Application Notes & Case Studies

High Volume Coffee Bean Discharging System

Application Notes & Case Studies /

High volume bulk bag discharging system. The transfer rate is 66,000 lbs/hour for each set of (3) bulk bag dischargers. High speed hoist are integrated to minimize bulk bag travel time from the loading position to the unloading position. The operator can control the hoist from ground level and on the operator access platform. Hoppers are provided as a buffer during a bulk bag change over. The hoppers discharge into the customer supplied rotary air lock and pneumatic conveying system. An operator platform with access stairs is included with each set of (3) dischargers.

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Bagging Systems for Whole Bean and Ground Coffee

Application Notes & Case Studies /

Customer needed a versatile bagging system that could be easily operated and handle multiple types of coffee. The roasting facility had equipment on 2 different floors, the roasting process happened on the top floor. The second floor housed all of the bagging equipment. Once the coffee was roasted it was feed into work bins to prepare a batch for loading into the baggers. A vacuum suction loading hopper was provided to allow operators to easily fill the hoppers without handling the coffee or dumping by hand. Initially, only two bagging stations were purchased in 2006 and an additional coffee bagging station was provided in 2015 to keep up with growing demand

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Screw Feeder for Metering Coffee Beans

Application Notes & Case Studies /

KWS provided a screw feeder to meter green coffee beans from a storage bin to the roasting process. The screw feeder was designed with a long open inlet to properly empty the entire length of the storage bin. Variable pitch flighting was used to evenly meter the coffee beans for a first-in, first-out sequence which is vital to keeping the coffee beans fresh.

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Continuous Silo Level Detection and Inventory Management of Ready Mix Cement, Sand, Aggregate

Application Notes & Case Studies /

After some research they decided to go with the SiloPatrol® plumb bob “smart” sensor (SMU) with the SiloTrack inventory management software from Monitor Technologies. They were able to justify the expenditure because of the added benefits of time saved from manually measuring the material levels and for the personnel safety reasons. Now with automatic or on-demand readings, they have more confidence of when they need to re-order raw materials to avoid downtimes waiting for more materials. They can also have a very accurate indication of when the silos are getting full during refilling to prevent the downtime and clean-up costs of an over-filled silo. Plus, personnel make a lot fewer trips up the silos which reduces the risk of injury.

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Level Detection…Challenges Sensing Lightweight Polystyrene Flake Regrind in a Blending Hopper

Application Notes & Case Studies /

Materials too light for rotary paddle units (paddle may just turn and carve a hole in the material) and too light and dusty for proximity switches are usually problematic. Even capacitance probes with high sensitivity, such as the TrueCap® family from Monitor Technologies, may not be successful. Lightweight materials usually have very low dielectric constants, close to that of air, making sensing by RF capacitance methods difficult if not impractical. What will work on lightweight materials less than 5 or even 3lbs/ft³?

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Challenges Keeping Track of Raw Material Inventory at Four Locations Across the Country

Application Notes & Case Studies /

Many plastic processors with multiple manufacturing locations have this problem. The solution for Nursery Supplies was the implementation of a RMI (Remote Managed Inventory) system. Monitor Technologies specializes in RMI and VMI (Vendor Managed Inventory) systems using the SiloPatrol® inventory monitoring system with SiloTrack™ inventory management software. SiloTrack software enables local control and interface of the sensors and provides for communication to remote locations with its Client software.
Nursery Supplies has a total of over thirty (30) SiloPatrol® sensors in use at four (4) facilities. Each facility uses the SiloTrack™ Server software and the Client software is also installed at the corporate location for central purchasing use. The Client software interfaces with the Server software at each facility via dial-up, LAN or WAN connections. Nursery Supplies has been able to reap the benefits by being able to automatically view inventory levels at all facilities and place orders accordingly. Nursery Supplies indicates that “Monitor’s SiloPatrol/SiloTrack RMI solution is an economical, accurate and trouble-free measuring system”.

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Beans…Beans…the Magical Fruit handled by the Vortex Iris Valve

Application Notes & Case Studies /

This company relies on the Vortex Iris valve to regulate the flow of uncooked beans in their bulk bag unloading station. These beans are essential ingredients in a wide range of their products. However, the Iris valve occasionally encounters some difficulties handling the beans, as they can be slightly too heavy for the valve to effectively control the material flow. Ideally, the Iris valve should be able to open and release the entire bag or be paired with another gate, such as an orifice or roller, to better manage the material flow. Despite these challenges, the customer is currently satisfied with the Iris valve’s performance. Vortex remains in close contact with this customer to provide ongoing support and is ready to help automate the process with a different equipment setup if they choose to do so.

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Railcar Unloading: Eliminate Costly Carryback

Application Notes & Case Studies /

The Railside Railcar Shaker is a heavy-duty piece of equipment designed for unloading bulk material from railcars in harsh environments, like those found at power generation facilities. Once the railcar gates are open, the Railside Railcar Shaker uses air cylinders to extend and push a UHMW lined contact surface against the side of the railcar. Once contact is made, the Railside Railcar Shaker’s vibratory drive is energized, and it begins to vibrate the railcar. This vibration causes the stuck material within the railcar to loosen from the walls and fall, ensuring that all the material is unloaded from the railcar.

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