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Powder and Bulk Dot Com Newsletter
"For the materials handling & processing professional...."
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Vol. 2, No. 62, September 18, 2000
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN): 1526-9051
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Joseph Taylor, Editor, mailto:jtaylor@powderandbulk.com
Copyright 1999-2000, Powder and Bulk Dot Com
This is a 100% opt-in newsletter with news and information
for the materials handling professional. The Newsletter is
currently sent to 2,068 materials handling professionals at
the time of this mailing. Unsubscribe instructions are at
the end of this newsletter.
TO SUBSCRIBE: send a blank e-mail to:
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Our goal is to provide information to improve your business
by using the resources available on the Internet.
Thanks,
Joe Taylor
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Contents:
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> Press Releases, Show Announcements and Industry News Wanted!
> Sponsors Message
> Key Completes Acquisitions of Farmco and AMVC Corp
> New Line of Depositing Equipment for the Confectionery Industry
> Top Picks From Amazon.com
> Ask Joe Column!
> New Laboratory-Scale Spray Dryer
> We had over 17,000+ Visitors and 240,000 Page Hits in August!
> Level Sensors for Low Bulk Density Materials
> Hot Messages from the Help Forum
> Call For Photographs!
> From the Job Fair
> Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Sponsorship & Archive Information
> ReferWare
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Press Releases, Show Announcements and Industry News Wanted!
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Do you have company news, a new product, new service or other
information you would like to share with our subscribers?
We give full credit to contributing authors.
DEADLINE FOR THE NEXT ISSUE IS SEPTEMBER 23TH.
Please try to submit articles via e-mail. If you have
photographs to be included with article, post the photo on
your web site and include the URL of the photo with your
article. (We do want "action-shots" for our home page!)
mailto:news@powderandbulk.com
...or visit our news and information submission page at:
Click here to submit a press release
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Key Completes Acquisitions of Farmco and AMVC Corp
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Key Technology, Inc., has finalized its acquisitions of Farmco,
Inc. and Advanced Machine Vision Corporation. Together with
Key’s leading-edge process automation and product handling
equipment, these additions allow Key to service and sell a
wider range of food processing machinery and machine vision
systems for food and industrial markets to customers worldwide.
Key Technology is headquartered in Walla Walla, Washington,
USA, with an European subsidiary, Key Technology BV, in
Beusichem, the Netherlands. Key is a publicly held corporation
whose stock trades on the USA’s NASDAQ exchange under the
symbol KTEC.
The Farmco line of products includes mechanical sizing,
sorting, separating and grading machines for the fruit,
vegetable and potato processing industries. "The Farmco
acquisition will strengthen Key’s already significant
worldwide presence in the food processing industry and
create opportunities for sales into new markets and for
sales of complementary equipment," noted Thomas C. Madsen,
President and CEO of Key Technology.
The Advanced Machine Vision Corporation merger brings two
new business units to Key Technology’s organization: SRC
Vision and Ventek. SRC Vision designs and manufactures machine
vision systems for the food processing industry and industrial
markets including tobacco, plastics, and pulp wood industries.
Ventek designs and assembles machine vision systems for
automated inspection and process control in the plywood and
wood panel industries.
SRC Vision’s activities will be integrated into Key Technology’s
existing organizational structure. The SRC Vision business
unit will focus on applications in the industrial processing
markets, providing complete systems for automated inspection
including both Key and SRC Vision products. Key’s existing
Automated Inspection Systems (AIS) business unit will focus
on applications in the food processing industry and will
also offer products from both the Key and SRC Vision product
lines. Products for both the AIS business unit and the SRC
Vision business unit will be manufactured in Walla Walla, WA.,
at the Key Technology headquarters site, with the facilities
consolidation expected to be complete by February 2001. Key
plans to operate Ventek as a business unit at its current
location in Eugene, Oregon, USA.
"The combination of the existing capabilities of Key and
AMVC clearly positions Key as the worldwide leader in our
markets and expands our opportunities for growth in both
the food and industrial processing industries," commented Mr.
