Archive November 2016

Currently MATAM is busy bilding the filling line and en palletizer for flour and cereal fl Matam bv is the specialist in construction of bagging lines and palletizers. All completely designed and build in house. Strong in service and maintenance. Currently MATAM is busy bilding the filling line and en palletizer for flour and cereal flakes for Schalmühle Gebr. Kümmel + Co from Vetschau (East Germany). The Matam mdb 400 bag filling machine consists of a gross weighing system with two different dosing units; one for flour and one for vereal flakes. The paper bags are closed to fold opening and to tape against the side of the bag. The plant has a capacity of 10 tons/hour based on 25 kg bags. The desired final weights have a range from 5 to 25 kg. The weighing accuracy is within 99% of the production and fully complies with the MID Guidelines (Measuring Instruments Directive) Tha MATAM 600 palletizer is a toploader whichstacks the filled bags overlapping and presses per layer. By a touch screen the stacking pattern for each type of bag handling can…

Analysis and Materials Testing, September 2016, Berlin, Germany by Dr.-Ing. Hildegard Lyko, free-lanced journalist Extract from the full report: Particle characterization Analytical centrifugation with measuring time- and position resolved light transmission delivers extinction weighted size distributions of the particles’ Stokes diameters. A cooperation project of TU Dresden, LUM and Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan (Prof. Yasushige Mori) aimed at developing a transformation method from extinction weighted to volume or number weighted size distributions, which does not refer to a model that describes the optical behaviour of particles (e.g. Mie theory). As Dr. Frank Babick, TU Dresden, pointed out, this transformation can successfully be made by applying multi-wavelength analysis of photo-centrifugation data. Promising results were obtained with mineral materials SiO2, Al2O3, TiO2 as well as with Au. However, there seem to be materials, with which this transformation method without knowing the refractive index is not applicable.. Julia…

More than 20 nations come together in the beautiful Allgäu region We look back to a very successful and interesting autumn training which took place from the 14th – 15th November. More than 30 participants of our international distributors from all over the world gathered at UWT headquarters in Betzigau. Despite the partners from the UWT sales subsidiaries in UK, China, India and Russia more than 20 nations from around the globe were represented. Highlight for this season were the new members of the UWT product portfolio: The compact vibrating rod probe Mononivo® 4000 as well as the innovative radar sensor NivoRadar® 3000. Afterwards the already successfully implemented applications of diverse material manufacturing processes were considered together and experiences from different industry sectors could be exchanged. In addition, the product management presented the new Anti-corrosive coating for the capacitive RFnivo® 3100. Within interactive workshops ideas were exchanged and future strategies discussed. The atmosphere…

Wye Line Diverter handles delicate tea leaves Tea and coffee merchants, Taylors of Harrogate, recruited Vortex a few years ago to assist in improving a tea transfer system at their North Yorkshire, UK plant. Staff at the Vortex Darlington office were contacted by Taylors, who had identified the Wye Line Diverter from the Vortex website as a potential alternative for their tea transfer system. Taylors were then visited by Vortex representatives just 90 minutes after this initial enquiry. At the plant, the blended tea was transferred to each packaging machine by a dedicated vacuum system. The project was to combine these two systems into one, reducing the number of vacuum pumps and pipework whilst not affecting the quality, taste or structure of the tea in any way. Following the decision that the 2-Way Wye Line Diverters offered the best solution to reduce costs and energy consumption, Taylors were able to test a set of four diverters on a trial basis for several weeks. At the end of this period, Taylors…

Support your Go for zero programme by immediately adding safety signs or warnings whenever risks emerge in your workplace. Use a professional printer and safety sign software to quickly create the right signs that clearly communicate any risk or danger to your co-workers. Read about the best practice now! Whenever a risk emerges in the workplace, it often takes a long time to order and wait for new safety signs that can warn co-workers about danger and instruct them on how to avoid an accident. By using a professional safety sign printer and software, companies can design, print and implement new signs a lot faster in order to support their Go for zero programme and avoid workplace accidents. Reduce workplace accidents According to Eurostat, 2.5 million non-fatal and 3515 fatal workplace accidents still occured in the European Union and United Kingdom in 2012. The numbers show there is room to increase workplace safety, reduce the number of accidents and reduce…

properties of nanoparticles and quantum dots using Hansen Solubility Parameters Devices based on quantum dots & smart nanoparticles are currently getting a lot of attention. The colours, contrast & brightness of displays based on quantum dots provide benefits for users of TVs and phones. Unfortunately it’s not always obvious how the particles are going to interact with the other materials such as polymers, dispersants or solvents which form part of the product formulation. Dietmar Lerche of LUM GmbH is a speaker at the HSP50 conference in April 2017. “In order to tackle the challenges of compatibility and stability of particles, we took a look at the approach developed by Charles Hansen fifty years ago. Put simply, Hansen’s approach turns the chemist’s well-known rule of thumb, “like dissolves like” into a quantitative and predictive system that allows solvents and solutes to be matched to each other. We had seen that nanoparticles (or in effect their surfaces) could also be assigned their own set of Hansen Solubility Parameters (HSP).…

for cleaning in running fluid bed operations With Glatt Ingenieurtechnik’s newly developed spray nozzle device, the inner tube can be removed and cleaned safely while the process is still running. When it comes to spray granulating, spray agglomerating or spray coating and drying food ingredients by fluidized or spouted bed technology, spray nozzles play a key role in quality control. With its hygienic, explosion-proof removable spray nozzles for the food and pharmaceutical industries, particle design specialist Glatt Ingenieurtechnik sets new standards in process safety and plant availability. If unexpected quality issues arise during the fluidized bed process, such as particles becoming too large or coarse, it might be because of a change in the nozzle spray pattern. Sticky or crystallizing spray fluids such as salts or sugar may induce fluctuations in the spray pattern, and also hygroscopic products which sometimes remain in the plant during downtime. A spray unit consists of a fluid-carrying inner…

