MechChem Africa November 2018

⎪ Products and industry news ⎪

Strip curtains for increasing productivity

Automated drum dumping system

With ever more pressure being placed on manufacturing operations to remain competitive, operational environments need to be conducive to the production of consistently high quality products and reducing waste. Wim Dessing, managing director of Apex Strip Curtains & Doors, says that a cost effective and practical alternative to an often-impractical HVAC system is the use of Apex General Purpose Strip Curtains. Over the past 37+ years, Apex Strip Curtains & Doors has refined its product offering by closely collaborating with industry on the optimal product solutions for each application. “Some parts of South Africa are considered to be desert, while other parts have a temperate climate and yet others are sub-tropical. Suchextremes in temperature andhumidity require care- ful attention to design and engineering detail to ensure a strip curtain that works effectively, irrespective of the location,” says Dessing. In addition to being able to control the influx of cold or hot exterior air, Apex General Purpose Strip Curtains are de- signed to reduce levels of dust as well as the ingress of birds, rodents and insects. In industries where hygiene and cleanli- ness are critical, these strip curtains can preventthepassageofunwantedcontami- nants, but still allow the unhindered and The full suite of inspection services from Skyriders was on display recently at a maintenance project at a major petro- chemical producer in the Free State. “This was a first for us, given the extent of the rope-access services required,” says Skyriders marketing manager Mike Zinn. The complex four-phase project com- prised some elements that overlapped, combined with specific start-and-finish work, which meant that proper planning and logistics was vital. The first phase saw the internal and external inspection of a coal silo, followed by the external inspection of a 150 m smokestack for any potential defects. Both these phases used rope access extensively, with a 12-person team com- prising seven rope-access technicians and an inspectionmanager to oversee the project. “Ourmajor challengeherewas the safety focus, as theprojectwas carriedout during the windy month of August. When thewind reaches a certain speed, all rope-

A new TIP-TITE™ drum dumping system from Flexicon automatically rolls drums containing bulk material into position, dumps the mate- rial into downstream equipment and rolls empty drums out of the dumping station, allowing safe, high-capacity transfer from drums of all popular sizes weighing up to 340 kg. Once full drums are rolled onto the dumping station platform, a hydraulic cylinder raises and seats the drum rim against a discharge hood. A second hydraulic cylinder then tips the drum to angles of 45, 60 or 90 degrees with a motion- damping feature. At full rotation, the slide gate opens to allow controlled discharge of mate- rial into downstream process equipment. After the empty container is returned to its upright position, the rolling motion is reversed and the container is halted in front of a pneumatically actuatedpusher, which transfers the empty drum to the return conveyor for removal. Meanwhile, another full drumrolls into position on the dump- ing platform. Photoelectric sensors located along the pow- ered roller conveyor relay the position of empty and full drums to the system controller, which actuates the conveyor to advance full and empty drums upon completion of each dumping cycle. The system is also offered in high-lift con- figurations for dumping into elevated receiving equipment, and in open-chute and dust-free TIP- TITE designs for dumping boxes, bins, pails and other containers. Flexicon alsomanufacturesmanual bag dump stations, bulkbagdischargers, bulkbag condition- ers, bulk bag fillers, flexible screw conveyors, tubular cable conveyors, pneumatic conveying systems, weigh batching and blending systems, andengineeredplant-widebulkhandling systems with automated controls. www.flexicon.co.za

The Balledge ® feature on Apex Strop Curtains allows the strips to part under pressure for the easy and scratch-free passage of people and goods from one area to another. safe passage of people and forklift trucks. Another added benefit is the reduction of noise levels, from either inside the plant facility or from outside. The specially formulatedPVCmaterial used for the company in the manufacture of its strip curtains provides a durable, yet flexible barrier that does not become brittle over time. Another design element that the com- pany has incorporated and patented is the Balledge ® feature. This rounded edge on the strips not only ensures an effective thermalsealatalltimes,butalsoallowsthe strips to part easily under pressure for the easy and scratch-free passage of people and goods from one area to another. www.apexstrip.co.za accessworkhastobesuspendedforsafety reasons, which placed us under pressure in terms of the timeframe,” Zinn continues. “However, we never, ever compromise on health and safety, especially given the human element involved in rope access. Hence we always ensure that we have all the proper checks and balances and precautions in place prior to commencing with any project. “The end result was that wewere com- mended by the client as being one of the most professional suppliers it has ever dealt with on-site, which is largely due to our highly professional and experienced teams and inspection managers.” The third phase of the project saw Skyriders oversee external core drilling on the smokestack, followed lastly by the installation of stainless-steel sleeves for the insertion of flue gas analytic instru- mentation. This final phasewas completed successfully in September. It also assisted with the inspection of the common duct-

Full rope-access inspection service

Flexicon’s TIP-TITE™ dumping system for drums containing bulk solids allows safe, high- capacity transfer of materials by automatically positioning, dumping and removing drums in repeated cycles.

ing, which extends from the precipitators to the smokestacks. www.ropeaccess.co.za

November 2018 • MechChem Africa ¦ 35