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Introduction
This article will take an in-depth look at bulk bag handling
equipment.
The article will bring more detail on topics such as:
Principle of Bulk Bag Handling Equipment
Material Handling Equipment
Types of Bulk Bag Handling Equipment
Applications and Benefits of Bulk Bag Handling Equipment
And Much More…
Chapter 1: Principle of Bulk Bag Handling Equipment
This chapter will discuss bulk bag handling equipment.
What is Bulk Bag Handling Equipment?
Processing equipment for holding and moving bulk bags is known
as bulk bag equipment. This bulk bag equipment is typically used
at the front end of the production process to hand off product
to the pneumatic conveyors to be packaged and palletized for
shipping.
Bulk bags are commercially produced fabric sacks for storing and
moving dry, flowable commodities. Examples include sand, grain,
fertilizer, and plastic granules. Numerous applications,
including some pneumatic conveying operations, heavily rely on
bulk bag handling.
Bulk bag equipment is used in a variety of establishments, such
as greenhouses, industrial manufacturing facilities, commercial
agriculture facilities, commercial food distribution facilities,
pharmaceutical production centers, and more.
Chapter 2: Material Handling Equipment
The purpose and location of material handling equipment in the
supply chain determines the categories into which it is divided.
Transportation, placing, load formation, and retrieval are among
the various tasks. Various highly constructed and well-designed
software systems are used as material handling instruments in
modern technological material handling.
Material Transportation
In material handling, "transportation" refers to a broad
category of instruments and apparatuses used to move items,
supplies, and materials effectively. Hoists, cranes, and
conveyors that move goods inside a facility between processing
applications, production zones, and packing or assembly
facilities are a part of this group.
Forklifts, dollies, hand trucks, and pallet jacks, which have
closer contact with material transportation, also assist in
these procedures. The speed that raw materials are fed into the
processing location significantly impacts the quality of an
assembly or manufacturing process.
The product manufactured and the location to which the necessary
components must be transported dictates the method employed. The
use of technical tools in modern production includes automated
robotic processes and numerous feeder types designed to
precisely place components for insertion into the product.
Shipping and Receiving Equipment
The shipping and receiving department, where products are
received and prepared for shipping, is typically what comes to
mind when people define or think of material handling. One of
the more important sections of material handling, this component
uses several tools, machinery, and machines to streamline and
simplify different parts of the process.
Side-loaders, pallet trucks, walkie stackers, order pickers,
locators, and platform vehicles like dollies or hand trucks are
all essential for shipping and handling. Truck loading and
unloading are done with the help of mobile roller conveyors,
which can be moved around and placed in various locations.
Special Material Handling Operations
The process of moving bulk materials that need equipment to
transport chips, cereals, gravel, sand, and other kinds of
granular or powdered materials is known as specialist material
handling.
Each type of bulk material handling equipment, such as stackers,
hoppers, grain and bucket elevators, belt and screw conveyors,
and rotary vehicle dumpers, is specifically made to handle a
particular material.
Warehousing, Material Placement, and Retrieval
Every manufacturing, industrial, and commercial organization has
a technique for keeping track of what is available and what is
needed while storing its raw materials. Warehousing, a crucial
component of storage, is a carefully managed and controlled
component of a business's assets.
A clear and organized method is included in warehousing for the
placement and retrieval of materials. Materials are arranged in
cabinets, shelves, and bins with labels and clearly defined
categorizations as part of the placing process. The most
challenging of the several material handling tasks is
warehousing, which calls for careful planning and the use of
appropriate tools for storing goods.
Retrieval of the stored objects using a forklift, pallet jack,
dolly, or hand cart is simple to accomplish if all other
requirements for warehousing are met. Sophisticated computer
software is used in contemporary warehousing techniques to find
and arrange goods for distribution.
Although gathering, storing, and retrieving items may seem like
a straightforward procedure, material handling is a complex,
organized, and automated process that uses specialized equipment
to guarantee the seamless and error-free movement of a company's
assets.
Leading Manufacturers and Suppliers
Chapter 3: Types of Bulk Bag Handling Equipment
Bulk bag fillers, bulk bag unloaders, and bulk bag conditioners
are a few of the several types of bulk bag machinery. These will
be discussed below:
Bulk Bag Unloaders (or Bulk Bag Dischargers)
Alternatively referred to as bulk bag dischargers, bulk bag
unloaders efficiently discharge powders or other dry bulk
materials from bags that were employed to store or facilitate
the transportation of otherwise challenging-to-handle
commodities. A mechanism known as a bulk bag unloader is
designed to efficiently and safely unload large or jumbo bags.