Madsen. "We plan to aggressively expand our geographic and
market sector sales coverage, allowing us to better respond
to the needs of our current customers and to develop new
business opportunities. In addition, our combined R&D
organization will focus on the research and development of
new technologies to improve our customers’ quality, safety,
and productivity."
The addition of Farmco, SRC Vision, and Ventek will provide
customers increased single-source ease, as Key integrates
offerings not only with its AIS unit but also with the material
handling products of Key Technology’s Specialized Conveying
Systems (SCS) business unit. The SCS unit, also located in
Walla Walla, WA, provides an extensive line of conveying and
processing equipment to food and industrial customers worldwide.
Key Technology, Inc. is the leading designer and manufacturer
of process automation systems, integrating electro-optical
inspection and sorting, specialized conveying, and product
preparation equipment. Key;® systems allow processors to
improve quality, increase yield, and reduce cost. With
world-wide sales representation, the company maintains a
demonstration facility at its headquarters in Walla Walla,
Washington, USA.
For more information contact:
Ms. Lisa Teske
MarCom Manager
Key Technology, Inc.
150 Avery Street
Walla Walla, WA 99362
Telephone: 509-529-2161
Fax: 509-527-1331
Web site: http://www.keyww.com/
mailto:product.info@keyww.com
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New Line of Depositing Equipment for the Confectionery Industry
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In the confectionery industry, the name Bepex-Hutt is synonymous
with forming, cooling and cutting equipment. Now Bepex-Hutt
is emerging as a global leader for depositing equipment.
Bepex’s depositing equipment is designed to handle a wide
variety of sugar masses. For high boiled masses, teflon-coated
die-casted aluminum molds with spring-activated ejectors are
used. However, for masses that are cooked at lower temperatures,
silicone molds are used.
The depositor can be equipped with oscillating depositing heads
for continuous transport of the molds or stationery installed
depositing heads for intermittent transport of the molds. The
molds are available in dimensions of 920 x 280 mm and 1350 x
140 mm. Depending on the product’s characteristics, our
depositors are capable of up to 60 strokes per minute potentially
producing 500-3000 kg/h.
The molds are placed loosely in special mold carriers that
are moved on an endless chain in circuit through the plant.
The molds can be removed from the circuit at any point of the
plant without using tools. The chain guiding and return points
are engineered so that the molds always lay horizontally to
avoid wobbling or capsizing.
After depositing, the molds pass through a cooling cabinet
arranged in levels where the articles are cooled to their
necessary forming and packing temperatures. The cooling air
flows in a closed circuit. Production room air is not drawn
into the cooling chamber nor is hot air emitted into the room.
Additional air conditioning is not required. Air temperature
and humidity are adapted to the relevant product and the
capacity of the plant and both are monitored continuously.
All functions and movements are controlled with servo drives
and a dedicated microprocessor. The depositing parameters can
be selected freely and adjusted to the product in the best
possible way. The specific product parameters are saved in
a recipe directory and the operator controls the process
using the menu in the screen of the control panel.
The Servo drive controls have the following advantages:
-Easy operation of the plant
-Fast product change-over
-Enter and call cleaning programs
-Elimination of operating and adjustment faults
-Operation of the plant under reproducible conditions
-Provides summary of product quantity and associated
data at the end of the run
The advantages of the Bepex-Hutt depositing system over
the common embossing system include: higher production rates;
production of a wider variety of masses and products; precise
dosing of each piece; smooth surface texture product without
sharp edges and production of fully transparent confections.
The depositing line has separate temperature regulation for
shells and fillings. This allows it to fill shells with
lower temperature depositing masses such as jellies, fruit
purees and chocolate.
Depending on the type of piston depositor selected, the
Bepex-Hutt line can produce single or multi-colored
caramels, complete with a variety of striping. Both milk
or fruit bonbons can be made, even with different colored
cores or fillings.
For more information contact:
Hosokawa Bepex
333 N.E. Taft Street
Minneapolis, MN 55413
Telephone: 612-331-4370
Fax: 612-627-1458
Web site: http://www.hmicronpowder.com/
mailto:info@hosokawabepex.com
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Top Picks From Amazon.com
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We have updated and added about a dozen new books for the
materials handling professional to the Technical Reading Room.
