills
Hosokawa Micron has increased its range of wet grinding mills with the introduction of the Alpine ANR wet agitated pearl mill, designed for large scale ultrafine wet grinding of medium to hard materials where the downstream process can accept a wet product or when the required product fineness can only be achieved by wet milling techniques.
Used to produce bulk fillers in the 90 per cent, minus 45 micron size range or employed for producing ultrafine powders of approximately 1 micron, the mill has an operating range for feed materials below 100 micron. Normal practice is to feed pre-milled powder from an air classifier mill but the unit will accommodate feed materials up to 500 microns in extreme cases.
During processing, water is metered into the mixing vessel, together with a grinding aid if necessary, generating a slurry which is pumped to an agitated mill feed tank, ensuring that solids stay suspended. From here, material is pumped from the bottom to the top of the ANR, with finely ground product discharged over a weir arrangement, passing through a vibratory sieve to remove any broken grinding media. Finally, finished slurry is pumped to an agitated holding tank.
The Alpine ANR product line includes machines with grinding chamber volumes from 10 to 4000 litres and grinding media typically in the 2 - 4 mm size range. The mill is normally lined with a ceramic material or a hard metal coating and the rotor coated or hardfaced depending on the application. Using the most appropriate selection of grinding media it is possible to ensure production of iron free products.
www.hosokawa.co.uk
M-Type silo provides cost effective solution
Portasilo Bulk Handling Systems has launched the new M-Type silo range, suitable for storing materials with bulk densities up to 1600 kg per cu m. The range offers five size options, providing all the benefits associated with the company’s standard range, but with the added advantage of a more cost effective solution and reduced lead times.
There are two different cone configurations and the location of key components such as inlet pipe, access ladder and filter, together with overall and discharge heights are standardised as each silo has a set specification. This gives five working volumes of 28, 39, 48, 60 and 78 cu m enabling users to easily calculate the required silo size. Ancillary equipment such as filters, pressure relief valves and silo dischargers are available, allowing the silo to be supplied either as a bare shell or fully fitted ready for operation.
www.portasilo.co.uk
Sensor for virtually any detection application
SKOV A/S has launched the DOL 25 series of capacitive proximity sensors, based on microcomputer technology to ensure reliable detection in any environment. The 25 series covers all requirements in terms of housing and electrical and functional qualities, making it possible to meet virtually any detection application.
The sensor is claimed to be 100 per cent temperature-stable and immune to high frequency irradiation, accomplished by an advanced circuit design and a new microcomputer platform. There are four basic types of sensor which can either be connected to a central control unit or directly to a control relay.
Units can be combined in many ways to make up a wide range of variants, and functions include active temperature compensation, dual sensing, built-in max run timer and a switch capacitor detection principle. These features ensure that the sensor exceeds the requirements of the EMC directive and all sensors are CE and C-UL approved and meet ISO 9001:2000 requirements.
The main applications are in the detection of bulk materials and solids and use as empty, full and level indicators in tanks, silos and containers.
nr@skov.dk
Supply chain cuts cost of Dome Valves
Sales of Clyde Materials Handling’s Dome Valves are said to be booming thanks to a new low cost supply chain introduced over the last six months by the company. Orders worth over £250,000 have been received in the last two months.
As a result of a reduction in the valve's production costs, Clyde are passing on savings to customers worldwide through their operations in the UK, US and Brazil as well as their network of agents. Allan Wilkie, support services director, said that with the new supply chain operation in place, Dome Valves were now price competitive with conventional ranges of valves and offered reduced production downtime and greater efficiency than traditional valve designs.
‘This opens up a new market opportunity for the Dome Valve for less arduous applications in the materials handling industry, eg silo/hopper discharge applications. Dome Valves are simple to use and install and have proven reliability and performance when operating in extreme conditions, ensuring that customers come back to us time and again’, he said.
www.clydematerials.co.uk
Quick change/quick clean feeder
The K-Tron Feeder Group has introduced the K-Tron Quick Change/Quick Clean T35/S60 feeder as a multi-purpose feeder designed to handle a range of materials and feed rates. Available in volumetric and gravimetric models, it is designed with the masterbatch industry in mind, allowing users to quickly change from a single screw S60 screw configuration to a twin screw T35 screw configuration, as material needs change.
This makes it suitable for short customised runs and, by utilising the range and feed screw selections of the T35 and the S60 feeder models, the feeder can handle feed rates from 0.12 cubic dm per hr to 4,500 cubic dm per hr depending on material density. The feeder is available with two bowl/screw sets that mount to the same gearbox and can be cleaned and swapped out in minutes. It is easy to disassemble and clean, enabling quick changeover during production while minimising downtime and installation costs.
