Stainless Steel Vibration in Food Processing Produces Flow and Accuracy
Not getting the correct blend of spices on a dish can take a great meal and make it mediocre. This is why food producers work hard to come up with the exact measurements of spices for their recipes and work to ensure all the food they produce meets their expectation and their customer’s. One of the issues that food producers face when working with spices is that they are hygroscopic (prone to absorbing moisture from the air) and can clump together, reducing their ability to flow through hoppers. This disrupts the production process, causing operators to bang against hoppers to break up clumps of spices and get things flowing.
NAVCO recently had a customer reach out in regards to an issue with clumping spices at their food production facility. Their spice blends were stored in a vessel that was constantly plugging at the discharge. When the valve would open to dispense the seasoning into a mixer, only a small portion of the desired blend was being added. This uneven, unreliable flow was causing product QC issues and limiting production.
The customer sent over drawings of the vessel to NAVCO so the issue could be further evaluated. After reviewing the drawings, NAVCO proposed a solution that involved a single Stainless Steel BH 1.25 Single Impact Vibrator. The Stainless Steel BH Vibrator was chosen for this vibration in food processing application because its 304 stainless construction makes it ideal for food processing facilities, where washdown for cleaning and sanitation is required.
The NAVCO proposed solution included recommendations for positioning and operating the vibrator. The BH Vibrator was to be installed near the discharge, and operated utilizing a timer to provide a single impact at a set interval. The timer would be tied into the discharge valve, which would ensure the impactor only operated while the valve was open. The vibrator, valve, and timer would work together in sequence to ensure reliable spice flow out of the vessel and into the mixer in the desired amounts.
The customer agreed with the proposed stainless steel vibration solution and installed the Stainless Steel BH Vibrators on the vessels at their production facility. After using the vibrators for a couple of weeks, the facility reported back that they were a complete success. The high acceleration force of the single impact unit reduces the cohesive strength of the material and reliably induces flow. This has eliminated the QC and production line throughput issues being caused by the unreliable discharge of spices.
If you have an application that is experiencing material flow issues or have question about the Stainless Steel BH Vibrator, contact NAVCO today! We have a team of experts in applied vibration technology who are ready to help improve your bulk material handling processes and applications.
