Mixing & Blending Spotlight - June 09

Horizontal Batch Mixer
This unit mixes and disperses in one operation, thereby resulting in higher production volume. The combination of the optional chopper motor and the paddle blade design produces an excellent product mix. Users save on electric expenses by using premium efficient motors and adjustable speed drives in processing operations. The mixer features field-adjustable, bolted paddle blades with a clearance set at 0.03 in. from the bottom centerline of the trough. With high-intensity choppers, users can reduce product size, incorporate colorants or other minor ingredients, disperse lumps and
agglomerates, break up liquid-rich shot balls, open up matted fibrous materials, and disperse pigments.
Marion Mixers, Marion, IA 319-377-6371 www.marionmixers.com

Fluidizing Paddle Blender/Dryer
This 5-cu-ft paddle blender/dryer is supplied with multiple flush-mounted purging nozzles to aid in the distribution of air, which gently grows and drys environmentally beneficial bacteria. The equipment can be sterilized using pressurized steam and is easily cleaned. The agitator paddles are adjustable to regulate clearances between the trough and blades, which minimizes damage to live cells.
Jaygo Inc., Union, NJ 908-688-3600 www.jaygoinc.com

Continuous Blender
The Vibra blender utilizes a combination of a rotating paddle and material fluidization to blend dry solids with the ease of liquids. Gentle controlled vibration of the mixing trough fluidizes ingredients on entry where a cut and fold mixing rotor provides agitation. Gravity causes material to flow through the unit, making it completely self-regulating to changes of infeed rate. The blender’s simple rugged design offers dust-tight operation, easy cleanout, and maintenance-free operation. Units are available in capacities up to 1500 cu ft/hr.
Vibra Screw Inc., Totowa, NJ 973-256-7410 www.vibrascrew.com

Sanitary Rotary Continuous Mixer
This sanitary rotary continuous mixer blends bulk ingredients in ratios as extreme as one part per million with 100% uniformity, regardless of disparities in the bulk densities, particle sizes, or flow characteristics of ingredients. Capacity ranges from 85 cu ft/hr at one-minute residence time to 42 cu ft/hr at two-minute residence time. Mixing flights in a slowly rotating cylinder distribute ingredients thoroughly and gently, while eliminating internal restrictions where material could plug or accumulate. An optional internal spray line allows uniform introduction of a liquid additive for spray coating, de-dusting, perfuming, agglomerating, and conditioning of materials.
Munson Machinery Company, Inc., Utica, NY 800-944-6644 www.munsonmachinery.com

Mixers and Blenders
This company offers a full range of Gardner mixers and blenders that feature the Easy-Clean cantilever shaft. The cantilever design agitator shaft eliminates one set of bearings and seals at the nondrive end of the shaft. This, along with the full-diameter hinged and safety interlocked door, improves access for cleaning and hygiene. The completely contained mixing media provides an ideal environment for dry, semidry, or moist powder applications. Units are available in various designs with a choice of plough, paddle, or interrupted spiral agitator.
Kemutec Powder Technologies, Bristol, PA 215-788-8013 www.kemutec.com

Sanitary Mixers
These sanitary mixers offer compact and powerful designs from 5 to 1500 cu ft with options to suit any food, cosmetic, biotech, and pharmaceutical application. The ES-series is designed to meet budget-constrained projects that require sanitary features such as all stainless-steel construction, a range of high-polish finishes with continuous welds that are radiused and ground to finish, and ribbon or paddle agitators with flanged journals for easy removal and cleaning. The Sanimix40 series has additional features including more generously formed radius corners and a cantilevered and inverted-drive mount, offering superior bearing protection while improving water- and cleaning agent–shedding capability. Sanitary 80 offers more robust designs for abrasive or high-density materials.
S. Howes Inc., Silver Creek, NY 716-934-2611 www.showes.com

Pneumatic Blending Systems
Pneumatic blending is one of the quickest, cleanest, and most efficient methods to obtain homogeneous batches of powdered, granular, or abrasive materials in transporters, atmospheric bins, or storage silos. These pneumatic blenders are equipped with 6 or 12 wear-resistant aerators mounted around a housing cone. These aerators inject gentle blasts of compressed air into the center of an unblended batch at various angles to gently lift the materials upward and outward until the blending target is achieved. Built with few moving parts, the blenders have long service lives and require minimal maintenance.
Nol-Tec Systems Inc., Lino Lakes, MN 651-780-8600 www.nol-tec.com

Fluidized Zone Mixer
The Bella fluidized zone twin shaft paddle mixer achieves fast, high-capacity, low shear, precision mixing of either dry bulk solids or liquids with solids. Regardless of particle size, shape, or density, materials are mixed with a fast, efficient, and gentle action with typical mixing times of 15 to 30 seconds. A weightless zone created by low-speed counterrotating paddles generates low friction without shear. This makes it ideal for abrasive products and fragile products that cannot tolerate rough handling. Even flakes or spray-dried bodies remain intact. The mixer consists of twin drums that have two counterrotating agitators with specifically angled paddles. They overlap at the center and completely sweep the entire bottom of both mixer drums and allow it to be started under full load.
Dynamic Air Inc., St. Paul, MN 651-484-2900 www.dynamicair.com

Homogenous Mixers
Quik mixers are designed to provide thorough and homogeneous material blends in commercial and industrial material-processing applications. No tools are required for easy cleaning. The mixers provide thorough cleaning between batches with the completely removable mix auger and tube. These units contribute to efficient process material mixing and blending immediately upon start-up.
NBE Inc., Holland, MI 616-399-2220 www.nbe-inc.com

Horizontal Mixer
This newly designed horizontal Ploughshare mixer is easy to clean. The full-access door across the front of the mixer provides for greater access to perform frequent cleaning operations. The new design is available on batch or continuous mixers and benefits manufacturers that are concerned with cross-contamination from batch to batch in their operation due to allergens, flavors, colors, and formula changes.
Littleford Day Inc., Florence, KY 800-365-8555 www.littleford.com

Tumble Blending
The Lancir II is a “plug and play” near-infrared PAT system for blend uniformity analysis for tumble blending. The system’s design consists of a self-contained, battery-operated wireless NIR diode array spectrometer mounted on the blending container. The wireless signal can be received up to 1000 ft away from a wireless PC running the system’s proprietary software. The unit is available for new and existing blending applications.
Custom Powder Systems, Springfield, MO 417-868-8002 www.custom-powder.com