Solutions In Motion Blog - Cleveland Vibrator

5 Awesome Things You Need To Know About Industrial Vibration

By Katy Sabo

Mar 07

Working for the Cleveland Vibrator Company, you can imagine how many times I get the question, “what exactly do you mean by vibrators?” It’s a question I answer with great pride and enthusiasm… and maybe add a little bit of humor for good measure. When I go on to explain just how important vibration is across so many industries, the shock factor withers away and people are engaged in the conversation, wanting to learn more about it. There’s a couple of things you should know about industrial vibration and why it may be one of the coolest fields to work in, here’s the short list to get you started:

It’s Diverse – It’s true. Industrial vibrators can be found on the side of bins, hoppers, silos, barges
and on screening, conveying and compaction equipment. Have you passed a large dump truck lately on the highway? I’d venture to bet there may be a DC vibrator hiding away underneath the body Read More…

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Properly Size an Industrial Vibrator on a Bulk Barge Hopper in 3 Easy Steps

By Mike Stratis

Jan 30

When it comes to unloading dry bulk bins, hoppers or vessels, we all know time is money. The more efficiently a job is done, the more time becomes available to take on new projects. More projects, equals… well, you get it.

One of the options available when it comes to material handling and unloading dry bulk barge hoppers or vessels is vibration. These externally mounted pneumatic or electric devices, when properly sized and installed, appropriately flex the bin or hopper wall to break free rat holing, bridging, caking or sticking material. With the assistance of the Cleveland Vibrator Selection Guide, the vibrator sizing process can be simplified and help increase successful installation. Read More…

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How to Properly Clean Fine Mesh Screens Without Damaging Your Equipment

By Jeff Hochadel

Jan 11

Over the years, I have read many articles about how to reduce fine mesh screen blinding on vibratory screeners. These solutions range from polyurethane balls to brushes. One of our most frequently asked questions is how to clean screens once they are blinded for fine mesh applications. Some customers simply throw out the blinded screens or send them back to our rescreening department for a new screen to be applied.

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3 Variables to Consider That Influence Material Flow from Vibratory Hopper Feeders

By CVC Team

Jan 10

When it comes to a vibratory hopper feeder and end-user requirements, The Cleveland Vibrator Company has worked with customers that span the range from simply wanting to increase material flow from point A to point B to more precise applications sending bulk material to downstream processes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjeHeUauwF4

Customer Example

For example, we had the opportunity to visit a local customer and assist him with setting up a hopper feeder unit. Their goal was to place a dry material into plastic trays while they moved on a conveyor under the feeder. Precise metering of the dry material into the trays is critical to this customer’s success.

It seemed this would be an excellent opportunity to discuss material flow and the impacting parameters. As mentioned, the equipment provided by The Cleveland Vibrator Company is a vibrator hopper feeder. The hopper is a stationary non-vibrating hopper with an adjustable slide gate. The vibratory feeder utilizes two rotary electric vibrators. A variable frequency drive (VFD) with a dynamic brake resistor controls the vibrators.

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The Evolution of Industrial Vibrators: From Pneumatics to Electric Powered Vibrators in the 20th Century

By CVC Team

Dec 19

The Cleveland Vibrator Company started manufacturing air-operated vibrators in 1923 and for several years air vibrators are all we pretty much offered. This worked well in our primary foundry customer base through the first half of the 20th century. As we expanded our customer base, we found more and more customers wanting to use electrical power to operate the industrial vibrators. It became obvious that we needed to give our sales staff an alternate source besides air to offer our valued customers.

We started with fairly basic electromagnetic vibrators with the MC-1, MC-2, etc. and started to introduce these units into the marketplace. The MC series is considered the “grandfather” to our current CM-5, CM-10, and CM-30 and more recent Super 30 vibrators. You can see a success story of this product in the field in the case study on the right-hand side of this paragraph. In the early ’60s, we contracted with a company from Sweden called Dynapac to market and sell their rotary electric vibrators mostly here in North America. They were supplied in 1800 RPM and 3600 RPM (revolutions per minute) which opened the door to customers having hoppers, bins, chutes, bunkers as well as other applications which include vibratory tables, feeder, and screeners. Read More…
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Air Powered Vibratory Feeders: 3 Things To Know Before Making a Buying Decision

By Mike Stratis

Oct 18

When it comes to handling dry or semi-dry bulk material, there are few means to transport the material from point A to point B. The common options are pneumatic conveying equipment, frequently dense or dilute phase, belt conveyors, screw augers or vibratory feeders, flat pan style, or enclosed tube style. There certainly is a time and place for each of these options but we will focus on the vibratory feeder design.

