What is the Advantage and Disadvantage of Vibrating Feeder

All bulk material manufacturing processes require equipment that can add value to your raw material inputs. If powder processing equipment such as pin mills, lump breakers, classifiers, mixers and extruders are the engines of your manufacturing process, then material conveying and feeding systems certainly are the infrastructure that ties everything together. However, there is often confusion between the terms screw conveyor, screw feeder, vibrating conveyor and vibrating feeder. For the purpose of this article, we are going to focus on the two main types of feeders: screw feeders and vibrating feeders. We will also define exactly what is powder feeding equipment and how to choose the best type of equipment based on your materials.

Click here to get more.

First let’s define what feed equipment is not. Material feeding equipment, also called powder dosing equipment, is not a conveying system. Mechanical conveyors, such as screw conveyors (also called auger conveyors) and vibratory conveyors, typically consist of one inlet and an outlet purely for the purpose of moving material from point A to point B over longer distances. They usually run at a fixed rate and move material downline at a constant throughput measured in pounds or kilograms per hour.

In contrast, feeding equipment is used in situations where more control and precision of the material flow rate is required. Also, screw feeders and vibratory feeders are not for moving material over longer distances, rather they are used to dose material from a hopper or IBC tote into a packaging line, or possibly a powder mill. They are much smaller than mechanical conveyors consisting of an integrated hopper, agitator, small tube or flat bed and a variable frequency drive. The integrated hopper is necessary for feeding equipment because a constant head load must be maintained for proper operation. The speed can be controlled on feeding equipment via a VFD, to allow slower and faster feed rates.

If your process requires repacking the processed material into 25 – 50 lbs. paper bags, and you need to be certain you’re not over or under packing the container, feeding equipment is the way to go. Similarly, powder mills cannot run on a head load or be slug fed, they perform at their best while running under a steady and consistent feed rate.

So now that we understand how feeders are used and various material characteristic categories, let’s put both of those components together and define what feed equipment will work best. Screw Feeders use a built-in hopper with stirring agitator that flood feeds a tubular channel. Within the tube is a small screw that pushes the product through an outlet into the downstream process. There are several designs for the small auger within screw feeders such as: pigtail screws, ribbon screws, and screws with a drive shaft.

• Pigtail screws have no central shaft and are often used for materials that have the following characteristics: light density and/or are sticky or cohesive. Examples include: flour, cocoa powder, and oxides.
• Ribbon screws have a central shaft but the flights are open and connected at one point to the shaft. Ribbon screws are used on materials that are light and granular such as PVC and polymer pellets.
• Screws with central shafts are used for denser or fluid materials like metal powders, for example.

Screw feeders offer a good deal of precision, in some instances dosing at an accuracy of -/+ 1-2 grams. They are a common type of feeder as they fit most applications, except in instances of materials that are friable or heat sensitive.

If you want to learn more, please visit our website Jiafu.

Vibrating feeders have a similar build (hopper and tubular structure unit) but instead of a screw, shaker motors are attached to the unit and the structure is supported by spring coils, to allow the unit to vibrate. A very minimal angle will allow the unit to shuffle the material down the feed bed into the downstream process. The feed rate can be controlled by increasing or decreasing the vibration amplitude and frequency. The shuffling action helps preserve the integrity of the materials, or avoid unnecessary wear and tear in the case of abrasive materials. Therefore, whenever dealing with materials that are either friable, temperature sensitive or abrasive, vibrating feeders are the way to go.

This article will introduce the advantages and disadvantages of the screw feeder and vibrating conveyor to you, let’s take a look together!

Vibrating Conveyor Composition

The vibrating conveyor consists of two parts: a vibrating tank and a driving device; the vibrating tank can be customized as round tube type, square groove closed type, square groove open, V type, U type; the driving device can be divided into electromagnetic type, motor type, Crank arm linkage;

The working principle of vibration conveying: according to the excitation mechanism, it can be divided into two types: mechanical type and electromagnetic type. Among them, the mechanical type can be divided into two types: elastic connecting rod type and inertial (motor) type; according to the number of participating vibration components It can be divided into three types: single body, double body and multi-body.

The vibrating conveyor uses the reciprocating vibration of the conveying trough to convey the material. There are two ways for the material to be conveyed in the trough, which are sliding motion (partial metering) and throwing motion (partial conveying). As long as the appropriate kinematics is determined Parameters, such as amplitude, frequency, vibration direction angle and installation inclination angle, so that the material in the tank can be transported by sliding or throwing.

Screw feeder

The screw feeder is a new generation product that integrates the steady flow of powder materials, weighing measurement and quantitative control; it is suitable for continuous measurement and batching of powder materials in various industrial production environments; it adopts a number of advanced technologies, and the operation Reliable, high control precision; especially suitable for continuous metering and batching of powder materials in building materials, metallurgy, electric power, chemical industry and other industries.

Pros and cons of screw feeder and vibrating feeder

Pros of screw feeder

• The type of helical blades can vary and can be easily changed to suit various material types.
• The torque can be infinite and the speed can be adjusted quickly.
• Can be designed for easy cleaning applications without removing the entire unit from the production line.
• low power consumption

Cons of screw feeders

• Binder material and fines can build up inside the auger, restricting powder flow.
• Moving parts can cause additional wear and tear on equipment and the generation of metallic foreign objects.

Pros of Vibrating Feeder

• The vibration conveying structure is simple, easy to install, better airtight performance, and maintenance-free.
• There are no transmission parts in the vibrating tank, which is easy to clean, has no material residue, and will not produce secondary metal foreign objects. If a non-metallic wear-resistant coating is added to the inner wall of the tank, the possibility of metal friction can be completely eliminated.
• The electromagnetic type can start and stop frequently, and the performance is stable for a long time.
• The material conveyed by vibration moves forward in a loose state, and the conveyed material will not be squeezed or deformed.

Cons of Vibrating Conveyors

• Can only be conveyed horizontally or horizontally downwards
• Not suitable for materials with water content > 12% or viscous materials
• The entrance and exit cannot be hard-connected to other equipment