Powder flow problems can cause frustration and create backups resulting in expensive downtime and the production of substandard products.
Causes of Powder Flow Problems
Powders can act like solids and liquids and lead to product flow issues. Flow issues can result from a product’s handling, storage, and uniform processing, including too much or insufficient blending.
A product’s ability to flow can, in part, be determined by its physical characteristics, such as particle size, surface area, moisture content, and cohesiveness. It can also be caused by the product’s interaction with the processing environment, including temperature, humidity, or even time spent in storage or hold-time.
Drum Conditioners (Massagers)
When drums of dry powder become interlocked through road transport, heat, humidity, or simply over time, it becomes difficult to produce material flow, or sometimes any flow at all. METO Systems drum conditioners squeeze flexible walled drums to break up packed or solidified material. The unit applies pressure through the use of horizontal and vertical bars.
Our drum conditioners are available in a variety of configurations ranging from our standard model, open-front model, and custom pass-through conveyor system design. Like most of our stainless-steel products, our drum conditioners and massagers feature stainless steel construction with various finishes suitable for wash-down and clean-room environments.
Drum Blenders
Drum tumbling is a common way to keep ingredients in liquid suspension and break up powder clumps before discharge. It’s also a standard way to mix ingredients.
Our sanitary drum tumblers work for all three activities, but they differ from more common drum rollers in that they rotate the drum end over end instead of spinning about the center axis. This ensures a more robust agitation action inside the drum and eliminates the need to position it on its side.
METO Systems stainless steel drum tumblers come in a variety of configurations. Choose between in-place or mobile bases, powered or manual clamping, and PLC or basic pneumatic controls. Our stainless-steel construction offers a variety of finishes to meet hygienic industry requirements or your unique operational constraints. Many other features and options are available, as well.
Conclusion
Consider these solutions if your business inherited a system that constantly experiences flow problems, or your materials have changed, creating new issues. If you are building a new system, take advantage of material testing and proper construction beforehand; these powder flow problems will never occur. With the right material handling equipment, you can be sure that your new system is developed for your materials before it even arrives.
For more information about our products and services, please get in touch with our sales team at 201-405-0311 or visit our contact page.
*Any necessary support structure or safety supports has been removed from this picture for clarity please reach out to Meto Systems for more information.