Munson Machinery

Rotary Mixer Keeps Hot-Melt Adhesives Cool

Application Notes & Case Studies /

The mixer, which has a useable batch capacity of 40 cu ft (1.13 m3), operates in a dedicated room that also houses a belt conveyor, bag breaking station, and screw conveyor. Here, an operator transfers 55 lb (25 kg) bags of ingredients from pallets to the belt conveyor, which terminates at a bag dump station into which material is dumped. An integral screw conveyor transfers the material into the inlet of the mixer while it is rotating. Once the last bag is added, the mixer continues running for 20 minutes. At the end of the cycle, the operator flips a switch, actuating an air cylinder that opens the mixer’s stationary outlet. With the vessel continuing to rotate, the 1,000 lb (454 kg) batch discharges through a collapsible chute into a mobile bin.

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Rotary Batch Mixer Facilitates Proprietary Nutraceutical Processes

Application Notes & Case Studies /

The company’s products range from anti-aging supplements and sports nutrition to vitamins and meal replacements. The company has developed proprietary manufacturing processes that rely on a model 700-TS-50-SS Rotary Batch Mixer from Munson Machinery. Most batches include one or more liquid additions, which are introduced into the 50 cu ft (1,416 L) mixer through spray bars with exchangeable spray tips, enabling the addition of aqueous and oil-based liquids by the liter or milliliter and as a fine vapor. The spray bars operate in conjunction with subsystems for heating and cooling the liquids and dehumidifying and pressurizing the mixer vessel.
In the case of nutraceuticals, another clear goal is the removal of all possible contaminants, including products of previous processing: bits of paper and bag liners, closures, scale from processing equipment upstream, etc., that ends up in the product fraction.

Whether a particular ingredient requires sifting/screening, scalping, de-lumping or conditioning to create a homogeneous powder ready for blending, manufacturers generally have a choice of these innovative technologies.

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Tea Blend Time and Degradation Cut with Rotary Mixer

Application Notes & Case Studies /

The stainless steel Munson blender uses a gravity-driven mixing process, which employs internal mixing flights that produce a tumble-turn-cut-fold mixing action said to yield 100 percent batch uniformity in less than three minutes using minimal energy. Internal spray lines built into the mixer allow for a wide, even spray of natural flavors. The company runs the mixer continuously for 15 to 20 minutes per batch to prevent stratification of ingredients throughout loading and final discharge with no residual.

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Rotary Batch Blending Consistency Grows Gourmet Coffee Bean Business

Application Notes & Case Studies /

Internal mixing flights of the rotary mixer alternate in direction for gravity-driven cascading of the material back and forth, producing a 100 percent uniform blend in three minutes or less. The flights also serve to direct the beans toward the discharge port, evacuating the vessel in three to four minutes with no residual in the machine. The mixer has a stationary intake chute fed by a mechanical conveyor, and is fully enclosed, containing dust and preventing contamination of the product.

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Size Reduction of Dates Eight-Times Faster with Screen Classifying Cutter

Application Notes & Case Studies /

Unlike a hammer mill in which a series of hammers strike and break the material until it passes through a bed screen, the screen classifying cutter employs re-sharpenable solid stainless steel cutter blocks that are welded without seams in a staggered array, and cut against two bed knives — one on the upswing, one on the downswing. With the variable speed motor, the plant can run the cutter at 1,500 rpm to produce particles down to 1/16 in. (1.6 mm), or at 1,200 rpm for particles down to 3/16 in.

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Exterior Coatings Producer Blends Abrasives With No Shaft Seal Wear

Application Notes & Case Studies /

When blending the coatings, ingredients are added to the 100 cu ft (2.8 cu m) ribbon blender in several steps. First, liquid acrylic polymer and water are metered by a pumping system. While the blender is running, 50 lb (23 kg) bags of pigments and fillers, together with various pre-weighed chemicals, are manually dumped into the blender. Next, pre-weighed aggregates are added from self-dumping hoppers using a forklift. Typically, the blend contains about 25% liquids and 75% solids.

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Plastic Pellet Manufacturer Eliminates Blend Problems with Rotary Blender

Application Notes & Case Studies /

The Munson Rotary Batch Blender is unlike other blenders in that the vessel is smoothly rotating on massive trunnions at the inlet and discharge end of the machine. Unmatched mixing is achieved with the proprietary mixing flights which gently tumble and fold materials in a omnidirectional pattern. The tumbling action creates an ideal cascading bed of material for liquid spray applications.

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Spice Maker Adds Paddle Mixer to Quadruple Production

Application Notes & Case Studies /

A typical batch consists of 10 to 12 ingredients, including liquid additions. The ingredients, mostly spices and salt, are received in 50 lb (22.7 kg) bags or boxes, which are moved by forklift onto a mezzanine and manually loaded into the mixer below. When a batch is completed it is discharged into 1,500 lb (680 kg) bulk bags, from which the product is packaged in 50 lb (22.7 kg) or 75 lb (34 kg) boxes, or 125 lb (56.7 kg) drums.

Formerly, packaging was a manual operation in which each bag was lifted by a hoist and emptied into the packages. In the new system, each bag is moved by forklift to a bulk-bag discharger, from which it is emptied into a hopper that serves two packaging lines via vibratory feed troughs. Each trough feeds product directly into a package that is set on a scale, and the flow is automatically controlled by a gain-in-weight system.

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Cinnamon Plant Employs Screen Classifying Cutter and Rotary Mixer

Application Notes & Case Studies /

From the conveyor line the quills are discharged into a rotary knife cutter and rough-cut to a maximum length of 6 in. (15 cm). The quills are then fed via a pneumatic conveyor into a high-speed, screen classifying cutter (Munson model SCC-15-MS). The unit’s horizontal rotor contains dozens of cutter blades, attached to a helical array of staggered holders called “interconnected parallelograms.” The blades are chisel-shaped, with replaceable carbon tips.

Driven by a 20-hp (15-kW) motor, the blades rotate at 2,200 rpm and continuously shear the quills against twin, stationary bed knives, cutting them into 2 in. (5 cm) lengths. Despite the high rotation speed, there is little to no heat generation and minimum fines

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