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Processed powders: sugar and salt
Raw materials deconditioning line
The Customer Issue
Our client used different raw materials from countries all over the world for his production goals. As a result, these raw materials require long transport with unfavorable storage conditions. During this transport phase, products with hygroscopic properties become loaded with moisture and agglomerated until they formed blocks.
Our customer encountered major flow problems related to the lumps of material blocking the exit of the bulk bag on the unloading stations. A long and complicated operator intervention was then necessary to successfully extract the material from the bulk bag.
The manual intervention by operators was a significant safety concern. The operators had to manually break up the super sack using various methods (knocking the container against a wall, using a steel pipe) which presented a risk for injury.
The Solution
Palamatic Process proposed the installation of a SmashR® conditioning machine in order to prepare the FIBC before its use in production.
This equipment makes it possible to break the caking of the material inside the bulk bags, up to 1.5m high, by action of articulated paddles. These massage paddles are controlled by hydraulic cylinders which provide the significant amount of pressure needed to break up the bulk bag.
The product solidified as one mass made it necessary to work the big bag on the largest possible surface. In order to access the 4 sides of the big bag, as well as work with various bag heights, Palamatic proposed the installation of a hydraulic lifting table equipped with a turntable. The lifting table makes it possible to break up big bags over its entire height in successive stages. The 360 ° turntable makes it possible to act on the 4 sides of the big bag, one after the other.
Cycle management is fully automatic after placing the big bag on a pallet in the equipment. The cycles are fully configurable from the control interface and can be adjusted according to each type of raw material.
Customer result
After a few weeks of use, the customer was able to observe faster unloading times, shortening the time of the production batches. Operators no longer have to use risky methods to promote product flow.
Their production manager has also organized himself in anticipation of his production week. He decided on a one-day campaign to use the massage cage in advance to prepare solidified bulk bags before they needed to be used.
