Flexible walls ensure product will not stick to sides

Citation

(1998), "Flexible walls ensure product will not stick to sides", Pigment & Resin Technology, Vol. 27 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/prt.1998.12927cad.009

Flexible walls ensure product will not stick to sides

Flexible walls ensure product will not stick to sides

Keywords Hosokawa Schugi, Milling

Developed by Hosokawa Schugi for apparently trouble-free size reduction of products containing a high proportion of soft, sticky and fatty substances ­ which could typically be from belt dryers, vacuum filters or centrifugal processes ­ the Schugi Flexomill features a self-cleaning milling chamber configuration (Figure 1).

According to Hosokawa Schugi, whereas with conventional mills the product will cling to the sides of the chamber, the Flexomill's flexible inner chamber is automatically compressed and flexed by a concentric outer chamber using a vacuum pump. This it is believed ensures that the product cannot stick and falls back into the chamber for further milling, so recovering product which would otherwise be lost during cleaning.

Figure 1

Product is gravity fed into the generously sized inlet in lumps which can be 50mm or even larger for processing. Manufactured in elastomer (PU), the vertical, cylindrical milling chamber is equipped with two blade holders each of which holds five pitch-adjustable blades.

The milling action is caused both by the turbulence in the chamber which rotates at high rpm, and by direct impact of the product with the blades. By adjusting the parameters of rpm, and the distance between blades and wall, the average particle size at the mill exit can be adjusted.

In addition to delumping and crushing, the Schugi Flexomill also has a compressive effect, increasing the bulk density of the product being milled. Depending on formulation this increase can be up to 100-200 kg/m³.

With its low energy consumption, and self-cleaning features which ensure a minimum downtime, the compactly designed Flexomill is claimed to be an economical, high yield, high capacity unit.

Performance trials of the Flexomill using the customer's own products can be undertaken at Hosokawa Schugi's test facilities.

Details from Hosokawa Micron, Rivington Road, Whitehouse Industrial Estate, Runcorn, Cheshire WA7 3DS, UK. Tel: +44 (0)1928 710101; Fax: +44 (0)1928 714325.