The Quick Change/Clean (QC) feeder is suitable for applications where one feeder must feed a large variety of products, where a ‘superclean’ regime is required and where product contamination is not allowed. K-Tron says that as the process industries move to more flexible production lines for short, customised runs, flexibility for quick changing and cleaning will become increasingly important.
www.ktron.com
Chronos announce latest 'open' system
Chronos Richardson’s latest control system, the CR 600 XP, is a PC-based system which uses open-system software packages in conjunction with leading brand PLCs to provide Windows-based applications for visualisation, process control, supervisory monitoring and data logging in a real-time environment. Using Microsoft Windows XP Professional operating system, it supports In Touch HMI, SQL Server and Visual Basic software packages as standard, configured to provide users with another valuable tool in the drive for enhanced product quality.
Application knowledge from hundreds of processing applications has enabled Chronos’s development team to equip the system with flexible control architecture to provide standard features such as: materials database and bin material matrix; comprehensive formula storage and sequencing; intake, weighing, mixing and routing control; and real time alarm monitoring and historic process data analysis. Also provided are multiple levels of entry for optimum system security, i.e. name/password for operator, supervisor and engineer. There is a dynamic language selection facility with English, French and German the standard default languages.
Using a web browser, approved access to CR 600 XP’s plant database information can be from anywhere in the world using internet or intranet connections, enabling the visualisation of real time and historical information at the click of a mouse.
www.chronosrichardson.com
Mixer-agglomerator provides crucial balance
The Schugi Flexomix mixer-agglomerator from Hosokawa Micron Ltd is designed to simplify the addition of liquids to powders. Adding liquid to powder involves a crucial balance - too much liquid and the mixture becomes doughy, pasty and sticky and too little will result in a mixture that is unevenly moistened and lumpy.
Moisture correction of wheat flour powder, hydration of polyphosphate, dedusting of potato starch fines, agglomeration of detergent powder or wetting of pesticide formulations prior to extrusion, are all areas where this balance is critical.
Flexomix can simultaneously mix and agglomerate several liquids and solids, producing mixtures or aggregates that exhibit a constant grain structure and homogeneity. The unit consists of a vertical cylindrical chamber which encloses a vertical, fast rotating shaft fitted with several protruding knives. These rotate at speeds that are adjustable between 1000 and 3500 rpm, creating an intensive turbulent stream inside the mixing chamber.
Liquid is introduced into this turbulent area through atomising nozzles mounted in the upper portion of the chamber, just above the upper mixing blades. Powder is fed through top inlets and is brought into the circular flow area, creating what is described as an aero suspension, ensuring that solid particle surfaces are evenly wetted by the dispersion of atomised water. By increasing the amount of liquid, wetted particles will grow in size by clustering together in aero suspension.
If liquid is injected in significant amounts, some products may tend to adhere to the chamber wall. Any build-up is therefore overcome by a flexible mixing chamber which is continuously deformed by rollers moving vertically along the chamber, ensuring that the mixing conditions remain constant. The technology is applicable to a wide range of industries wherever small quantities of liquid are added to powders.
The rehumidification of wheat flour is just one process where the system can be used. Here, wheat flour with say a moisture content of 8 percent is dosed into the mixer at a constant rate with water addition controlled by a dosing pump set at a constant defined rate. The powder dosing system is tailored to meet the properties of the wheat flour feed and the required homogeneity and moisture accuracy of the rehumidifiied product. Variation in water/powder ratio is defined by the accuracy of the dosing system and therefore a gravimetric powder dosing system is used.
Flexomix provides superior dispersion of water, ensuring that the required homogeneity of the end product is achieved. Following mixing and having reached the required end product humidity of say 13 percent, the flour is ready for further processing, storage or packing. During the whole process, a relatively small amount of water is used which means that relatively low amounts of small powder clusters are formed and the humidity of the end product is below the maximum allowed moisture level. Drying of the product is not required.
www.hosokawa.com
Compact and versatile palletiser
The new Okura A700 from Webster Griffin offers a compact and versatile solution to end of line palletising problems, either supplied with pallet conveyors or as a simple low cost standalone module.
Changes to palletising patterns can be achieved quickly and simply through the new OXPA 'Easy-Teach' system, allowing users to adapt much more quickly to changing customer or marketing demands.
