Customer:
Idan Foods – Hawthorne, NJ
Application:
Screw Feeder to meter flour from a bulk bag to a mixer
Product Being Feed:
Flour
Equipment:
9in diameter x 14ft long Incline Screw Feeder for 10,000 pph of Flour. Made of 304 Stainless Steel
Customer Challenge:
Idan Foods, a leading manufacturer of custom food blends and spices, had experienced unprecedented growth in the last year and needed to upgrade their operations. Their old system of receiving raw ingredients was labor intensive and because it came in small bathes was costly. In order to meet demand, increase efficiency and maintain a quality product Idan Foods began buying their flour in bulk bags. Unloading these bulk bags into the mixer meant the need for an inclined screw feeder. Idan Foods contacted Screw Conveyor Parts early in the design process to help custom engineer a screw feeder for the application.
SCP Solution:
Screw Conveyor Parts engineers worked closely with Idan Foods to custom design a solution for their application. The screw feeder had to be able to meet their demands while also being reliable. Since it was on a steep incline over 20deg the drive was designed for an upset condition, meaning the screw is 100% full of flour over its entire length. This is a common condition that can arise when a screw feeder is starting and stopping often, like in the case of feeding a mixer. To meter the flour to the mixer from the bulk bag a variable pitch screw was used. Through the inlet the flight pitch is reduced and runs completely full. This section of flighting, along with the drive speed, control the rate of flour getting to the mixer. After the feeder section of screw, the flighting pitch is increased to allow the flour to expand and not choke the conveyor as it goes up the incline. Another consideration was the product itself. Since this is a food product 304 stainless steel product contact points were required but since it is a dry product a full polish was not required. This helped to keep cost and manufacturing time down. This custom solution went from concept to reality in only a matter of weeks thanks to Screw Conveyor Parts’ streamlined approach to engineering and manufacturing.
Special Features:
– 304 Stainless Steel
– Inclined
– Screw Feeder
– Variable Pitch
– Flooded inlet
– Upset Condition (100% Trough Loading)
– Integral Nord Drive
– Split Tubular Design
– Flange Gland Shaft Seal
– White Teflon Packing
– Air Purge Shaft Seal