material flow solutions Archives

Truck & Trailer Loads Demand A Tough Solution – What Are Your Vibratory Options?

By Mike Stratis

Jun 06

When it comes to unloading dry or semi-dry bulk materials from a hopper trailer, belly dump, side dump, end dump, or similar type of truck, a few vibratory options are available to the market. Depending on the power supply available on the mobile equipment, air or electric, the vibratory components change. We will first look at the air-powered vibrator options then turn to the electric-powered vibrator options.

Air Powered Options

Piston Style Vibrator

The pneumatic or air-powered units that are available are the piston-style vibrator or the turbine-style vibrator. These two are by far the most common air-powered vibrators found on mobile equipment. The Vibra-Might Air Piston Vibrators are popular units in the field because these vibrators have a dual-diameter piston that allows for start-up at any mounting angle, and there is no spring on the inside of the vibrator. No spring = less wear parts.

These vibrators also have a single exhaust port and come standard with the exhaust port protector. The exhaust port protector helps keep dust, dirt, water, and other contaminants out of the bore of the vibrator. These Vibra-Might air piston vibrators come in both 4-bolt square base and 2-bolt rectangular base designs. The 2-bolt design is more common, and the slotted bolt holes of the 1200 VMR (impacting piston) or 1200 VMRAC (non-impacting piston) cover a wide range of new or existing bolt patterns. Also, if there is no oiler or lubricator on the truck itself, we offer coated casted bodies that can operate with or without lubricant. Adding lubricant will help the longevity of the vibrator, but it is not necessary.

Recommended Pneumatic Vibrator Manufacturers in the USA

By Craig Macklin

May 31

Every year, our team here talks to and visits hundreds of pneumatic vibrator users about their use, applications and installations. Believe it or not, we aren’t always reviewing our own work! Through this field experience and our vibrator repair services that will evaluate and repair ANY manufacturer’s vibrator, we have gained a lot of knowledge about other strong and reputable air vibrator manufacturers in the United States and Canada. Cleveland Vibrator may not always be the right fit. So, here is a list of other reputable manufacturers and our learned view of their strengths:

Houston Vibrator (Houston, TX): Houston Vibrator is a multigenerational family business that has been manufacturing and applying industrial vibrator, pneumatic and electric, for decades. The offer multiple options of pneumatic piston vibrators, railcar vibrators, ball vibrators, turbine vibrators as well as Italvibras Rotary Electric vibrators and light duty vibratory table. They are great people that know their trade. If Houston Vibrator consults you on your application for vibrator selection and installation, have great confidence that it will be correct.

Global Manufacturing (Little Rock, AK): Global Manufacturing manufactures and applies pneumatic, hydraulic and electric vibrators, including ball vibrators, turbine vibrators, Read More…

Craig Macklin

Craig Macklin joined The Cleveland Vibrator Company in 2010. Although his prior experience is mired in the world of theoretical, intangible products and services such as software and consulting sales, the past 11 years have developed his passion for this industry and molded the vibration expert we know today. Now, as President and CEO, Craig has a deep understanding of the value and importance of industrial vibration to numerous industries and applications. He enjoys fine, locally roasted espresso, good food, and spending the day with his wife and two daughters. He has cried at multiple Browns and Indians games and likes to get outside and golf in his free time.

What’s his area of expertise, you ask? “Making sure the people on our team are better and smarter than I am.” – Craig Macklin

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Sizing and Selecting Air Piston Vibrators for Conical Silos

By Mike Stratis

May 02

When turning to a pneumatic air piston vibrator for bin cleanout or bulk material flow for your material storage vessel with a conical silo transition hopper, there are a few things we review to help determine the best unit for the job. Here are the various sets of criteria we review before making a recommendation:

Number of vibrators needed
Strength of vibrator needed
Best air piston vibrator for application

Step One: Find the Number of Vibrators Needed

We look at the geometry of the vessel to find the number of vibrators recommended for the conical silo hopper. The vessel’s geometry, size, and shape tell us the number of vibrators needed for the most effective vibration transfer into the material. There are about 5 feet of effective radius for the vibration energy from where the vibrator is mounted. Here is a visual aid that allows you to see how many vibrators are needed based on the size of your hopper.

