News items July 2013

On the DEPRAG exhibition stand - well founded advice results in the right assembly line Well over 1000 exhibitors and more than 35,000 visitors are expected to be at the 32nd MOTEK exhibition in Stuttgart from 7th to 10th October. MOTEK is the leading trade show for handling and assembly technology. Each year industry experts come together to catch up with the latest developments in assembly automation. The organisers of MOTEK 2013 have announced that the exhibition is more dedicated than ever to showing complete system solutions and that there will be many examples of automation used in particular applications. But there will still be plenty of individual components, component assemblies and sub-systems on view. So what are the trends and changes that the experts visiting MOTEK 2013 expect to see in the automation industry? For many years Jürgen Hierold, Sales Manager at DEPRAG SCHULZ GMBH u. CO. has attended MOTEK both as a visitor and as a specialist exhibitor. Our editor Trixy Schmidt asked him about his expectations for this year’s specialist trade

Experts in level control delight participants in Asia Mrs Guoyan Zhang-Mailaender, Area Sales Manager Asia, UWT GmbH receives award from the organizers for her contribution “Simply and green Solutions” to the Spektrum Seminar which took place on 4th July in Jakarta. The One day Seminar was attended by over 40 visitors from 10+ companies. Participants from a variety of industry background such as Cement, plastic, rubber, animal feed, power plants etc took part. Mrs Zhang-Mailaender presented a range of level control solutions and their successful industry specific application (success stories). The participants were also delighted with the “positively different” philosophy of the UWT Company. In the technical part of the seminar which was conducted by Mr Nelson Ng, UWT Regional support manager the participants were given a firsthand experience during the Hands-On Training and Live- demonstration on how the products work. A question & answer session with the UWT expert covering all aspects of level control

Developed especially for the drives on open-pit mining belt conveyors, the latest fluid coupling technology from Voith provides a lot of benefits. Thanks to the innovative XL blade wheel profile, the TurboBelt 780 TPXL coupling transmits twice the power previous couplings of similar size could achieve. It is designed for 6- and 8-pole induction motors operating at speeds of 900 to 1,200 rpm. The start-up with precisely-controlled introduction of torque not only protects the belt, but also the entire driveline. Even overloaded belt conveyors are started reliably. Start-up times of up to several minutes can be individually set in the control system. In May 2012, the initial start-up of this new fluid coupling was in one of the biggest sea terminals in northern Brazil, where iron ore is shipped worldwide. In order to handle the increasing amount of iron ore, the operating mining company decided to install three TurboBelt 780 TPXL couplings in the drives of a 1,451 m

Voith recently delivered 36 fluid couplings for an iron ore distribution center in Malaysia. Starting in 2014, the couplings will be used in the drives of 16 belt conveyors supplied by the BEUMER Group. For each of the belt conveyors Voith has offered just the right fluid couplings. The supplied Voith hydrodynamic fluid couplings are applied to drives ranging in powers from 200 to 800 kW. They have been selected to softly start and protect all conveyor system components and minimize unplanned system downtime. Voith fluid couplings have a rugged design and are well suited for use under the most extreme environmental conditions. They dampen torsional vibrations in the driveline and protect it against overload. This extends the lifetime of the entire system. Voith has offered just the right fluid couplings for each of the 16 belt conveyors. The belt conveyor drives are equipped with TVVS-type couplings. Voith is delivering special TVVS designs to match the start-up

Morphologically directed Raman spectroscopy supports identification of particles in mixed population With the introduction of the Morphologi G3-ID system last year, Malvern Instruments is providing researchers with the ability to apply morphologically directed Raman spectroscopy to a range of different sample types. Such advanced particle analysis is proving valuable and highly effective in applications that include inhaled product characterization and pharmaceutical bioequivalence studies, bioequivalence for nasal sprays being referenced specifically in a talk given by the FDA at this year’s IFPAC conference [January 22-25, 2013 Baltimore, MD, USA]. The use of morphologically targeted Raman spectroscopy has also been described in an independent article, as part of granulation studies, to provide the physical and chemical identities of particles in mixed populations [1]. By combining automated particle imaging with Raman spectroscopy, the Morphologi G3-ID offers a single platform for the measurement of particle size, shape and chemical identity. The technology

The high energy air classifier With the ABX classifier we were able to improve again the already very sharp dividing classifier type AWR! These enormously divisive sharp separators can be used due to their modular construction for most requirements. Rhewum high efficiency separator are the result of years of experience and development. A CFD simulation of the expected particle flow made it possible to design a very high dust loading up to 700 g/Nm3 and to achieve a pressure drop of only 9-12 mbar at a sharp separating classification. Furthermore, the material transport has been simplified: As a top loader one or two feeding points are enough, depending on the frame size, to disperse the feed safely. The finely by the rotor devided material then falls directly into the separation chamber, which is located between the air guide vanes and the classifying rotor. This ensures that the housing is not subject to blast wear. The rapidly rotating classifier wheel with his strips is made of wear-resistant