The bulk bag unloading system is also the initial point of
contact between the staff and the ingredients. Due to this, bulk
material handling safety begins with the bulk bag unloader in
operation. When bags are removed from storage, bulk bag
unloaders are especially helpful because the items may have
become tightly packed over time, making them much more
challenging to unload manually.
Due to their enclosed, tubular construction, bulk bag unloaders
provide dust-free material handling and are frequently used for
unloading products, including polymers, cement, soda ash,
magnesium oxide, powders, grains, and hydrated lime. Bulk bag
unloaders are beneficial for a variety of materials, but they
may also be used with a variety of bag sizes and types,
including lined, unlined, polypropylene, mesh, gusseted, and
perforated bags.
Flexible containers can occasionally also be loaded onto bulk
bag unloaders. Bulk bag unloaders are frequently used in the
construction, commercial, foundry, mining, and pharmaceutical
sectors as a safe and affordable method of unloading bulk bags.
Depending on the needs of the application, several accessories
can be added to bulk bag unloaders, which are normally of a very
simple structure. A frame, a hopper, bag support, often
suspension loops connecting to the bags, and an outlet chute
make up the majority of bulk bag unloaders. Although there are
numerous frame designs for bulk bag unloaders, the most
prevalent are forklift and chain hoist styles.
Forklift-style Bulk Bag Unloader/Discharger
Bulk bag unloaders in the forklift design contain pockets that
make it simple for a forklift to put bulk bags into the bulk bag
unloader. Because it does not require an upper framework to lift
or place the bags, this form of bulk bag unloader is often
shorter than a chain hoist-style bulk bag unloader. By
incorporating a pneumatic or electrically powered hoist that
enables an operator to lift, position, and support the bag for
loading, a chain hoist-style bulk bag unloader makes it possible
to load the bags without using a forklift.
Crane-style Bulk Bag Unloader
Crane-style bulk bag unloaders are a less popular option. Much
like a forklift would be used to load bulk bags, a crane-style
bulk bag unloader operates similarly. The material can be
efficiently discharged for additional processing or longer-term
storage with all designs of bulk bag unloaders. Large bags of
bulk material can be swiftly and effectively unloaded with bulk
bag unloaders, which have been around for a while. These goods
are used in numerous industries, including mining, agriculture,
and food production.
Food and Pharmaceutical Bulk Bag Unloaders
Several bulk bag unloader businesses have developed a new design
for bag unloading today, primarily for the packaging and
processing sectors of the food and pharmaceutical industries.
These unloaders meet most national and international hygiene
standards.
This indicates that offloading large items is now more hygienic
and secure than before. Integrated automation, which maximizes
uptime availability in the food and pharmaceutical processing
and packaging centers, is used to achieve this. These devices
use a touch screen computer for system-wide processing control,
communication, reporting, sensing, and monitoring. Instant
connections with UL panels are possible because of high-speed
Ethernet connections. Doing this improves the unloader's
efficiency, and costly errors are avoided.
The revolutionary design and sophisticated computers work
together to allow factories to discharge their bags in a clean
environment without the threat of contamination. This
streamlines the manufacturing process and can help factory
owners save time and money. A food production facility can
expedite its manufacturing process and considerably reduce
expenses by using this innovative style of bag unloader. Most
food and pharmaceutical industries simply cannot afford to
ignore this benefit.
Rail Car Unloading
A rail car unloading system typically uses a transfer system to
unload and convey material to their use points. The system uses
a vacuum filter with a vacuum blower. Thus, a rotary valve
discharges product to the pressure system from the vacuum
filter. The rail cars can have a holding capacity of 3,500 to
5,500 cubic feet in volume. They can typically transport bulk
material up to 120 tons at a time.
Depending on the rail car type opted for, the unloading system
must be cost-effective and efficient to balance out the high
operating costs of these rail cars. The high operating costs are
due to the very large blower packages used when pneumatically
unloading. This high cost would also include ongoing
maintenance.
Bulk Bag Conditioners
Bulk bag conditioners are employed to disperse any bulk
substance that has grown too compact during transportation,
essentially by squeezing the substance. Because they are simple
to operate, efficient, and energy-efficient, these conditioners
are widely used. Bulk bag manufacturers can alter their products
to integrate well with a pneumatic conveying system. In addition
to other things, they can change the weight the systems can
support and lift, the heights they can lift, and the quantity of
material they can load and unload. The bulk bag unloading frames
with integrated hydraulic bulk bag conditioners are also
available, as well as standalone devices.
