Suppose you are handling bulk products of a powdered or granular nature, such as in the grain industry. In that case, you are likely familiar with the struggle of getting your product to flow correctly. When vessel geometry is compromised, the product can get stuck or move unevenly, leading to uncontrolled discharge or an unsteady flow.
Bin Activators are designed to help with this process – but how do you pick the best one for your needs?
The Wrights Dowson Group is a long-established designer and manufacturer of bin activator systems. Our bin activators are produced to high-quality specifications in the UK under license from Metalfab inc, one of the world’s leading bin activator manufacturers.
This post will introduce you to some considerations when choosing the right bin activator.
What is a Bin Activator?
Bin activators have three essential purposes:
- They provide an outlet and flow for material
- They impact force into the bulk material to break it into more manageable particles and create an even bulk product
- They shield flow over the outlet to reduce undue stress in the outlet area
Bin activators are installed at outlets and are often supported underneath a silo or hopper that discharges the product. The activator generates a gentle vibration with a unitised vibrator and motor. The material discharged into the activator is first compressed and compacted by gravity into the canonical shape of the device. Then the vibrations loosen the material, so all particles flow freely towards the outlet.
Considerations for Picking the Best Bin Activator
Here’s what you should keep in mind when deciding on the right bin activator for your needs.
The Right Size
Your chosen bin activator needs to be sufficiently sized to handle the discharge. The right size will depend on how much the product needs to flow through each interval. Too small an outlet might cause jamming or cause the material to become compacted again.
Ensure that your manufacturer can provide bin activators in the right dimension. For example, the Wrights Dowson Group offers bin activators with diameters ranging from 2 ft to 16 ft.
Controlling Vibration Cycles
The best Bin Activators should give you control over the vibration cycles. For example, Wrights Dowson’s bin activators offer both on/off cycles and let you control the frequency and amplitude of the vibration. This helps you manage the rate at which material is discharged.
The vibration levels can be adjusted with eccentric weights on the activator’s drive motors.
It’s essential to have this choice because leaving the vibration cycle on permanently can end with mechanical failure. But, at the same time, you need to activate vibration at the right time to ensure the material doesn’t compact.
Safe from Contamination
If you work in food or grain processing, it’s also vital that your product is safe from contamination and made from food-grain stainless steel. Furthermore, Wrights Dowson’s bin activators keep their motor contained in a single sealed enclosure. There are no belts within, which completely eliminates the risk of breaking or slipping or foil oil leaking out and contaminating the product.
What Discharge Rate is Required?
The discharge rate of your product will affect what features your bin activator should possess. For example, our activators have a secondary baffle above the outlet. This helps material discharge and removes the need for surger hoppers and cycling when low discharge rates are required.
Durable Design and Materials
And finally, you should ensure that your provider can offer potent activators with sensible designs and materials that will withstand heavy-duty use.
That’s why we construct our bin activators from mild steel and stainless steel. As a result, the conical-shaped design is built to last for years with very little maintenance. Furthermore, we construct the activator’s suspension hangers from solid steel that ensures the activator never moves off-centre and loses product.
Find the Best Bin Activator for Your Needs Today
The Wrights Dowson Group has a long and trusted reputation as the leading manufacturer of bin activators and other products in the UK. We are credible providers of all types of screw conveyors and sampling systems that will help streamline your production.
Our engineers can design devices to your specifications and always help you find the best product for your needs. In addition, we can work with your dimensions and product requirements to ensure our bin activators serve your applications.
Get in touch today to talk to our expert team and help with any technical questions.
