 Matt Mayo Triple/S Dynamics Sales Engineer Visit Website |
Matt Mayo is an application engineer for Triple/S Dynamics. Matt started in design work and added application engineering, sales, and project management over the last 20 years. Background includes a BSME from the University of Texas at Arlington and has held a P.E. registration. Triple/S Dynamics located in Dallas Texas, produces vibrating conveyors and feeders for a wide range of markets including food, chemical, aggregate, foundry, and grain. Many of these applications are custom or unique in nature.Ask this Expert a Question |
Mechanical Conveying-old Q&A
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We have an application where we would like to spread a layer of fibers across a moving conveyor belt. The fibers range from ½ in. to 1.5 in. and we would like to deposit them at different rates to yield adjustable rates of thickness for the fiber “mat”. We were thinking of some type of screw conveyor. The belt width ranges from 24 to 48 in. wide. Do you have any suggestions?It is possible that a pivoting conveyor could spread the fibers in a consistent distribution on a moving belt. Distribution would not be perfect depending on the flowability of the fibers. The basics involve a small vibratory feeder that pivots left and right with a controlled and varied rate to provide even distribution on the belt. Here is an example of a product from Triple/S that could help. Various widths and customization are available.
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Our company has an opportunity to recycle a source of plastic that includes small amounts of stainless steel. This metal can cause damage to our equipment. Since magnets will not be effective, is there a method to remove stainless steel from a stream of plastic flakes?
It is certainly possible that a fluidized bed density separator can make a separation of stainless steel from plastic flakes. If the shape and size of the two different materials is similar, I would expect a very good separation. Sizing may be required before density separation, or some amount of small stainless can mix with larger pieces of plastic. More information can be reviewed at http://www.sssdynamics.com/downloads/pdfs/TD1006%20%20dry%20separations.pdf
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We are establishing a factory for producing tabletop sweetener products in sachets of one gram each. The packed material is inulin, which absorbs the humidity if it touches the air. What is the best system to provide the hoppers of the machines the raw material automatically?
Assuming they want to handle each machine individually, I would suggest a loss-in-weight feeder that can be sealed for humidity control. These are very precise and can handle the metering to each packaging station; one each feeder.
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I would like to move wood pellets from a bulk bag to a hopper - what would you suggest?
Handling wood pellets from a bulk bag can be approached several different ways. Assuming elevation is needed, a screw, drag, or inclined belt conveyor can work with few restrictions. Bucket elevators may have some application in combination with vibratory feeders/conveyors.
Lateral transfer alone could be achieved with vibrating conveyors, although natural frequency tuned versions could have issues with varying head loads. Horizontal motion vibrating conveyors can handle various head load conditions. -
We have a material that is a mix of metal particles ranging in size from +0.75″ to minus 50 mesh. The batch weights range from ~310 lbs to ~360 lbs. We are having problems avoiding segregation through blending, dumping to and during intermediate hold and then dumping to press die cavity for compaction. How can we avoid this problem?
My recommendation would be to use a horizontal motion conveyor to reduce segregation. Unlike conventional vibrating conveyors that use a vertical pitching motion to propel material with repeated impacts which can cause product breakdown, a horizontal motion conveyor employs a single-drive mechanism to move the product. This mechanism provides a unique horizontal differential motion which glides the product down the pan. The consistent conveying motion throughout the length, width, and depth of the product bed helps prevent build-up. And because it isn’t dependent on impact to provide motion, the horizontal motion conveys deep product beds uniformly, with no stratification. This video shows how horizontal motion conveying can help prevent segregation. Other horizontal motion conveying videos are also available.
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We have little cylindrical pellets that can crush and are a bit sticky coming out of a semi-works extruder and going to a dryer. The flow is very small - continuous at 90kg/hr and 0.6 bulk density. The path is not long (~20 ft), but is torturous (over up over down). Do you have any suggestions?
Provided that side-to-side obstructions are not involved, we believe that a belt conveyor with really low friction/non-stick belt would be a good approach. The success would depend on how sticky the material is on a compatible belt.
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We are a supplier of wood pellets and we have customers who are building their own storage units to take bulk delivery. Our truck has an augered boom that will deliver the pellets at a desired height. Normally, we will just feed into the top of a silo. Customers are designing piping systems to catch our pellets outside and bring them into a storage container in a garage or basement. I need to determine at what angle a fill pipe without any mechanical means needs to be angled for the material to flow after it is augered from our truck.
Without using approximations, our best recommendation would be to do an actual test with your product on a curved surface with similar surface finish. That being said, 60 degrees from horizontal is a frequent, conservative starting point.
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We would like to develop a test method(s) or procedure to measure the handling characteristics of our dry bulk product in order to improve our bulk product. We have experienced bin and storage concerns and we would like to provide a measure to gauge improvements and product variation. Particle size measurement (PSD) is a bulk characteristic but not necessarily a direct indication of the dry fluid handling properties. What are the best property measurement methods to determine fluid handling characteristics?
In addition to size distribution, there are other factors that influence flowability: bulk density, particle shape and friction, state of fluidization, compaction, etc. We have found that angle of repose is a basic gauge. Freeman Technology, Texture Technologies, and others take this several stages further and might be helpful as a resource.
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We are evaluating whether drying our waste treatment sludge from a filter press is the right thing to do. We have selected a Jmate Dryer to do the job. The dryer pushes the sludge cake through a plate, creating pellets of wet sludge to a metal belt. The dryer then uses natural gas to dry the sludge to hard pellets with a discharge temperature around 500ºF. From the dryer, at 50 in. off the floor, we need to move these pellets out to a metal roll-off container 7 ft high and 24 ft long, and fill it from back to front using a conveying system. What would be the best conveying system to use? We are trying to do this inexpensively since we don’t care if the pellets get damaged, but we don’t want a dust storm at the roll-off either, or blowing dust from the roll off when it is on the road.
Given your parameters, I would recommend a screw conveyor with a method for partial discharge along the length of the roll-off container. Simple holes with partial covers set manually is one method to discharge over a long length.
There are telescoping belt conveyors that would give more distribution options, but I believe that they would be more expensive.
A vibrating conveyor would work well with lower maintenance, but elevating and support would be uneconomical factors.
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How does a horizontal motion vibrating conveyor work without any vertical motion?
In horizontal, zero-pitch conveying, the translation comes from a differential or slower forward movement relative to the retraction, which is quick. The lack of vertical motion provides a much smoother and more gentle handling of the material being conveyed. When the material is not fragile or even hard and abrasive, this same motion reduces the wear on the pan.