Both arrangements use two hydraulic rams with end plates that
have been precisely shaped to press opposite sides of the bulk
bags. They enable bulk bag unloaders to discharge the material
through bag spouts by loosening bulk solid materials that have
hardened during storage and transportation. These conditioners
are advised for bulk bags containing heat-sensitive products,
certain kinds of spice blends, hygroscopic chemicals, and other
substances that are likely to solidify to the point where
pneumatically-actuated flow promotion accessories built into
bulk bag dischargers become inefficient or completely useless.
To provide the continuous discharge from the bulk bag to
integrated downstream equipment, bulk bag conditioners are
designed to automatically reduce rock-hard material in the bulk
bag to the ideal size. They also help to avoid safety
difficulties brought on by manual bag conditioning attempts and
solve the material-supply dependability issues that mechanical
systems utilized improperly frequently produce. Some bulk bag
conditioner systems provide better downstream efficiency and
production yield through upstream operational performance.
Bulk Bag Conditioner Application Selections
The advantages of a good material supply extend to the finished
product, but consistent material supply begins upstream. Bulk
bag conditioners are created to ensure that material is
efficiently delivered to downstream operations in the proper
condition.
Engineered-to-Application Bulk Bag Conditioners
Engineered-to-application bulk bag conditioners offer the
required design elements in terms of building materials, ram
design and operation, operator safety, and process automation
and integration when processing or packaging applications need
specific functionalities .Bulk bag conditioning systems offer
efficiency and dependability improvements throughout the process
thanks to their performance-proven design foundation.
Application-Specific System Design
Agglomerated bagged material cannot jeopardize the steady,
dependable flow of product to downstream process activities,
regardless of when or how solidified material is received in
bulk bags. Bulk bag conditioning systems are built specifically
for each application to enhance downstream infeed accuracy and
production yield while also enhancing upstream safety and
efficiency.
Vertical-Travel Ram Positioning
The heights of the bulk bags vary, as do the bag conditioning
cycles and bag conditioning sequences. On some bulk bag
conditioners, a feature called vertical-travel ram placement
places the rams exactly where they are needed most—at a certain
height. Issues with turntables and scissor-lift decks are
eliminated by the vertical-travel ram design.
Fixed-Height Ram Positioning:
The fixed-height ram positioning function offers full
conditioning while shortening bag conditioning cycle times for
applications where bulk bag heights are more consistent or
material qualities of the bagged product are more regular. They
prevent the safety hazards associated with manual bag
conditioning techniques and boost the consistency of the
material supply downstream.
7,000-pound Force-Capacity Turntable
Bulk bag conditioner turntables are created and engineered to
leverage the force effect of the ram compression action,
allowing them to endure more than simply the weight of the bulk
bag as its fundamental load.
The force capacity of bulk bag conditioner turntables
distributes the conditioning force back into the bulk bag, as
opposed to the turntable dissipating the force effect of the
compression, as is typical with scissor lift turntable designs.
Each compression cycle's speed and impact are enhanced by the
larger force capacity.
Material Deblocking Rams
Hydraulically powered deblocking rams can fracture even the most
heavily agglomerated material, with over 29,000 pounds of
compressive force for hardened, rock-like material. To allow for
discharge through the bulk bag spout, the broken material is
condensed into tiny clumps.
Pyramidal ribs on the face of each deblocking ram concentrate
the force of the deblocking at the points where the ram makes
contact with the bulk bag. The deblocking ram faces are
fabricated from 304 stainless steel and carbon steel.
Material Conditioning Rams
Hydraulically operated conditioning rams avoid bridging and
maintain continuous material flow through the bulk bag spout for
material that is not free flowing or agglomerated. The domed
face of the conditioning rams distributes pressure away from the
bulk bag's key contact points by producing a compression force
of over 29,000 pounds. Both stainless steel and carbon steel
were used in the building of the deblocking ram faces.
Light Curtain
The bulk bag loading side of the system is secured by a light
curtain with an electrical lock. A flashing amber stack light
will notify the operator if the light curtain beam is crossed,
which disables system operation. The safety caging of the bulk
bag conditioner is intended to be used in conjunction with light
curtains.
Safety Cage
The safety cage system shields the bulk bag conditioner on up to
four sides. An electronically interlocked access point controls
infrastructure serves as the foundation for the
application-specific engineering and installation of safety
caging. Safety caging construction regulations may call for
using carbon steel or stainless steel, polycarbonate view
windows, and controls that integrate with interlocking doors or
light curtains.
