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Bulk Processing Case Studies

 | Bulk Processing Case Studies

Tubular Conveyors

 by General Kinematics,

Why Tubular Conveyors are a Great Solution

Tubular conveyors, also called Tubular Drag Conveyors, are a great tool for transporting materials, especially when working in the food industry or handling bulk solids. Not only do they keep materials free from contamination, and make the transportation process minimally disruptive to the material, but they are easily customizable as well, meaning they’re ideal for every part of the manufacturing process. They can be built to transport materials from floor-to-floor, from production to packaging, and even from building to building if that’s necessary for your production process.
General Kinematics works with each company to ensure that our tubular conveyors meet your specific production needs. To understand our process, here’s a great example of how we’ll work with your company to build a quality conveyor system according to your specifications.

Challenge

Fine powders can be extremely difficult to convey. Move them too much and clouds of the material will appear around the conveyor. Don’t move them enough and you will see a “plowed field” effect as GK’s Technical Director, Oscar Mathis describes it. One corn-derived sweetener company needed to find a way to convey their fine powder product while maintaining a food-grade quality process.

 

Approach

Having worked with General Kinematics in the past and knowing we love a good challenge, the company approached GK. We took on this challenge of designing the perfect product for them. This started with our engineers. They immediately went to work finding a solution, creating variations of conveyors, and testing them in-house before they found the perfect solution.

 

Solution

The answer to their specific fine powder problem was a tubular conveyor. The product would be dropped from a feeder into the tubular conveyor before splitting off into the three different directions of the company’s process. The feeder would span about 50-60 feet and operate at about 4 metric tons per hour, conveying faster than their previous conveyor. The tubular design would contain the dust, and because it’s surge tolerant, make cleaning as easy as running water through the conveyor.

Result

The results were amazing. The tubular feeder did everything it was designed to and more! In fact, although it was designed for four, it’s able to handle up to 7.5 metric tons per hour while also functioning at nearly “plug” flow without a significant loss in conveying speeds. Installed nearly eighteen years ago, their Tubular Conveyor is still running without a hitch!

To learn more about how GK can provide customized solutions for your powder and bulk needs, contact the GK team today!

General Kinematics Corporation, incorporated in 1960, was established to market, design, and custom fabricate innovative vibratory equipment for the foundry, recycling, mining, and processing industries. Today the company continues as one of the world’s largest suppliers of vibratory processing equipment and has evolved into an industry-leading EPC firm. Headquartered in Crystal Lake, IL, General Kinematics has seven global locations providing engineering and support to a world-wide customer base. GK is a third generation, family-owned company and is ISO 9001 certified.