If you have an industrial facility that relies on moving materials from one point to another with great efficiency, then you know how important it is to choose the right equipment. If not, your manufacturing process could be interrupted, or you may face issues with quality control. How can you make sure that you choose the right flow aids to keep everything moving along as smoothly as possible?

Vibration Devices

As you may know, flow aids come in a variety of different types and sizes, but they are essentially vibration devices that keep everything moving along as designed. You will need to determine whether you are using the right type of vibrator based on the material in question before deciding whether to use an electric aid, a piston-activated aid or a different kind of aid. Furthermore, you will need to determine whether the vibrator is sized correctly and if it is mounted in the right place to make it effective and fit for the purpose.

Categorisation

Broadly speaking, flow aids are categorised according to the nature of the material. They may be designed to work with granular materials like sand, flour or cement or to work with coarse materials like coal, gravel or fertiliser. If you use the wrong type of aid based on the density of the material, you will almost always run into issues that could have been avoided.

Ratio Calculations

Given that, you will also need to figure out the weight per cubic measurement before calculating how much force is necessary to move the material. Materials that are free-flowing will have a very different set of figures from those that may be high in moisture content and therefore face more resistance.

Other Considerations

You may also find that you need more than one flow aid in certain parts of your application, especially if the hopper or other device is larger than average. Check to see that your power supply is capable of handling this throughput as well as part of your calculation.

Getting Advice

All in all, you will need to look at this problem from many different angles to determine if you are able to achieve your desired goal. If you have been running into problems with your process and are wondering whether the flow aids that you have in place are really suitable, reach out to contractors who specialise in this field for some assistance.