Supplied and serviced in the UK by Webster Griffin the A700 is one of a family of palletising robots from Okura which boasts nearly 3000 palletising installations worldwide.
www.okurarobot.co.uk
Repeat order for Dome Valves
Clyde Materials Handling has generated a significant repeat order for its Dome Valves. A client who recently purchased 12 Dome Valves, commissioned the company to manufacture and install two further Dome Valves to assist with the injection of coal into the blast furnace at their plant in Shangang, China.
The 300mm units, which incorporate a 500mm outlet and can operate against a 12 barg pressure, feature a specifically designed high pressure seal inflation system. Allan Wilkie, support services director, Clyde Materials Handling, commented: ‘Once again this contract illustrates that the proven reliability and performance of the Dome Valves when operating in extreme conditions ensure that customers come back to us time and again’.
www.clydematerials.co.uk
Bulk bag weigh system announced
A new automated Bulk Bag Weigh Batching System has been introduced by Flexicon (Europe) Ltd, capable of feeding ingredients to a central weigh hopper at mezzanine level using four flexible screw conveyors and then transporting pre-weighed batches to a downstream blender using a pneumatic conveying system.
BFC series bulk bag dischargers feature a cantilevered I-beam, with electric hoist and trolley to raise and position bulk bags without the aid of a forklift. Units are fitted with FLOW-FLEXER bag activators which raise and lower opposite bottom edges of the bag at timed intervals, an action that loosens compacted material and generates material flow into the discharge spout. As the bag lightens, the stroke of the bag activators increases, raising the bottom of the bag into a steep ‘V’ shape, promoting total evacuation of material from the bag without manual intervention. Each discharger is equipped with a surge hopper discharging into an enclosed Flexicon flexible screw conveyor.
A system controller starts and stops each conveyor, weighing ingredients in sequence, firstly at high feed rate for rapid filling, then at dribble feed rate, stopping material flow once the correct batch weight has been discharged.
System software allows for mid-batch bag changes and automatically compensates for material-in-flight by stopping the conveyor in advance of final target weight. The controller then activates a rotary airlock valve to discharge the pre-weighed batch into a pneumatic conveying line terminating at a Flexicon filter receiver positioned above a ribbon blender.
System components can be constructed in carbon steel with durable industrial finish, or stainless steel finished to industrial food, dairy or pharmaceutical standards.
www.flexicon.com
Container liners solve sugar problem
British Sugar’s Wissington plant in West Norfolk, UK, owned by Associated British Foods, produces around 1,500t of sugar a day. The plant has been in continuous operation since 1925 and employs 150 people, a figure that doubles in the intensive production period during the sugar beet harvest.
Around 2.4mt of beet are processed annually, supplied by growers in East Anglia, with production time taking just eight hours from delivery of the beet, through slicing, extraction and crystallisation processes to transfer of finished product into one of the plant’s seven storage silos.
British Sugar at Wissington produces 60 percent of all sugar supplied to the UK’s food and drinks manufacturers with some of the sugar exported outside the EU. For some time, the company has used 1t FIBCs, and to a lesser degree, container liners for both UK and export applications and buys in the region of 60,000 FIBCs per annum from Structure-flex.
However, in some cases, FIBCs require pallets, which can take up valuable container space and make the operation labour intensive and relatively expensive. Therefore, it made economic sense for British Sugar to consider making more use of container liners, considered to be a more cost effective method of transporting sugar overseas, and a dialogue was opened with both its suppliers.
Structure-flex’s dry bulk container liner transforms a standard 20ft container box into a vessel for transporting powders or granular materials and comes as a complete kit consisting of a heavy duty polypropylene bag together with all necessary ropes, wooden anchor, hooks and metal restraining bars to install it. An experienced operator can prepare a container in less than 15 minutes complete with loading and unloading chutes.
The key considerations for British Sugar included: realistic cost; reliable liners - any failure would be an expensive mishap; and a good response time from the supplier - because of seasonal variations in the sugar content of the beet. Although British Sugar’s policy is to dual-source all supplies, Structure-flex now supplies two thirds of the company’s bulk liner requirements.
British Sugar’s Phil Naylor said that bulk container liners reduce packaging and transport costs as well as handling time.
The container is attached to an overhead loading chute and, under the influence of gravity, 25,000kgs of sugar can be loaded in 10 to 15 minutes with discharge at the other end of the journey equally quick and easy. Vehicle turnaround time is in the region of 40 minutes. Liners are competitively priced, disposable and equally suitable for transporting dry products such as malt, cocoa or coffee beans as well as non-food products. There is a choice of top or tilt fill, round or rectangular openings for loading and discharge, sealed or hemmed seams and manufacture in conductive fabrics with various other options also available.
www.structure-flex.co.uk
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