Here are some of the new selections:
"Electrostatic Hazards in Powder
Handling"
by Martin Glor
Hardcover, 192 pages, July 1988
"Pneumatic Conveying of Solids: A Theoretical and Practical
Approach"
(Powder Technology Series)
by G.E. Klinzing, R.D. Marcus, F. Rizk
Hardcover, 2nd edition, April 1997
"Stacking Blending Reclaiming of Bulk
Materials"
(Series on Bulk Materials Handling, Vol. 1, No 5)
by Reinhard H. Wohlbier (Editor)
Hardcover, January 1977
We thank you for your continued support of the Reading Room.
Do you need a book? Can you suggest a book you love, that we
should have in the Reading Room? Let me know and we will
try to include it!
Thank you for your continued support of Powder and Bulk Dot
Com and for our Reading Room. You can visit the Reading Room at:
http://www.powderandbulk.com/pb_services/readingroom.htm
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Ask Joe Column!
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THIS WEEK'S ARTICLE
"Is My Pneumatic Conveying System Causing Segregation?"
Guest article by Richard Farnish, The Wolfson Centre for
Bulk Solids Handling Technology
You can read Richard's article at:
http://www.powderandbulk.com/pb_services/askjoe.htm
PAST Ask Joe! ARCHIVED ARTCLES
Web Address for Ask Joe Archive is:
http://www.powderandbulk.com/pb_services/ask_joe_archive/toc.htm
GUEST ARTICLES
Do you have an area of expertise in bulk materials, have you
solved a difficult materials problem? You too, can be an Ask
Joe! guest author!
Share your knowledge with others and promote yourself (the
old publish or perish is true!) by contributing an article
to the Ask Joe! Column.
For more information, please contact Joe Marinelli at:
mailto:shtech@fmtc.net
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New Laboratory-Scale Spray Dryer
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The new SD-MICRO from Niro helps pharmaceutical companies to
evaluate spray drying during the early stages of product
development. The new equipment will help companies to identify
the most appropriate isolation technique for the product to
guarantee the most efficient manufacturing process.
Whether to use spray drying, freeze-drying or crystallisation
for the manufacture of a new drug is essential to establish
right from the start. The cost and time required in validation
does not allow little room for error. If a company chooses
an inefficient manufacturing route at the outset, it may find
it to be too expensive to change subsequently and be locked
into the manufacturing process for the lifetime of the product.
Making the right decision at the start is, therefore, vital.
The SD-MICRO is a fully functional spray drying plant in
miniature. Niro used Computational Fluid Dynamics to design
the smallest possible spray drying chamber that retained the
same air flow pattern as a full scale production model. The
resulting equipment can make test volumes of product at
the smallest possible scale (100-200 grams) to give minimal
product losses yet be capable of scale-up to full-size
manufacture without fundamental adjustments to the process.
The SD-MICRO uses compressed air for spray drying aqueous
fluids. It is Intrinsically Safe in operation, which also
makes it suitable for use with nitrogen for products
dissolved in solvents. Product losses are minimised using
a cyclone for initial collection and a bag filter to extract
the maximum possible product from every run. The cyclone
may be bypassed completely for collecting very fine powders.
The SD-MICRO is easy to dismantle for simple cleaning
and fast product switching. It is supplied to pharmaceutical
companies fully validated and ready for use.
For more information contact:
Niro Inc.
9165 Rumsey Road
Columbia, MD 21045
Telephone: 410-997-8700
Fax: 410-997-5021
Web site: http://www.niroinc.com/
mailto:info@niroinc.com
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We had over 17,000+ Visitors and 240,000 Page Hits in August!
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Did you know that the over 17,000+ professionals visit our
web site last month? They spend on average 16 minutes
looking for companies, equipment and services they need!
Banner advertising is a great way to reach those material
handling professionals.
