MechChem Africa February 2018

⎪ Materials handling, conveying, lifting and logistics ⎪

Solutions for dust-free discharge from screw conveyors

Two new additions to the FLEXICON range: the Mobile Flexible Screw Conveyor with multi-purpose hood, and the new TIP-TITE™ Drum Tipper for 115 to 200 ℓ drums have been launched to offer dust-free discharge solutions for bags and drums.

M ounted on a frame with locking castorsforin-plantmobility,the new FLEXICON™Mobile Flex- ible Screw Conveyor improves mobility and reduces cost by eliminating heavy frame components typically employed to support bulk bags, relying on the user’s forkliftorplanthoisttosuspendthebagabove the unit during operation. An iris valve positioned atop the dust hood allows variable control of flow through the bulk bag spout, while a bag support tray and hinged door allow themanual addition of minor ingredients from handheld sacks. The flexible screw conveyor transports both free- and non-free-flowing bulk materi- als including products that pack, cake, smear, seize or fluidise, with no separation of blends. Mounting flanges at the discharge end of the conveyor support boom permit the addition of ametal detector belowthe conveyor outlet. All material contact surfaces are of stain- less steel finished to sanitary or industrial standards, except for the conveyor’s polymer outer tube. The mobile frame is constructed of carbon steel with a durable industrial coat- ing, but this is also available in stainless steel. TIP-TITE Drum Tipper In addition, a new TIP-TITE Drum Tipper for 115 to 200 ℓ drums features an elongated discharge cone that mates with the gasketed inlet of low-height receiving vessels, allowing dust-free transfer of free-flowing bulk solid materials. Housed within a three-sided safety en- closure with safety-interlocked doors, the drum platform is raised by a single hydraulic cylinder, creating a dust-tight seal between the rim of a drum and the underside of the discharge cone. With the drum secured in place, a second hydraulic cylinder tips the platform-hood assembly, stopping at a dump angle of 45° with a motion-dampening feature, causing the spout of the discharge cone to mate with a gasketed receiving ring on the lid of a low-height receiving vessel. A pneumati- cally actuated slide gate at the spout can be opened variably for partial or total discharge at controlled rates, and then closed before returning the drum to its original position,

with no dust emitted throughout the cycle. Available in stationary and mo- bile configurations, theDrumTipper is offered in carbon steel with dura- ble industrial finishes, withmaterial contact surfaces of stainless steel or in all-stainless steel finished to food, dairy, pharmaceutical or industrial standards. A diameter adapter al- lows for the safe and dust-tight dumpingofsmaller-diameterdrums. FLEXICON also manufactures drum fillers, box/container tippers, bulk bag dischargers, bulk bag con- ditioners, bulkbagfillers, tubular ca- ble conveyors, pneumatic conveying

Suspending the bulk bag from a forklift or plant hoist elimi- nates the need for a bulk bag support frame, reducing cost whilst improving mobility. An integral hood provides access to the bulk bag spout drawstring, allowing manual dumping of minor ingredients and containing dust when closed.

systems, bag dump stations, weigh batching and blending systems, and engineered plant-

wide bulk handling systems with automated controls. q

An all-new TIP-TITE™ Drum Tipper with elongated discharge cone seals the drum rim before tipping the drum, seating the spout of the discharge cone against a gasketed receiving ring on vessel lids for dust-free discharging.

February 2018 • MechChem Africa ¦ 23