Niche Business, It’s What We Do

By CVC Team

Mar 21

All organizations that have stayed in business for many years have “go-to folks” they depend on when difficult situations or tough problems arise that need to be taken care of. For example, how many times have we watched a football game and experienced the quarterback take his team 90 yards in under two minutes to win a game or the linebacker or safety make that key tackle or interception for a last minute victory? If you root for every team but the Browns, we’re sure you’ve experienced this enough to know the importance the role these key players fulfill. These are go to folks and it is no different in the business world, especially here at The Cleveland Vibrator Co.

I think we are blessed with several go to folks on our team. When a customer calls Cleveland Vibrator, they are not just talking to a sales associate but to engineering, manufacturing, purchasing, marketing, shipping and yes, even our owners from time to time. I believe this collectively makes Cleveland Vibrator a “go to company” for many special applications. I call this our “NICHE” business and feel it has been one of Cleveland Vibrator’s strengths, even before I was given the opportunity to join the team in 1968. Read More…
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Tired of Using the Hammer?

By Mike Stratis

Jan 25

There is something to be said about the functionality of a hammer. These tools can be used for a variety of applications, constructive or destructive purposes and are often lightweight components which makes them easy to carry around a shop floor. In this industry, we see and hear them used on day bins, surge bins, bulk storage hoppers, material transfer pipes and other similar equipment to break up bridging or rat-holing product and promote material flow. While this is certainly a quick fix and can help the material flow problems that day, there are a few potential long term issues that can arise when using a dead blow or sledge hammer to break loose the material.

First thing that comes to mind for the Cleveland Vibrator team, and most importantly in our eyes, is the safety of the operator. When using these hammers on bin or hopper, many times the operator is lifting the hammer above shoulder level and swinging up at a bin on a regular basis. Read More…

Mike Stratis

Mike joined The Cleveland Vibrator Company team in 2013 with prior experience in manufacturing sales with a Cleveland company in the tool and die industry. Now, he’s the Director of Sales and specializes in “making stuff that shakes stuff”.

When he’s not immersed in the world of industrial vibration, as rare as that might be, Mike keeps busy *not finishing in last place* in Fantasy Football and enjoys spending time with his wife and three kids. It’s always golf season for Mike, and he’s been known to 3 putt his way around any course and can roll tee balls in rain or shine. You can find him tailgating in the Muni Lot before Browns games or supporting local breweries.

As an avid provider of #VibrationEducation, he offers this free bit of advice, “Not all vibration is the same. Force and frequency do matter!” However, there is a 2% upcharge for all Michigan and Steeler’s fans.

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Why Is My Bulk Material Feeding or Screening Inefficiently?

By CVC Team

Dec 21

Once again I’m touching on the topic of the proper setup of rotary electric vibrators (RE) when they’re used on vibratory equipment. Most of the vibratory equipment manufactured by The Cleveland Vibrator Company uses two rotary electric vibrators to produce linear vibration. Vibratory tables (FA), vibratory grid tables (GT), electromechanical screeners (EMS) and electromechanical feeders (EMF) are all designed for the vibrators to counter rotate. Again, counter rotation simply means that the vibrators rotate in different directions, one clockwise and the other counter clockwise. It doesn’t matter which vibrator of the pair rotates clockwise or counter clockwise, it’s just important that they both don’t rotate in the same direction.

I recently tagged along with Jack Steinbuch on a visit to a customer who was experiencing some problems with a vibratory hopper feeder (RFM). After inspecting the unit we asked the customer to remove the weight covers on the vibrators so we could check the rotation direction. Once the weight covers are removed from the same end of each vibrator it’s very easy to see the direction of rotation as the vibrators are started up. At startup it was clear that the vibrators were NOT counter rotating as required. Read More…
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Things to Stick a Vacuum Mount Vibrator On, Part 1

By Craig Macklin

Dec 07

Recently, Cleveland Vibrator Co. has been working on developing a series of Vacuum Mount Systems for our vibrators. Typically, these are used for helping flow or clean out on portable hoppers, bins, IBCs, hopper bottom and belly dump trailers, or railcars. However, our newest release, the Mini Turbine Vacuum Mount series, has a variety of other fun applications that we can demonstrate in our very own plant here.

