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Middlesex, NJ -- Jos. H. Lowenstein Sons, Inc, a 100-year-old pigment blending firm in Brooklyn New York is in the business of blending pigments for the hair dye industry. Blending these ultra-fine pigment materials has it’s own set of inherent problems- one of which is that the micron-sized particles are difficult to keep out of agitator bearing assemblies.
“We had a terrible time keeping the agitator bearings clear,” says Bill Thomas, Lowenstein’s chief of maintenance.
Agitators can cause an internal build up of pressure if not ventilated. However, some materials cause the venting media to blind and not effectively allow the pressure to equalize, as is the case with Lowenstein’s process. Since the venting media blinds, the commonly used air-purge method of keeping the agitator bearings and packing cavity clear of material didn’t work as it just increased the pressure build up. To make matters worse, Lowenstein process required the agitator to run 4 timers longer that Gemco recommended. Material consistently forced it’s way past the five packing rings on the agitator shaft, fouling the bearings and contaminating the product.
“This was a nightmare to keep clean,” says Thomas. “We were constantly replacing agitator bearings, which on two instances, actually seized up and the agitator bar itself bent. The entire agitator assembly had to be replaced.”
The constant maintenance concerns, and lost productivity were a serious problem for Lowenstein, who asked Gemco to find a solution.
Gemco had just completed a project with a similarly difficult application. After 6 months, the maintenance personnel of this company reported that they had changed the Periodic Maintenance SOP from replace the agitator packing and bearing once a week to inspect the bearing and sealing area quarterly! It was decided that Gemco’s new agitator seal arrangement would be retrofit on the Lowenstein Gemcomatic 100 cubic-foot blender with agitator.
Gemco’s agitator sealing arrangement The agitator seal arrangement is a radical departure from the shaft packing approach of other designs, in that the sealing surface is perpendicular to the shaft rotation. A series of concentric face lip seals rotate upon a smooth, polished surface to prevent powder from entering the bearing area. The powder path along the shaft is stopped with a static O-ring between the rotating shaft and the rotating face seal holder.
Essentially the entire arrangement operates similar to an oil slinger on the crankshaft of a car engine that utilizes the radial acceleration of the rotating shaft to help prevent powder from entering the bearing area in the first place. Any pressure build up that does occur actually presses the lip seals tighter to the face, thereby increasing the seal effectiveness.
Replacing the existing packing assembly with the new Lip seal design increased Jos. H. Lowenstein Sons productivity immeasurably- and made PM bearing changes much easier. “We swap out bearings monthly,” says Bill Thomas, “ not because we have to- it just makes good sense, and it’s much easier and faster than with the original packing arrangement”.
The Agitator Seal assembly can easily retrofit onto any existing units, and can be installed by your personnel. It can be ordered with any new Gemco Blender.
For more information contact
Mr. Brian Carroll
Gemco
301 Smalley Ave
Middlesex, NJ 08846
Telephone: 800-654-3626 or 732-752-7900
Fax: 732-752-5857
Web site: http://www.okgemco.com/
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