Companies looking to make a buying decision on which type of equipment to install that will handle the material typically turn to the vibratory feeders that are powered by a pneumatic or air piston vibrator for one of, or a combination of, these reasons:

Air Powered Feeders Work Well Within a Budget – First, and maybe most importantly, the purchase price. The air-powered vibratory feeders can be the low-cost alternative to the electromechanical or electromagnetic powered vibratory feeders. The biggest cost savings can come directly from the vibratory drive or mechanism and the vibratory controls. Electromechanical feeders typically have two vibratory motors while the electromagnetic feeders typically have one large vibratory drive attached. Each of these electric-powered options requires an electrical control box, with dual thermal overload protection for the electromechanical vibratory motors for on/off operation, speed control, or intensity of the vibration control. In contrast, the air-powered feeders are driven by a single non-impacting piston. For example, the Cleveland Vibrator VMSAC units are either controlled by a manual ball valve or 2-way, normally closed, solenoid valve.
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Let’s Clear the Air on Vibratory Drives for Hazardous Locations

By Jack Steinbuch

Sep 20

Over the years I’ve received a number of requests for industrial vibrators or vibratory equipment that need to operate in a hazardous location. Most requests include the classifications they are either given or think they need, but often aren’t familiar enough with them to know what their application may really require. I believe, for vibrating motors especially, that most confusion stems from recognizing the difference between dust-tight and explosion-proof construction.

Our challenge for these applications is to clarify the classification being requested and offer possible alternatives to meet them. First, to my understanding, pneumatic powered drives are acceptable for any hazardous location. You only need to be concerned if you use an electrically activated valve to start/stop it, to make sure it meets the classification of the hazardous area.

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Vibratory Compaction Tables: 5 Things to Consider When Working Within A Budget

By Mike Stratis

Aug 31

Are you looking to add a vibratory compaction table to your facility’s manufacturing and shipping processes? If yes, great! We’d be glad to help put our experience to work and point you in the right direction. There are a few things to review during the buying process, each of which can impact the equipment’s overall cost.

For starters, what can a vibratory compaction table do? We commonly see the following reasons to include a table:

Flatten the mound build-up, or pile, of material made from the filling station discharging into the center of the Gaylord, tote, box, or similar type packaging container
Compact and stabilize bulk bags, FIBCs, or super sacks for easier stacking and handling before storage or shipment
Fully or semi-automate packaging lines by integrating with rollers sections (CDLR and gravity) or belt conveyors
Fill, weigh, and compact material
Remove air bubbles in molds and cast products for improved structural and surface finish
Lower labor hours and costs for packaging and processing lines

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Unique Design Options Available for Specific Vibratory Compaction Table Applications

By CVC Team

Aug 15

Recently on a long weekend, I took the “Behind the Scenes Tour” of the C.F. Martin guitar factory in Nazareth, Pennsylvania. During the tour, the six of us in my group got to see pretty much the whole guitar building process from wood coming in the back door to the final setup of the completed instrument. Along the way we spent a few minutes talking with the guy that actually hand selects the wood for all the Custom Shop guitars, the customer works with a Martin guitar distributor, customizes an instrument, and starts the process. This gentleman reviews the order’s specifications and gets to look through Martin’s selection of some of the most beautiful wood you’d ever want to see to find just the right set to match up with the order. Custom shop orders start with the basic guitar body style and build on from there, sort of like what Cleveland Vibrator does with its product line. Cleveland Vibrator is very customer-driven; the customer knows their business, process, and goals, Cleveland Vibrator asks questions, listens, and often conducts testing, then offers a solution to accomplish those goals. Similar to Martin Guitars on the “custom build your guitar” portion of their website, modifications to Cleveland Vibrators products are available.

A good example of a product that is often modified by customer requirements is the vibratory table. Basically, a table is designed to vibrate linearly in the vertical direction. From this very basic concept, there is almost an infinite number of options and variables available to accomplish the customer’s goal, regardless of how simple or Read More…
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What to Expect for Maintenance of Your Pneumatic Vibrator

By Craig Macklin

Aug 09

As my incredibly knowledgeable associate, Mike Stratis, wrote a blog about accessories to consider for installing an air-powered vibrator, I thought I would provide a follow-up piece to discuss what to expect AFTER the install. As with any equipment, pneumatic vibrators and their supporting accessories require love, attention, lubrication, and cleaning. Here is what to expect if you want to get the longest and most consistent life out of your pneumatic vibrator, whether a piston, turbine, or ball.

Air Piston Pneumatic Vibrator

Cleveland Vibrator Pneumatic Piston Vibrator Group Shot

Lubrication

Firstly, you must check your lubricator with some frequency. If you operate continuously, you might check and/or refill every 1-3 weeks. If your use is intermittent or infrequent, you might schedule on a 1-4 month basis. The use of internal coating in the vibrator can reduce or remove the need for lubrication. But, coatings without lubrication will typically wear out faster than a coated or uncoated piston vibrator that is properly lubricated. Depending on the size and duty cycle of your vibrator, you might use a pint of lubricant every 2 weeks – 2 years. We recommend our MXR-12 VibraLube, which is 10W-NR.

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Customer Example

Air Piston Pneumatic Vibrator

Lubrication

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