The next 2 day short course on Biomass Handling, Feeding and Storage is being held at the Wolfson Centre for Bulk Solids Handling Technology in Chatham, Kent, UK on 13 - 14 December. Course fees are £765 per delegate. The aim of the course is to help identify handling, storage and feeding problems likely to occur with the different types of biomass materials and learn how to prevent or deal with them.

Application, function and ATEX of MOLLET products demonstrated in videos Several videos explain the functionality of our devices in an impressive and descriptive manner. Thus the videos are perfectly qualified to support you in your research for the best solution for your measuring application. An essential focus is the use of level measurement devices from MOLLET in potentially explosive atmospheres. Specific videos show the use of the devices in the different ATEX zones and one video provide interesting background information to the topic ATEX. Visit our YouTube channel „MOLLET Füllstandtechnik GmbH international“ and let yourself be convinced by the MOLLET products although in potentially explosive atmospheres .

Capacitive RF probe with full coating protection In power plants, the demands made on the fill level sensors can be very high due to the fact that the sensors come into contact with aggressive media such as sulphur oxides, heavy metals or even acids. Where limit switches are used for dust detection in flue gas cleaning, they need to be robust enough in order to deliver reliable and consistent performance. Often maintenance costs or replacement of these sensors can be very high due to their quality not being adequate to meet the demands and so they achieve only a short operating life. This is particularly evident in measurement tasks in flue gas cleaning within waste incineration plants. Longer service life due to increased corrosion resistance UWT has further developed the RFnivo® 3100 capacitive level limit switch for this type of measurement task in the dust extraction of flue gases so that it meets and withstands the demanding conditions. All process-contacting parts of the sensor have been designed to be…

FlowSlide System moves on Rails Solution: The customer decides to make a test with the FlowSlide Meter FS25 from Hense A customer requires a precise solid flow meter to dose Soja Beans into a mixing process. Due to the fact, that the grain size and the bulk density of Soja Beans could be very different, it was important to select a Solid Flow Meter, that allows precise measurement independent from bulk density, moisture content and grain size. The average flow rate is arround 8 t/h. The customer decides to make a test with the FlowSlide Meter FS25 from Hense Wägetechnik.This system is maintenance free and guarantees a high weighing accuracy; even is the product parameter are not constant. To reduce the investment for for five systems, the FlowSlide was mounted on a kind of rail system. The operator „drives“ the FlowSlide system to the actual batching point under a screw conveyor (see picture). The electronic unit and the compressor for the self cleaning device is also mounted on…

Russell Finex win two PPMA Industry Awards to mark another year of success PPMA, a leading trade association within the processing and packaging industry, held their annual Group Industry Awards in September 2016 with a record number of entries. Taking place during the PPMA Total Show 2016, over 400 industry leaders came together for the prestigious event to celebrate the best manufacturing has to offer across an impressive 13 categories. Russell Finex, a global leader in the manufacture of industrial sieving and filtration equipment, were delighted to receive two awards, winning Exporter of the Year and Most Innovative Ancillary Equipment, highlighting another successful year for the company. Hemal Adalja, Russell Finex Export Sales Manager in the UK, was delighted to receive the awards on behalf of the company. “We are delighted to be recognized by PPMA with these awards, which highlight the recent success of Russell Finex in different ways. We have continued to invest in our export efforts, illustrated by the opening of a new facility…

Maxi-Ultra elevator belt fastener The Maxi-Ultra elevator belt fastener is a Muller Beltex engineered and developed product which is fitted with a replaceable NBR or heat resistant wear part on the aluminium wedge section. The rubber part wears down rather than the surface of the elevator belt. This increases the safety in the clamp fastener. Maxi-Ultra is widely applicable for several types of belt in the Polysur range (belt thickness «10 mm) because of the radius in the belt fastener. This product is lighter then other fastener from our product portfolio. All things considered, the fastener makes a substantial contribution to increasing the lifespan of the elevator belt.

For the first time two awardees One session of this year‘s International Workshop Dispersion Analysis and Materials Testing in Berlin was again dedicated to the Young Scientist Award (YSA) 2016. LUM GmbH traditionally awards this prize for outstanding scientific results in particle and dispersion analysis and materials testing. “I would like to thank all 10 applicants from 6 countries, who submitted very interesting contributions“, Prof. Dr. Lerche, scientific chairman of the conference and president of the jury, sums up. ”Four aspirants were nominated and invited to present their exciting results.“ Ms. Dr. Johann Lacava, Leibniz-Institute for New Materials, Saarbrücken, presented her results on the aging of nanoparticles and their effect on emulsions. She demonstrated the use of the multi-wavelength dispersion analyser LUMiSizer for the in-situ observation of destabilization processes in emulsions in dependence of the emulsifier. Michel Vong (MSc.) from Empa Swiss Federal Laboratories…