Schenck Process is breaking into new ground in applications for feeding very small volumes of bulk material. Its latest feed system, PureFeed® DP, is particularly well suited to continuous, gravimetric feeding of tiny volumes of powder with manual refills.
The innovative technology deployed in the PureFeed® DP allows for high-accuracy feeding of small volumes from between 20 g/hr to 2 kg/hr using a speed-controlled, ceramic feed disc which rotates at the base of a cylindrical hopper and acts as the discharge mechanism. This disc separates the material supply from the outlet opening, avoids uncontrolled outflow and prevents the bulk material which is already contained within the feeder from compacting. The moving parts operate at low levels of interfering force. The pulsation-free feed principle and the wide adjustment range allow for precise, gravimetric feeding, especially of tiny volumes, without the discharge mechanism having to be replaced. A patent for the feed disc is pending.
As with the PureFeed® AP, the auger-based ‘big brother’ of the PureFeed® family designed for high delivery rates, maintenance, cleaning and disassembly are extremely user-friendly. The stainless steel components that come into contact with the product are electro-polished while the feed and base discs are made from high-quality ceramics. The ceramic material is resistant to wear, aggressive cleaning agents and high temperatures. All connecting pieces are secured using quick release clamps. The feed unit can be sealed to be dust-proof for transportation purposes.
Typical applications for the PureFeed® DP are in the pharmaceutical, nutraceuticals and cosmetics industries for feeding mills, mixers, extruders and compactors and applications in experimental and laboratory scenarios. Pharmaceutical production processes place a high demand on processing equipment. Firstly competition and cost pressures are making high precision processing essential and secondly we are seeing greater use of potent active ingredients, smaller and smaller volumes of which need adding. The PureFeed® DP is designed to meet these very needs.