Bulk Bag Discharger Framework Integration
This will offer an application-specific design that incorporates
the bulk bag conditioning function into a bulk bag discharger
architecture for bulk bag conditioning applications where
process requirements demand inline conditioning. The 6-inch by
4-inch (15 by 10 cm) tubing used to build the bulk bag
discharger's framework features reinforced bracing to withstand
the hydraulic force generated by the ram compression operation.
Bulk Bag Fillers
These devices are made to weigh and fill bulk bags.
Manufacturers can add vibratory bases to filling systems to
promote material compaction. To improve flow, they can also set
up conveyors, pallet dispensers, and automatic bag removers.
Bulk bag fillers for companies like Flexicon, often
referred to as FIBC, Big Bag, and Jumbo Bag Fillers, come in
various configurations to satisfy the price point and capacity
demands of each customer's application. Each of these setups
offers the best performance within particular capacity ranges at
the lowest possible cost. They are intended for medium to high
capacity applications, placing the fill head close to the
operator at floor level for quicker, safer, and simpler bag
hookups.
Each of these designs fulfills a particular range of bulk bag
filling applications and may be customized with performance
upgrades to precisely meet any needs at the lowest possible
cost. Successful bulk bag filling can be found, from basic,
low-cost fillers to automated, high-capacity systems.
Low Capacity Fillers to Ultra-High Capacity Filler Systems
Bulk bag fillers are available in two configurations for quick,
precise, and stable weigh-filling of small to large volumes of
free- and non-free-flowing bulk materials. The first
configuration features load cells that monitor the weight gain
of the bulk bag filler. The second configuration features weight
hoppers suspended above the bag filler that enable simultaneous
hopper recharging and bulk bag replacement to achieve high
filling rates.
The bulk bag filler system models include:
Heavy-Duty (HD) Bulk Bag Filler Models
The characteristics of HD models include:
Construction using heavy-gauge steel tubing for cantilevers
Access on three sides for simple accessibility
Fixed or movable height options
Inflatable bladder to help minimize dust while filling bulk
bags
Can handle a total weight of 2 tons with bags of any size
Self-locking hooks that move forward to fasten bag loops from
the front
NT Series Bulk Bag Filler Models
The characteristics of NT series bulk bag fillers include:
Simplified and cost-effective design
Heavy-gauge steel tube cantilevered structure
Access from three sides
Available in fixed or adjustable height
Can handle bags of any size and weight up to one ton
Slide bars for loops on bags
Many choices for customized applications
Bulk Bag Filler Systems
Regardless of the properties of the process material, bulk bag
filler systems are designed for high-performance operation in
bulk material processing and packaging applications where
repeatable and consistent duty cycles, rates, precision, and
equipment effectiveness are essential. Systems for filling bulk
bags run on a chassis with a structural architecture tailored to
the procedure. Integrating the controls and automation
architecture throughout the chassis creates a unified
construction and controls infrastructure. The operator's
experience with the system is improved because of the integrated
construction and controls infrastructure, which also offers more
thorough and useful performance data and lowers the total cost
of ownership.
Bulk bag filling systems' construction materials and design
requirements allow bulk material processing operations to run
production at intended rates without worrying about unscheduled
downtime, inaccurate filling, or additional labor costs that
come with underperforming big bag filling systems. The bulk bag
filler systems are designed and built to function very well in
terms of dependability and throughput, even in the hardest
processing and packaging plant settings.
When filling bulk bags, drums, cartons, totes, or other bulk
containers, bulk material filling systems enable processing and
packaging operations handling dry bulk materials to run at, or
beyond, planned uptime, throughput, and quality standards. Bulk
filling systems are made with a performance-proven structure to
withstand harsh process conditions and handle extended duty
cycles. Additionally, even when connected to legacy systems,
integrated automation integrates control capabilities deeper
into equipment operations to give more thorough data reporting.
Process-integrated dry bulk filling systems offer a whole
process advantage by producing precisely filled, stable bags and
containers, eliminating material loss, and enhancing worker
safety and productivity.
Bulk packing operations benefit from the performance and
precision of bulk bag fillers. Because of their robust design
and automation, bulk bag fillers assure bulk material processors
that their end-of-line bulk bag filling is an integrated
continuation of their upstream bulk material processing while
also delivering dependable and repeatable bag-full weights. With
the help of bulk container filling systems, bulk packaging and
processing operations may operate at their intended rates
without having to worry about ongoing material waste, rework, or
additional labor costs that come with poorly functioning
container loading equipment.