The first application to look at here is the Vacuum Mount CVT-P-20 being used in our coil making process. Our line of CM Electromagnetic Vibrators uses encapsulated coils that we make in house. In that process, we use vibration in order to settle epoxy around the coil in a mold, removing air bubbles and eliminating voids. Typically, we have used our VJ Vibratory Jogger tables in order to do this. However, in the video linked here, you can Read More…

Craig Macklin

Craig Macklin joined The Cleveland Vibrator Company in 2010. Although his prior experience is mired in the world of theoretical, intangible products and services such as software and consulting sales, the past 11 years have developed his passion for this industry and molded the vibration expert we know today. Now, as President and CEO, Craig has a deep understanding of the value and importance of industrial vibration to numerous industries and applications. He enjoys fine, locally roasted espresso, good food, and spending the day with his wife and two daughters. He has cried at multiple Browns and Indians games and likes to get outside and golf in his free time.

What’s his area of expertise, you ask? “Making sure the people on our team are better and smarter than I am.” – Craig Macklin

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How to Reclaim up to 30% More of Your Ceramics Media

By Jeff Hochadel

Nov 02

During the process of manufacturing paints or other coatings, one of the steps involved is milling or grinding all of the dry ingredients into the liquid portion of the paint. These dry or solids consist of Titanium Dioxide (TIO2) pigments, binders, and various other powders. The liquid portion is mainly solvent or in the case of latex base – water. Once all of these dry ingredients have been thoroughly mixed (the proper term is dispersed) into the liquid base of the paint, the next step involves a high shear, high energy process called media milling.

In a nutshell, the paint is run through a chamber that has an enclosed horizontal shaft with discs or blades. The chamber is also filled with very small, spherical, grinding media. The media is made of different materials such as glass, steel, and ceramic media. Read More…

Jeff Hochadel

Jeff Hochadel has over 25 years of experience building and selling vibratory screening equipment. Jeff is responsible for handling fine mesh screening applications for The Cleveland Vibrator Company. His expertise is utilizing our Ultrasonic Deblinding System to solve difficult screening problems. When Jeff is not visiting customers promoting our products you can most likely find him fly fishing.

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110v/60hz Vibrators, 3 Options: When to Choose Electromagnetic Vibes

By Mike Stratis

Aug 31

The Cleveland Vibrator Company was established in 1923. During the last century, the flagship product for our company has been the pneumatic piston vibrator. However, to meet the demands of our ever-changing industry, our product offerings have been adapted to fit customers’ requests. Before we delve into it, let’s look at the three options available for the users who require a 110v/60hz vibrator. These units include:

Electromagnetic Vibrators
(CM product line)

No Lube? No Problem.

By Mike Stratis

Jul 27

Here at the Cleveland Vibrator Company, we are constantly looking to help solve a customer’s problem. That problem could range from breaking up bridging material in a hopper, deblinding a screen deck, compacting dry bulk products or anything in between. Regardless of the processing line hurdle, we have the experience to assist.

Since 1923, the flagship product line for our company has been the pneumatic piston vibrator. In the 90+ years of manufacturing here in Cleveland, Ohio, a few new kids have entered the block…the vibratory material flow aids block, that is. As with any industry, applications change over time. In our world, a few that come to mind are the food and pharmaceutical projects. As our country has progressed with health standards and regulations, manufacturing facilities have had to adapt products to meet the needs for the evolving problems. The change we are going to focus on here is the elimination of lubricant, oil or grease in the air lines at processing plants. Read More…

Mike Stratis

Mike joined The Cleveland Vibrator Company team in 2013 with prior experience in manufacturing sales with a Cleveland company in the tool and die industry. Now, he’s the Director of Sales and specializes in “making stuff that shakes stuff”.

When he’s not immersed in the world of industrial vibration, as rare as that might be, Mike keeps busy *not finishing in last place* in Fantasy Football and enjoys spending time with his wife and three kids. It’s always golf season for Mike, and he’s been known to 3 putt his way around any course and can roll tee balls in rain or shine. You can find him tailgating in the Muni Lot before Browns games or supporting local breweries.

As an avid provider of #VibrationEducation, he offers this free bit of advice, “Not all vibration is the same. Force and frequency do matter!” However, there is a 2% upcharge for all Michigan and Steeler’s fans.

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