Process and manufacturing industries such as cement, agriculture, food, chemicals, plastics and many others rely on rotary feeders to facilitate efficient bulk material flow. Facilitating efficient bulk material flow requires uninterrupted operations, unfortunately, operational issues can arise. These issues may include rotor shaft misalignment resulting in abnormal vibrations, bearing damage caused by heat buildup, air purge malfunctions leading to seal degradation, noisy operations due to rotor expansion brought on by higher bulk material temperature than anticipated, and jamming caused by trapped bulk solids resulting in feeder shuddering, eventually causing the drive chain to hop or affecting the rotor speed. Additionally, inadequate material throughput due to excessive air leakage at the two ports (inlet and outlet) is also a common hurdle for these essential devices. In most industries, manual machine checks can make it difficult to identify the aforementioned operational issues in time. This can have severe consequences on production output and longevity of machinery, including unplanned downtime costs, increased maintenance fees, diminished performance health and shortened equipment lifespan.

With industry 4.0 improving operational efficiencies through automation and other key IIoT – Industrial Internet of Things technologies, Polimak is leveraging the power of industry 4.0 and its concepts to provide cutting-edge smart rotary feeders that help process and manufacturing industries improve operational efficiencies and reduce unplanned downtime in production lines. Polimak combines its manufacturing and process industry know-how along with its expertise in software technology to offer quality smart rotary feeders. Our rotary feeder (typically used in process lines under a head of bulk solids and efficiently regulates bulk solids flow between two pieces of equipment) has our IoT solution platform (Politrace) that combines process conditioning, machine health and inventory monitoring, and computerized maintenance management technologies integrated into it. The feeder is equipped with a sensor system that allows for continual monitoring of various operational unit parameters, including temperature and vibration of the feeder’s body, air pressure measurements at both inlet and outlet ports, rotor speed, bearing temperature, power consumption, air pressure at air purges as well as safety protector cover detection as the feeder operates. The sensor system offers the flexibility of in-depth monitoring of the performance and condition of the rotary feeder and collects comprehensive real-time data. This comprehensive data collection provides an early detection alert if any anomalies arise while running the device; this helps costly breakdowns before they can occur by giving personnel ample time to take corrective action. The benefits of the Polimak smart rotary feeder include the following:

• Reduced equipment unplanned downtime.
• Sufficient bulk material throughput.
• Minimized costs.
• Improvement of production line performance.
• Observation of real-time data.
• Predictive maintenance.
• Notifications alert for any performance abnormality

The compatibility of Polimak’s IoT – Internet of Things solution is not only limited to rotary feeders, it can be integrated into various operating machines throughout processing lines. The collaboration of manufacturing systems/equipment with our IoT solution creates systems/equipment that communicates data in real time.

Dilute phase conveying systems can be designed in three distinct ways; (i) positive pressure systems, (ii) negative pressure systems, also known as vacuum conveying systems, and (iii) combined negative and positive pressure systems.

Dilute phase positive pressure systems are those that operate at air pressures above atmospheric pressure. Positive pressure systems are used to transfer bulk materials in an enclosed conveying pipeline from a single source or multiple sources to one or more destinations. These systems will typically consist of positive displacement blower(s) – roots type, conveying pipeline(s), rotary airlock valve(s), source(s) – product delivery equipment, and destination(s) – product receiving equipment.

Bulk materials are introduced to a conveying pipeline, which is at a higher pressure, using a feeding device such as a rotary airlock feeder. When delivered to the pipeline, bulk materials flow at relatively high velocities and are frequently suspended in an air stream inside the pipeline. At the terminal point, the air-material stream is separated using a filter receiver or a cyclone. The bulk material settles in the receiver and is ready to be discharged.

Dilute phase positive pressure systems are suitable for conveying dry bulk materials at low to moderate capacities over medium lengths from individual or multiple sources to one or more destinations. Some of the bulk materials that can be successfully conveyed by this method include cement, fly ash, dry chemicals, resins, flour, starch etc.

Dilute phase conveying systems that operate below atmospheric pressure are known as negative pressure systems, also popularly referred to as vacuum conveying systems. These systems are generally used to transfer bulk materials from a single source or multiple sources such as trucks, rail cars (railway wagons), stockpiles, storage vessels etc., to an individual or multiple destinations. Dilute phase vacuum systems typically use positive displacement exhausters  (roots type) to transport bulk materials via a conveying pipeline.

The product is delivered to the conveying pipeline using a feeder e.g., an airlock feeder then conveyed through a pipeline to a destination. Similar to positive pressure systems, the bulk material is suspended in an airstream during conveyance. The air and the material are separated at a receiving vessel with a cyclone or a filter receiver.

Dilute phase vacuum conveying systems are ideal for transporting dry bulk solids at low to moderate capacities with low operating pressures over medium distances. These systems are also ideal for conveying bulk materials that tend to pack or compress under pressure and these materials may include pigments, wood shavings, chemical powders, food ingredients etc.

Dilute phase combined negative and positive pressure systems, sometimes referred to as vacuum pressure conveyor systems (pull-push systems), incorporate the benefits and advantages of both the negative pressure systems and the positive pressure systems into an individual system. The material conveyance (vacuum and pressure) in these systems can be simultaneous.

Bulk material conveyance is said to be simultaneous when a single positive displacement exhauster/blower is used to vacuum and positively pressurise dry bulk solids from a source to a destination at the same time. On the other hand, simultaneous material conveyance can also be archived using two separate positive displacement roots-type blowers – one for pulling the material from a source and the other one for pushing the material to a destination.

A vacuum-pressure combination system may operate by collecting the product from a source by negative pressure conveyance and delivering it to a transfer vessel from which the conveyed product is reclaimed using an airlock feeder for positively pressurised conveyance to a remote destination.

Some applications that utilise combined vacuum pressure conveyor systems include unloading railcars, loading bulk materials into storage vessels from a stockpile etc.

As the effects of the COVID19 pandemic continue influencing the world, we wanted to update you on how we are dealing with the situation at Polimak. We want to assure our valuable customers that we are continuing to provide uninterrupted service. The well-being and safety of our teams, clients and communities are our top priority. In line with recommendations to reduce large gatherings and increase social distancing, the majority of our office-based employees are working remotely. We are not experiencing any significant disruption on the ongoing projects due to Coronavirus Outbreak, all projects are carrying on with care and our factories continue their actions to manufacture and complete projects with full effort. As part of keeping up with the guidings related to travel, quarantine, meetings and events, we are using web conferencing with our colleagues, we would like to inform you that in addition to phone calls, you may also reach us by various online conferencing platforms such as zoom , skype, teams and webex As Polimak, we are wishing you, your teams and your loved ones health and safety.