Visit our banner ad sign-up page at,
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...or call Joe Taylor at 904-280-4656
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your company's web site should be listed in our directory,
you can be listed - FREE! Just go to our link request
page at:
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Level Sensors for Low Bulk Density Materials
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FREMONT, CA -- Scientific Technologies Inc. (STI) has
introduced the IP54/NEMA 4 protected VH Series vibrating
level sensors. These sensors are designed to detect materials
or powders with low bulk density, such as fibers, perlite,
diatomaceous earth, toner, carbon black, white carbon and
styrofoam, among others.
VH sensors use solid state piezoelectric vibrating principles
for detecting material level. They provide relay or transistor
output when material contacts the probe and dampens vibration.
VH series sensors require a 90 to 132VAC, 180 to 264VAC or
50/60Hz power supply, and use less than 5VA power. Their
output contact rating is 240V 3A AC, 30V 3A DC, their vibration
frequency is approximately 550Hz, and maximum pressure is
139 psi. Sensitivity is standard for materials with bulk
density from 0.02 to 0.2 g/cm3, and is low for sticky media
with bulk density from 0.1 to 0.2 g/cm3. Two varieties of
VH sensors are available - VH10 sensors have a 6.25" probe
(159mm), and VH20 sensors offer probes from 20" to 8 ft.
(500 to 2500mm).
For more information regarding STI's VH Vibrating Level
Sensors, contact:
Scientific Technologies Inc.
6550 Dumbarton Circle
Fremont CA 94555
Telephone, toll-free: 1-888-510-4357
Telephone: 510-608-3400
Fax: (510) 744-1442
Web site: http://www.levelandflow.com/
mailto:sales@sti.com
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Hot Messages from the Help Forum
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People post their requests for help and offer their suggestions
to others in our open forum.
Mr. Doles needs help pneumatic dust control on grain handling
I would appreciate any sources of design criteria of pneumatic
dust control components and air flows.
Dennis Doles
mailto:ddoles@bartlett-grain.com
Mr. Moreno needs help with loss-in-weight feeder
I would like receive some information about how to determine
the hopper capacity and the load cells accuracy to get a
required accuracy in the feedrate. I would be very glad.
Thanks,
Alejo Moreno
fax: 562 205 2290
mailto:alemoreno@entelchile.net
Mr. Chamberlain needs help deflocculating dry pigments:
I just joined a company where they are using a Cowles-type
disperser for deflocculating their dry pigments which they
then transfer to a ribbon blender for blending with other
materials.
We need a second piece of equipment to augment the Cowles
and perhaps eliminate a step. I understand that a cone
blender with an attritor would be a good substitute. Are
there other possibilities?
Morrie Chamberlain
mailto:ppio@flash.net
These and other messages can be found in the Help Forum.
Share your expertise with others:
http://www.powderandbulk.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl
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Call For Photographs!
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This week's photo is of two trucks with and without Poly Hi
Solidurs' TIVAR 88 Off Road Truck Liner Kit. Promotes bulk
material flow, and reduces abrasion and corrosion of the
dump body. Material is also used to line silos and chutes.
Photo is courtesy of Jeff Gaerte, Poly Hi Solidur.
Web site: http://www.polyhisolidur.com/
We would love to have your photo of a bulk materials process,
packaging, conveying or handling "action shot" for our home page.
If you have a favorite photograph of bulk materials handling
at its best, please e-mail us a jpeg or gif of the photo with
a description of what is in the photo for our home page.
Full credit and the description of the photo will be given.
Photographs are be changed every two weeks to give everyone
a chance to be included.
Send your photograph and description to,
mailto:news@powderandbulk.com
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From the Job Fair
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No new postings on the Job Fair this past week.
The Job Fair is a free service of Powder and Bulk Dot Com.
You can post job opening for managers, engineers, sales, reps
or other talented people you need. ...Or one can post their
resume for companies who are looking to add talented people
to their staff.
Do you have a position you need to fill, visit the Job Fair:
http://www.powderandbulk.com/jobs_toc.htm
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Thank you,
Joe Taylor
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Powder and Bulk Dot Com Newsletter
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http://www.powderandbulk.com/
Joseph Taylor, Editor
3948 South Third Street, No. 121
Jacksonville Beach, FL 32250
Phone: 904-280-4656, Fax: 904-273-1399
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