The Problem:
Every 20 minutes, two 30-year old square bins, in use at a
leading Midwestern brick maker, had to be shut down in order
to manually dig out the ground clay and shale which were clogging
the discharge system.
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The Solution: To find an improved discharge
system that would increase the efficiency of the much-used,
yet still reliable, square bins, while enhancing the employee
safety at a cost-effective level. The 50-year-old company
also required equipment which could handle large tonnage,
without compaction, to meet its demanding work loads. The
plant superintendent found exactly what was needed in the
Metalfab Bin Activator with its exclusive dual-baffle construction.
The Metalfab Bin Activator was designed as a low cost, dependable
solution to difficult bulk material flow problems. Each unit
features a primary baffle, solidly attached to the body with
rugged, structural tubular members. A secondary, adjustable
baffle, located below the primary baffle, relieves head load
above the outlet and vibrates at a separate amplitude, thereby
preventing compaction in the lower section and promoting flow
through small outlets.
The unique baffle is adjustable vertically and actually "stirs"
the material, keeping it mobile and allowing it to flow freely
through the outlet. Since clay and shale are hard to work
with in Square bins, this feature was particularly important
to the company. Its bins were in continual use processing
the raw materials into 18 million bricks annually for use
in commercial, industrial, and residential construction.
The two Metalfab units handle approximately 165 tons of materials
in a seven-hour day and have the capacity to run 20 tons an
hour.
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The Result:
The "live-bottom" design of the Metalfab Bin Activator
significantly reduced downtime by eliminating the need to
shut down the bins for cleaning every 20 minutes. With the
Metalfab Bin Activators, the system can run for several hours
and the clay keeps moving, helping the company meet its growing
$1 billion in annual sales. The Metalfab units also made working
conditions safer by eliminating the need to manually unclog
the bins, thereby increasing the production capability of
the labor force.
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