Content Type

Metering Dextrose from Super-Sacks with Screw Conveyor

Application Notes & Case Studies /

KWS replaced the existing screw feeder with a 6-inch diameter variable pitch screw feeder. The variable pitch design provides a controlled feed of dextrose to the slurry. The flights of the screw were continuously welded on both sides of the center pipe for extra strength and durability. The inclined screw feeder utilized a split tubular housing to contain the free-flowing dextrose and provide the most efficient design. A purgeable shaft seal was used on the tail end to prevent leakage of dextrose. KWS selected an integral-motor Dodge Quantis drive due to space constraints and to provide lower energy consumption.
The screw feeder design included a KWS torque arm trough end to permit the drive unit to “float” on the drive shaft, eliminating any overhung load and stress on the rigidly welded screw. A pillow block roller bearing is located on the drive end to support the screw and function as a thrust bearing.

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Food-Grade Screw Feeder for Metering Oat Flour

Application Notes & Case Studies /

KWS engineered and manufactured a 304 stainless steel screw feeder free of pits and crevices. All internal bolted connections were eliminated, and internal surfaces and welds were cleaned, ground flush, and polished to a 150-grit finish bolstering the sanitary design requirements.

The screw feeder design included a KWS torque arm trough end to permit the drive unit to “float” on the drive shaft, eliminating any overhung load and stress on the rigidly welded screw. A pillow block roller bearing is located on the drive end to support the screw and function as a thrust bearing.

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Automated Bag Opening & Batch Mixer Ingredient Preparation System for Various Bakery Ingredients

Application Notes & Case Studies /

Customer that manufactures bakery mixes needed a high-speed batching system for their mixers. Most of their ingredients for their batches are supplied in 50 lb. bags. They wanted to streamline the bag opening process for their blends and be able to store batches in bulk bags so that these would be available to discharge into the mixers when needed. This would avoid having the bag opening process being the bottleneck to their production of bakery mixes. National Bulk Equipment supplied a high-speed sanitary bag opening system operating at a rate of 12 bags/minute to meet the production needs of the customer. Bags were conveyed to the bag opening system by a series of conveyors and a bag elevator. The bag opening system automatically opened and separated out the ingredients from the bags. A series of screens were integrated within the bag opening process to achieve product quality. A bulk bag filling system was provided underneath the discharge of the bag opener. Ingredients discharged into a bulk bag and the empty bags were sent to a compaction unit. These fully batched bulk bags could now be stored and used as needed in their process.

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Bulk Bag Discharger for Granular Sugar & Whole Wheat Flour

Application Notes & Case Studies /

Customer required (2) Bulk Bag Dischargers to unload sugar and whole wheat at their Brazilian processing plant. The unloading rate requirement for the dischargers was a very low frequency rate of approx. (1) bag per hour and the materials were fairly free flowing. For this reason, the NBE Untie Box with Iris Valve and Discharge Transition was selected as the most economical solution. The equipment needed to meet ATEX Zone 22 classification within a 1.5 meter (60”) range of the bag spouting dust escape zone. The height of the upper frame permits the hoist to be located outside of the Zone 22 area which allows for the use of a general-purpose hoist.

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Hopper with Inclined Screw Feeder for Metering Bakery Mix

Application Notes & Case Studies /

KWS fabricated a 50-cubic foot surge hopper to act as a buffer between the mixer and bagging fill hopper. The stainless-steel surge hopper featured a fully TIG welded interior without pits or crevices and a bolted cover for ease of access during cleaning. The cover included a hinged inspection port with mesh safety screen for visual in-process inspections. The sidewall of the hopper is fitted with a heavy-duty vibrator mounting pad to aid in the flow of the bakery mix to the bagging system.

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Vocational Service Blends Dry Products for Commercial Bakers with Sanitary Ribbon Blender

Application Notes & Case Studies /

The Munson ribbon blender is a stainless steel food grade unit with a capacity of 65 cu ft (1.84 cu m). Powered by a 25 hp (18.65 kw) electric motor, its 2-to-1 agitator length-to-width ratio yields uniform blends in minimum cycle times. Blending capacity is calculated as approximately 70% to 80% of total vessel volume, leaving ample room for material flow on the upswing side of the agitator.

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Pneumatic Conveying and High Accuracy Batch Weighing for the Bakery Industry

Application Notes & Case Studies /

The transfer of major ingredients into and within a bakery plant is generally achieved via various types of conveying systems. Pressure Differential (PD) trucks and railcars use positive pressure to unload material, whereas other types of delivery to the batching process can often be achieved by either positive pressure or vacuum pneumatic conveying. The mode of transfer of ingredients is dependent upon a wide variety of process parameters, including material characteristics, distance to be transferred, required rate of transfer, and the type of source and destination containers and/or process.

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Ensuring Matching Label & Caps – Ice Cream Manufacturers Turn to Vision

Application Notes & Case Studies /

Traditionally, quality control methods have considerably slowed the production process. Manual inspection taking place on the line requires a slower production speed. As a result, more manufacturers are turning to machine vision inspection as a way of increasing quality control without sacrificing production speeds. Unlike manual inspectors, vision systems do not require time off.

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