Bulk Material Handling Equipment

Pneumatic conveyors are hollow, tubular structures which transport bulk solids and powdered solids from one processing station to another. Bulk materials are pushed through these conveyors by an airstream generated at the base of the tube by a blower or vacuum.

Screw conveyors use single rotating screws encased within a hollow, tubular structure which transport friable bulk materials from one process to another. Also known as auger conveyors, screw conveyors are often fabricated as flexible screw conveyors in order to reach across areas and building stories more easily. Without the restriction of rigidity, flexible screw conveyors can bend and conform to virtually any configuration.

Vibratory feeders are conveying ramps or feeding tubes which assist in transferring bulk and powder solids to and from conveyors, processes and hoppers. By vibrating the discharge end of a hopper or conveyor, powdered material caked on the sides and within is loosened until it falls freely. Bulk handling sometimes uses vibratory feeding ramps to convey over short distances, and most bulk bag filling, bag dumping and hoppers are equipped with vibrating feeders.

Pulverizers de-agglomerate clumps or blocks of bulk solid materials into friable or free-flowing materials with uniform consistency. This is necessary for pneumatic or screw conveying as well as for uniform processing.

Industrial dryers are often integrated into the final processing stages of a variety of bulk materials for the final removal of contaminating moisture. Products such as dry cereal or flour are rotated through an air dryer, rotary dryer or flash dryer to ensure the bulk solid or powdered material has the proper uniform consistency and will not grow bacteria due to moisture.

Industrial blowers provide air and gas movement in ventilation, circulation and drying applications. Pneumatic conveying systems depend on blowers and vacuums to convey bulk materials, and drying and dust collecting stations within a bulk material handling system use blowers at multiple stages as well.

Industrial mixers in a variety of configurations are used to blend multiple bulk or powdered materials together as part of a bulk material processing system. Mixers used in powder & bulk applications are typically paddle mixers or ribbon blenders; sometimes powdered or dry materials are mixed with wet materials to form products such as bread dough or slurries.

Bulk bags are used as large volume portable containers in multiple stages of bulk and powder material processing systems. Materials are loaded into bags through conveyors by bulk bag fillers, a frame designed specifically to hold a bag during filling; bag fillers often serve dually as bulk bag conditioners by weighing the materials within the bag and shaping the filled bag into a manageable shape. Bag dump stations, or bulk bag dischargers, turn filled bags upside-down over a pneumatic conveyor, screw conveyor, hopper or vibratory feeder for the powdered or bulk material inside to be distributed to other processes.