Flexibility from Flexicon
Flexicon (Europe) will be showing a number of products at the 2003 Achema. These include a new Bulk Bag Filler featuring a Twin-Centrepost frame for greater strength and improved accessibility to the bag hooks. The new filler will be offered with two configurations; either with the filler mounted on load cells for gain-in-weight sequences or with weigh hoppers suspended above the filler, allowing for higher filling rates.
This low cost, entry-level system for low volume filling is equipped with manual fill-head height adjustment, pneumatically retractable bag hooks, inflatable connector to seal the bag inlet spout and feed chute outlet port for dust-free air displacement during filling.
Performance upgrade for high volume filling is achieved with alternative powered fill-head height adjustment, pre-fill bag inflator and automated vibratory densification/deaeration system to stabilise the bag. The system can be used in-line with Flexicon's own flexible screw conveyors or with powered or gravity roller conveyors without compromising its ability to deliver a full range of free-flowing and non-free-flowing materials from fast flow rate to steady trickle when requiring accurate weighing.
The difficulties in delivering efficiency on the one hand and worker safety on the other during the procedure of bulk bag discharging has been successfully addressed in the recently launched, new generation Bulk Bag Discharger. The design increases operator safety by eliminating dust during untying, discharging, retying, collapse and removal of bulk bags while achieving complete discharge with greater efficiency.
Central to the new design is a bulk bag/hopper interface consisting of a manual Spout-Lock clamp ring positioned above a pneumatically actuated Tele-Tube telescoping tube. Together, the devices enable an operator to make a quick, dust-tight connection between the bag spout and hopper, and to automatically elongate the bag as it empties to promote flow and evacuation.
The telescoping tube raises the clamp ring assembly that seals the clean side of the bag spout to the clean side of the telescoping tube, then lowers until the bag spout is pulled taut. Once the spout is untied, the telescoping assembly exerts continual downward tension on the spout, elongating the bag as it empties. The high-integrity, dust-tight seal between bag spout and clamp ring allows full-open discharge from the bag, often eliminating the need for iris valves commonly employed to reduce the escape of dust by reducing the initially high rate of flow from the bag.
For applications requiring retying of partially empty bags, the company also offers a new Power-Cincher pneumatically actuated flow control valve. Unlike opposing bars that pinch the spout from two sides, the new valve contains a series of curved, articulated stainless steel rods that cinch the spout concentrically on a horizontal axis for easy tie offs and vertically in a tight zigzag pattern to prevent leakage of fine powders.
Also making its debut on the new discharger is an integral Bag-Vac dust collector that creates negative pressure within the dust-tight system to collapse empty bags prior to retying and disconnection, eliminating dust emitted during manual flattening of empty bags.
The discharger is also equipped with Flow-flexer bag activators that raise and lower opposite bottom edges of the bag at timed intervals, loosening compacted materials and promoting material flow into the bag discharge spout. As the bag lightens, the stroke of the bag activators increases, raising the bag into a steep 'V' shape, eliminating dead spots for total evacuation of material with no manual intervention.
BFC Series dischargers feature a cantilevered I-beam with electric hoist and trolley to raise and position bulk bags without the use of a forklift. Construction is of carbon steel with durable industrial finish, or stainless steel in industrial or Food Quality finishes.
Flexicom will also be featuring its fully automated, multipoint, hopper loader system based on its range of flexible spiral conveyors. This is designed for metering bulk materials to multiple processing, moulding or packaging machinery, often over long distances when field-installed.
Systems include sack emptying or bulk bag (FIBC) unloading stations, suitable for hygienic handling of free and semi-free-flowing powders and granules. Expandable, modular design enables low cost, custom building to individual application with optimum accuracy maintained under central PLC control.
Low friction, self-centring screw conveyors eliminate material build-up and avoid the risk of blended particles separating during transfer. The absence of internal bearings, cyclone separators or other wearing components results in reliable, low maintenance operation and minimises possibility of cross contamination or product spillage.
Fully complying with FDA and USDA regulations, as well as the EU Health and Safety directives, applications can include multi-ingredient blending, which is enhanced by the continuous rolling turbulence created within the conveyor tube. Multiple inlet and multiple delivery arrangements can be designed with automatically actuated valves, level sensors and loss-in-weight feeders for integration with plant-wide control systems.
Conveyors can be routed up to 24m (80ft) horizontally with greater distance achieved by linking additional conveyors. Flexicon's spiral conveyor is a fully enclosed design in which a spiral rotates inside a tube. It gives a constant throughput while preventing dust from escaping and can be cleaned easily by reversing the direction of rotation.
Sack emptying stations can be equipped with a reverse-pulse filter cleaning system to provide continuous dust extraction. All material contact surfaces are available in stainless steel finish to meet food and pharmaceutical quality standards.
Hall 4.2, Stands J26 - J27