Modern vs. traditional design An elevator bucket is an elevator bucket, right? Not anymore. Recent advances in design technology have brought the advent of the modern high efficiency centrifugal discharge elevator bucket. High efficiency elevator buckets push the traditional limits of carrying capacity, input flow and discharge, construction materials and diminished shipping space. A high efficiency elevator bucket has ALL of the following characteristics: • Smooth interior front faces, with no breaks, that provide an efficient discharge over higher speeds • They can be mounted closely together to deliver the greatest, and thereby, most efficient throughput • A tapered bottom that allows the buckets to fill and discharge efficiently • The tapered bottom allows the buckets to nest inside one another, for more efficient shipping and storage • Wing-less sidewalls, making the design more cost efficient and thereby reducing material costs The “breaks” or “angles” seen

RETSCH's PM 100 CM grinds samples in centrifugal mode The new Planetary Ball Mill PM 100 CM offers all the performance and convenience of the classic PM 100. It pulverizes and mixes soft, medium-hard to extremely hard, brittle and fibrous materials and is used wherever the highest degree of fineness down to the submicron range is required. It is suitable for dry and wet grinding. In contrast to the PM 100 the speed ratio of sun wheel to grinding jar is 1:-1, i.e. the mill operates in centrifugal mode. This results in a different ball movement so that the sample is not so much crushed by impact effects but more gently ground by pressure and friction which allows for a lower temperature rise in the grinding jar and less abrasion. The PM 100 CM offers an excellent alternative for all applications where size reduction must not necessarily be carried out with maximum energy input. Benefits: - powerful and quick grinding down to nano range - reproducible results due to energy and speed control - suitable for long-term

In many industries, particle shape is of great importance for the production process. For quality assurance purposes it is sometimes vital to detect differences in the particle shape of different charges as it may have a huge influence on certain product characteristics, e.g. flow behaviour or abrasion, and can therefore help to draw conclusions on flaws in the production process. To determine the particle size and shape reliably and reproducibly, digital image analysis – such as is used in Retsch Technology’s CAMSIZER - is the method of choice. The CAMSIZER® analyses the particle size and shape of dry bulk materials in a size range from 30 µm to 30 mm. With its unique, patented two-camera system it records up to 10,000 particles per second, with an unrivaled dynamic size range. It reliably detects defective or broken particles as well as differences in the particle shape, such as agglomerations. The following shape parameters can be analysed: • Elongation;

Hight Throughput in Batch Operation When batch mixers and batch dryers are designed, the possible throughput is defined by the cycle time, which in turn is defined by the periods of feeding, the actual mixing or drying, as well as discharging. The feeding time may be defined easily in the case of pneumatic conveying, for instance, also for specifically lightweight products containing small particles. The mixing or drying period may be defined by means of trials in laboratory scales. The period of discharge, however, is not that easy to define: Lightweight products, moved by the running agitator, tend to circulate within the container instead of finding their way to the standard discharge flaps. In this regard, AVA does not take any risks but works with spacious dimensioning. In one specific case, a very lightweight product with a bulk density of only 0.12 kg/m3 and particle sizes of two- to three-digit micrometers kept being circulated for minutes in a competitor‘s machine during the discharging

Compact, solid and versatile machine for vertical pallet transport Qimarox introduced a completely new pallet lift under the name ‘Prorunner mk9’. The Prorunner mk9 is a compact and robust lift that can effortlessly transport pallets up to 1500 kilograms up or down. Thanks to its modular design, the lift is durable and maintenance friendly and can be easily integrated into any environment without further engineering. The Prorunner mk9 comes standard with a lifting platform of 1200 x 1200 millimetres. This means that the lift can handle not only euro pallets, but also product carriers with different formats like 1200 x 1000 or 1200 x 1200 mm. The maximum weight is 1500 kg. Depending on the height, the Prorunner mk9 has a capacity of 60 pallets per hour. The Prorunner mk9 can easily bridge any difference in height between 0.5 and 10.0 m. The lift consists of modular sections with a minimum heigth of 1250 mm and can be heightened in steps of 250 mm. The lift is available from Euro 14,950. Infeed and outfeed along three sides Because

for sale at Surplus Select Rotary valve, RotaVal HD 300, blow-through execution with separate venturi for feeding powdered solids direct into a pneumatic conveying line, stainless steel open vane rotor with replaceable blades (soft plastic and stainless steel scraper), 0.75 kW SEW drive with chain gear, 300 mm inlet, 100 mm pipe connections, overall height valve 455 mm, overall height venturi 240 mm, air purge shaft seals

Price worthy radar technology from MOLLET for continuous level measurement in bulk solids MOLLET Füllstandtechnik realized a successful market launch of the MOLOSwave MWF 20, a new instrument for continuous level measurement in bulk solids. The devices of the MOLOSwave series are working with the Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) measurement principle. They are specifically designed for the use in bulk goods. Therefore the required approvals for the use in dust explosive areas with ATEX zone 20/21 are available. Different probes, various process connections (thread, flange, clamp …) and a measurement distance of 20m are sufficient for most applications. The housings are offered in Aluminium or Stainless Steel. The MWF 20 provides continuous level measurement in bulk solids with high accuracy, high reliability due to four wire technology, independence of product characteristics, very good insensitiveness against dust, build up and condensate as well as a very good price-performance ratio. It works wear and maintenance free and shows a high tolerance of