Dosing
Dosing With Vibration
In any industrial case-study where accuracy is critical, vibration offers the precision and control to provide correct dosing and packaging. Across a wide range of case_studies – such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, food preparation, manufacturing and retail – vibration accurately doses bulk solids, like flour or sugar, as well as loose items, like pills or small plastic parts. Plus, the equipment can be combined with a scale, allowing for automated dosing and packaging by weight.
At NetterVibration, we produce high-quality vibration equipment engineered to perform a wide range of industrial tasks, from the dosing or packaging of products to feeding raw materials along a production line. For more information on how our products can contribute to your company’s profitability, call +44 1543 278981.
Packaging Delicate Foods without Breaking Them
A Netter customer in the food manufacturing industry needed a process for packaging crackers on a large scale. The challenge was providing a way to move the crackers into the correct position for packaging without breaking them. This required gentle movement and precise positioning.
The customer purchased and installed multiple NTS 250 HF pneumatic linear vibrators and incorporated them into the conveying process. These vibrators provided small-amplitude vibration with adjustable frequency, resulting in a gentle process that did not damage the crackers. Because the crackers had been correctly positioned prior to final packaging, the automated packaging process was successful.
Incorporating Chocolate Chips into Dough
A food-industry customer that manufactures chocolate chip cookies came to the determination that they needed to make their operation more efficient, specifically the adding of chocolate chips into the dough. This had to be accomplished with a high degree of accuracy in terms of the amount of chocolate, as well as the consistency of having them distributed evenly throughout the dough. And because they are in the food industry, keeping the equipment clean is critical for food safety and avoiding undesirable mixing between batches.
The customer began using a KRE 90-40 stainless steel trough, set on a base with blade springs and coil springs and fitted with an NES 50210 electrical vibrator. This enabled the chocolate chips to be evenly and accurately distributed across the dough as it proceeded along a conveyor system. Plus, the equipment is easy to keep clean because it is constructed of all stainless-steel parts.
Dosing with Vibration to Improve Efficiency and Safety
A food industry customer that was having salt added manually into a container filled with ingredients discovered that it was not being spread evenly throughout the recipe. The process was both slow and costly because of the use of personnel. Furthermore, because their employees were working in close proximity to the moving parts, like mixers, they were concerned about worker safety.
The customer purchased and installed an eight-liter hopper and tray mounted with an NTK 18 S pneumatic linear vibrator and a Netter DosyPack dosing station, automating the dosing process. This resulted in accurate, evenly distributed dosing of the salt and substantially reduced labor costs.
Separating Ceramic Pieces for Inspection
A company was creating ceramics for dentures, an expensive product which had to be very pure due to its intended use in the medical and pharmaceutical fields. To ensure this purity, a person would check the ceramic pieces using a magnifying glass combined with a lamp. But before this person could check each single ceramic piece, they had to be separated from each other, because they would often fall too close together or lie on top of one another during the process.
NetterVibration solved this problem using pneumatic linear vibrators in tandem on a two-tray system. On the first tray, a NTK 8 AL vibrator separates the ceramic pieces as they fall out of the hopper. The second tray is quicker (driven by the NTK 18 AL), and its purpose is to increase the distance between the single ceramics pieces and convey them to the bin positioned at the output. Between the first and the second tray there is a “step” so that the ceramic pieces turn while falling onto the second tray so that the visual check can be performed again by looking at other sides of each piece.
The trays are made of electro-polished stainless steel to ensure the required high sanitation standards.
Dosing Fruit Granulate Based on a Minimum Size
A food industry customer, working with pieces of fruit granulate in various sizes, was seeking a way to improve the speed at which they were dosing and sieving the small pieces as they were conveyed along the process. Their objectives included being able to achieve consistently homogeneous dosing of only the particles that were larger than a specific minimum size.
The customer started using an NTS 50/01 pneumatic linear vibrator mounted with a PowerPack and were therefore able to accurately separate and dose the granulate accurately at a capacity of 5.6 kg per 4.25 seconds. Plus, because the equipment is constructed of stainless steel, keeping it clean is easier, minimizing the risk of food contamination.