Monitoring units go with the grain
A
Pulsar Process Measurement product story
Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team
Jan 14, 2003
Pulsarguard 2010 acoustic monitoring units have been installed at NWF Agriculture, to give noninvasive and wear-free flow detection on key items of production equipment.
Pulsarguard 2010 acoustic monitoring units have been installed at NWF Agriculture, to give noninvasive and wear-free flow detection on key items of production equipment.
NWF Agriculture is a major animal feed manufacturer, supplying feedstuffs to many hundreds of customers all over the country.
With production running in excess of 5000 tonnes per week, it cannot afford breakdowns.
One particular area where there is potential for problems is the continuous conditioning mixers.
There are four, each taking a feed of dry meal, which is then combined with steam and molasses, all automatically controlled.
If there is a problem with the dry feed, the liquid components are pumped into an empty mixer, the mixer then becomes clogged, and an expensive and time consuming clean up is needed.
Flap switches have been used to monitor the dry feed for many years, but there is an obvious problem as the abrasive nature of the product wears away the flap necessitating regular replacement, taking time and requiring a line to be taken out of production.
The Pulsarguard 2010 is an acoustic monitoring device, which is noninvasive with no moving parts, so there are no wear issues.
At NWF, after consultation with the Pulsar technical team, the first unit was bolted directly on to a flange on the outside of a feed chute, directly underneath a screw conveyor.
The unit sits "listening" to the flow of material in the chute.
A feed mill is a noisy place with a lot of background vibration but the 2010 unit proved itself by effectively ignoring the competing noise in the plant.
Since that first unit was installed it has consistently and accurately monitored the flow of materials in the plant.
Steve Ridout, the NWF technical engineer, comments: "The non invasive nature and ease of installation, have proved a cost effective solution to a problem area of our production system".
Since the first unit was installed, NWF has installed a further four Pulsarguard 2010s in a variety of applications, including on the raw material intakes which handle a wide variety of materials from pelleted product to whole grain to powders, and over the next few months it has plans to replace all of its remaining flap switches.
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