While maintaining accurate fill volume and weight accuracy, the
single-station design fills a variety of container types,
including totes, cartons, and even bulk bags, through the same
fill station. The accuracy of drum filling systems is certified,
continuous, and precise, going beyond the level of a simple load
cell. To guarantee operations, supervision, and management staff
that containers are stable and safe, material loss is
eliminated, and line operations are optimized, the
high-performance materials of construction and control
automation function as an integrated systems infrastructure.
Drum Box Container Dumpers
Drums, boxes, and other containers of common sizes used for bulk
solid material storage and transportation can be accommodated by
container dumpers and open-chute container dumpers (also known
as container tippers).
All are available in mild steel with sturdy industrial finishes,
with surfaces that can be touched by stainless materials, or in
all-stainless variants that have been treated to meet food,
dairy, pharmaceutical, or industrial standards. Furthermore, all
are available with mechanical or pneumatic conveyors, rotary
airlock valves, or flanged outlets to feed any operation.
Bag Dump Stations
This equipment serves to open and unload small volume bags
effectively and safely. There are several types of bulk
materials that can be handled, including free-flowing granules
and fine, sticky powders. Bag dump stations have been designed
in a way that they meet a lot of application requirements. The
type of sack size, bulk material, downstream equipment,
discharged medium, discharge speed, environmental aspects,
ergonomics, and safety are very important factors that affect
the final design of bag dump units.
Bag dump systems have a modular design that makes them easily
configured for every application requirement. There are also
standard models consisting of simple frames and hoppers. Having
a complete solution in the single main frame is a high-level
model. A single unit can handle bag opening, discharge, storage
of products, and collection of dust, dosing, and conveying. Bag
dump stations are also called sack opening stations, bag
emptiers, sack emptiers, bag tip stations, or sack tipping
stations.
Chapter 4: Applications and Benefits of Bulk Bag Handling
Equipment
This chapter will discuss the applications and benefits of bulk
bag handling equipment.
Applications of Bulk Bag Handling Equipment
Silo filling, mixer loading, production line feeding, bulk truck
loading, packaging systems, weighing, batching, and dosing
systems are a few examples of big bag unloading applications.
Numerous applications, including some pneumatic conveying
operations, heavily rely on bulk bag handling.
Bulk bag equipment is used in a variety of establishments, such
as greenhouses, industrial manufacturing facilities, commercial
agriculture facilities, commercial food distribution facilities,
pharmaceutical production centers, and more.
Advantages of Bulk Bag Handling Equipment
The advantages of bulk bag handling equipment include:
Decreases Strain on Resources
Less labor is required to do this activity because bulk bag
handling equipment can collect and distribute material into
processing lines, which is a big advantage for facilities with
limited worker resources.
Reduces Dust and Product Loss
Bulk bag handling equipment provides a dust-free discharge
technique that seals in powder ingredients, reducing product
loss during dispensing and improving worker safety and comfort.
Improves Sanitation
Bulk bag handling equipment is also intended to enhance hygiene.
For instance, the bulk bag unloaders from Powder
Process-Solutions have a special spout design that stops
extraneous materials from entering the product stream. The
product only comes into contact with the inside of the bag
liner, providing greater cleanliness and product protection.
Boosts Productivity
Operators may effortlessly load, tie, untie, and remove bags
without having to reach into awkward or hard-to-reach spaces
since bulk bag unloaders handle the heavy lifting. Unloaders
also include user-friendly control screens that are simple to
understand and can be rapidly educated on by the operator.
Customizable Designs
Bulk bag handling equipment has a modular design that makes it
simple to customize to unique requirements.
Quality Materials Ensure Durability
The stainless steel and carbon steel designs of bulk bag
unloaders offer a robust, long-lasting solution for discharging
bulk items.
The other general advantages include:
Prevents product waste and spills
Gathers product dander
Enables effective and secure handling of bulk bags
Closed system guards against product tampering
Managed product release
Formed of stainless steel and mild steel
Conclusion
Processing equipment for holding and moving bulk bags is known
as bulk bag equipment. Numerous applications, including some
pneumatic conveying operations, heavily rely on bulk bag
handling. Bulk bag equipment is used in a variety of
establishments, such as greenhouses, industrial manufacturing
facilities, commercial agriculture facilities, commercial food
distribution facilities, pharmaceutical production centers, and
more. Bulk bag fillers, bulk bag unloaders, and bulk bag
conditioners are a few of the several types of bulk bag
machinery. It is critical to make the right choice for bulk bag
handling depending on the characteristics, application, and
benefits of each type of equipment.
Leading Manufacturers and Suppliers
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