Boost Efficiency and Productivity with Fluidizers: Key Benefits for Industrial Applications
Fluidizers help powders flow efficiently in small hoppers and chutes. They reintroduce air into powders to eliminate issues like bridging and rat holing.
Fluidizers activate material with a combination of gentle aeration and vibration. However, they have a limited activation radius and require more units to provide adequate coverage. They can also trap products and require frequent cleaning and maintenance.
Increased Productivity
Fluidizers promote a uniform flow of dry bulk materials by combining aeration and bin wall vibration. This prevents ratholing, bridging, and compaction in storage silos, dust collectors, bag filters, and weigh hopper scales.
Powder flow is essential for production in many industries. But it’s not always easy to get powders to move efficiently in hoppers. This is especially true for hygroscopic and oily powders.
For example, a cocoa powder plant was experiencing ratholing and bridging in its vessels. They installed fluidizers, bin aerators, and vibrators but still had to scrape their vessels every three to four days. This was not only a pain for workers, but it also increased downtime and reduced productivity. They needed a better solution.
Reduced Downtime
Reduced downtime is a priority for any industrial site. It can affect production, worker morale, and profit margins. It is essential to distinguish between planned and unplanned downtime to prioritize what areas need improvement.
Pneumatic fluidizers help to prevent ratholing and bridging in silos, storage bins, and hoppers by aerating the material. This loosens the product and ensures that it flows uniformly. The aeration also helps to avoid the buildup of vaults and bells.
Unlike traditional vibration methods, fluidizers require less power, have a smaller activation radius, and use less energy. The metal-detectable fluidizer disk is ideal for food-related applications where contamination is a concern. It is also easy to install, requiring only a tiny hole for the disc, and can be placed in chutes or small hoppers.
Reduced Maintenance Costs
In addition to improving reliability, reducing maintenance costs also helps reduce overall operating expenses. Getting your work processes in line will cut costs by removing wasteful practices that increase maintenance rates.
Fluidizing powders prevent ratholing, bridging, and material hang-ups in your application equipment and allow you to run smoother coatings that avoid thick film buildup that causes orange peel or sagging in the paint film. This saves you money on cleaning equipment and lowers your energy costs.
Air pad fluidizers are ideal for discharging dry bulk materials from storage silos, bag filters, and hopper scales. The rubber disks flap and vibrate, activating the product with a combination of aeration and vibration that improves flowability, preventing clogging and compacting. This eliminates the need for fabric aerator pads that are costly to replace and often become mildewed or moldy over time.
Reduced Energy Consumption
Powder coating applications require the material to be fluidized so that the particles can evenly coat a product. This can be done in several ways, including putting the product in a transport vessel and padding it with air to fluidize it.
This method is also used to prevent rat holing and bridging in silos, bags, bins, and other storage containers, as well as promote discharge from vehicles like dry bulk trailers. Fluidizers use a combination of aeration and gentle vibration to encourage powder flow in these vessels.
The aeration helps to loosen the product, while the vibration keeps the product moving. This prevents clogging and compacting of the powder, which can reduce productivity. It can also help to lower utility bills by reducing the amount of energy needed to operate equipment.
Reduced Noise
Fluidizers activate dry powders with a combination of gentle vibration and air movement. This process prevents ratholing and bridging in storage silos and hoppers. This helps prevent powder from clogging your spray guns and reduces downtime.
Fluidizing a hopper allows you to spray metallics, textures, custom formulations, or other coating materials more smoothly and evenly. It also helps to prevent thick film builds that can cause sagging, orange peel, or discoloration of the clear coat.
Many company offers a family of Fluidizers that promote the uniform flow of most dry products through aeration and hopper wall vibration that helps prevent bridging, rat holing, or compacting. The fluidizer disk seals tightly against the silo wall preventing airline plugging, and the food-grade temperature-resistant silicone disk can be easily removed from the hopper for regular inspection and maintenance without disrupting the product inside.