Here at The Cleveland Vibrator Company, we’ve committed ourselves to providing the best solution to your material flow problems for over 95 years. We like to say, sometimes “off-the-shelf” is just plain “off,” which is why our goal is to build a tailor-made solution to fit perfectly into your operation and application. Whether you need specific dimensions to fit a vibratory table into your existing process, require vibratory screen deblinding technologies, or have particular isolators you would like on your vibratory feeder; we offer design flexibility for our fabricated equipment to fit your application.
Casting facilities pour molten metals into molds that require vibration to enable material flow and release air from the molten metal during the cooling process. Hot Forging Facilities feed metal ranging from 800 degrees Fahrenheit to 2200 degrees Fahrenheit, depending on the material they’re producing which may require vibration for their transfer chutes. These are just a few examples of material flow locations that vibration can be used within these facilities.
What is the one thing these applications have in common? Heat.
When it comes to terminology and lingo within the vibration industry, many times there are multiple names for the same piece of equipment. We will review what those are and explain what they mean.
Bin or hopper vibrators have many subcategories of vibrator types, just within this single product line itself. Let’s break it down.
Figure 1
Air vibrator or pneumatic vibrators can be the following:
In 1923, The Cleveland Vibrator Company began its journey in the exciting world of industrial vibration, specifically the use of pneumatic powered options for foundry applications. As we ventured into other industries, we noticed a new trend: the demand for electric-powered motors.
Soon after, we decided it was time to explore this exciting new opportunity and set out to find a partner specializing in electric-powered vibration. We eventually partnered with an outside company to supply this demand from our customer base. As with any new venture, we experienced a few hiccups along the way; lead times were too long, insufficient force options available, and the lack of “Cleveland Vibrator Quality” our customers came to expect.
We can all agree that the improvement of the performance of any production equipment is a good idea. That being said, we first need to establish the definition of the performance of a screener. I will go with any means to improve the screening efficiency to gain as much of the desired product with the least amount of contamination. We will make the assumption that the correct screener has been selected for the application, so now we will look for ways to improve its performance.
Hoppers can aid in the performance of material handling equipment, plus provide health and safety benefits for your workforce. To begin, we will review the advantages hoppers can provide to improve the performance of feeders and screeners for bulk loading applications.
Hoppers can be stationary with steeply sloping walls to allow free-flowing material to discharge onto the feed tray. Due to their steep walls, these hoppers can have a high dump height, depending on the volume. For lower dump heights and/or poor flowing materials, a vibrating hopper is a great solution. The hopper is attached to the vibrating body and the vibrators are then upsized to compensate for the increase in vibrating weight. The material is fed from the hopper onto the equipment.
OSHA specifies that a hearing conservation program should be in place when “noise exposure is at or above 85 decibels averaged over 8 working hours, or an 8-hour time-weighted average (TWA)”. This can be an issue for some vibratory equipment. However, we have selections available that will reduce noise levels which can result in many positives for your facility (OSHA).
For example, did you know investing in noise-reducing vibration can lead to an increase in productivity and overall safety? High noise levels can lead to short- and long-term physical damage including ringing ears, temporary changes in hearing, and long-term hearing damage or loss. But, less commonly known, it can also put a strain on your pocket by reducing productivity, contributing to poor communication and concentration, and can even contribute to workplace accidents by limiting your employee’s ability to understand speech (OSHA).
Since there is a wide variety of vibratory equipment, for this blog, we will focus on “brute force” vibratory equipment. The vibrating body is directly installed on the equipment and is driven by a vibrator or dual motors, and the supporting structure is isolated from the vibrating body. Now let us look at potential ways to reduce their noise level:
Our team is frequently asked about the proper installation of our Single Impact Air Knocker units. Since these units require two strokes of air for proper operation, the required components and installation process are slightly different than a more traditional pneumatic piston vibrator. Here, we will answer frequently asked questions and walk through the step-by-step installation process.
Step One
After properly sizing and selecting the units (which can easily be completed by utilizing our Vibrator Selection Guide!), it is time to install. First order of business, what are the components required for proper operation? There are a few items needed:
The Single Impact Air Knocker (Complete with the Exhaust Port Protector and Grade 5 mounting hardware, provided with each unit)
Material flow issues are the worst. Not only are they a headache to deal with during production for the team out on the floor, but they may be costing you valuable time and money in the long run. The usual suspects for material flow hang-ups typically occur in bulk supply hoppers or industrial bins. But, what about those industrial pipes and chutes transferring materials throughout various stages of production?
Industrial vibration is not just for those usual suspects; it can be just as successful when applied to those transfer chutes and pipes! Not only does it get the job done, but it is economical and ultimately saves the integrity of your equipment and your team’s shoulders and backs.
In this pandemic, manufacturers have been called on to help make items critical to stopping the spread of, or help with the treatment of, the virus. Namely, our nation needs an increased focus on the manufacturing of PPE, cleaning products, and ventilators. Well, we at Cleveland Vibrator Company are a manufacturer. However, we don’t have the capability to make masks, sanitizers, or ventilators. We are proud to be deemed essential and contributing to keeping the production and transportation of key goods intact. But we want to be doing more to directly contribute to stopping the spread. So, we were inspired to think of products and projects that have helped customers reduce the density of workers in a small area and could now apply to enable safe distancing on processing and production floors. Here is a couple:
Application #1: Bulk Food Packaging
Production conveyor line without the use of vibratory equipment – Cleveland Vibrator Company
In packaging bulk foods such as frozen onion rings, bagels, or meat patties, typically there is a step between the box filling station and the close and seal station to settle the product. When the box gets filled with products, especially odd-sized items, the product tends to cone so that amount of product that by weight is supposed to fill the box, is in a mound that exceeds the height of the box. Often, this settling is handled manually by workers standing shoulder to shoulder at the conveyor between the filling and close and seal to shake the boxes and get the products evenly settled.Read More… Share this blog post:
