NAVCO has a magnetic solution for plastic hopper bin and IBC Tote vibration
Bulk material flow issues come with additional challenges in light duty applications where plastic hopper bins and intermediate bulk containers (IBC Totes) are utilized. Traditional methods of installing hopper vibrators to promote material flow, welding and bolting, are not advisable when working with plastic hoppers. Welding is not an option as the hopper is plastic. Bolting to the hopper, while technically possible, is highly discouraged. Penetrating the interior of the hopper introduces additional locations inside the hopper for material to adhere to causing new material flow issues to overcome. Bolting also compromises the integrity of the hopper’s wall and can lead to damaged hoppers.
NAVCO recently had a customer reach out who was in this type of situation. They are a swimming pool chemical company who use several plastic hoppers in their processing line. The material in the hoppers was not flowing freely through their hoppers’ discharges. Bridging and ratholes were occurring frequently, interrupting and even halting production. As a result, their operators were having to manually dislodge the sticking material by shaking the whole hopper frame, which is quite heavy and cumbersome. They were looking for a solution that would keep their material flowing out of the plastic hoppers and allow them to reduce their downtime and increase production.
MagneVibe a Magnetic Mount Vibrator for Plastic Hopper Bins and IBC Totes:
In the customer’s search for a solution to their material flow issues they came across the NAVCO MagneVibe Magnetic Mount Vibrator and contacted NAVCO to see if this would be a viable solution for their application. After discussing their process, materials, and issues they were facing, NAVCO recommended a vibration package that included three MagneVibe vibrators along with a ferrous mounting pad for each. A MagneVibe vibrator would be placed on the three hoppers that were having the material flow issues. Ferrous mounting pads with a strong adhesive backing were supplied to mount the MagneVibe to the plastic hoppers. The adhesive backing allows the ferrous pad to stay firmly connected to the plastic hopper wall. The magnet in the MagneVibe head is then able to mount to the plastic hopper connecting to the ferrous exterior of the mounting pad.
The customer agreed to this solution and moved forward with integrating NAVCO MagneVibe vibrators into their production process. Upon implementation, operators were able to easily apply vibration to the hoppers during material discharge. The simple addition of vibration put an end to the bridging and ratholing, and thus ridded the process of downtime. By solving the flow problems with this lightweight vibrator, the plant also eliminated the tote damage that occurred when operators would manually jostle the totes. The result of resolving these issues was an increase in plant profitability and throughput.
NAVCO has come across these types of situations before and has developed an ideal solution for providing bulk material moving vibration to light duty applications that utilize plastic bins, hoppers and IBCs. If you are experiencing material flow problems with your plastic bins and hoppers contact NAVCO today! NAVCO has the equipment and experience to solve your material flow issues and maximize your production.
