Additional design features that speed changeovers and improve product safety include: the elimination of internal angles that could harbor contaminants; the use of rounded-radius framework turned 45 degrees to horizontal to speed moisture run-off; and sub-assembly designs that enable single-operator access, removal, and replacement. The thick-wall, 8-in x 6-in, stainless steel chassis helps ensure stable, heavy-lift performance during the raise-and-rotation sequence of the 2,500-lb loads at a 16-ft dump height.
Despite the two-tiered operating environment of the application, changeover times are reduced as a result of the quick-changeover design and performance-proven construction. Process throughput is further increased with improved material release, and complete discharge. The bulk container dumper also improves process safety: the material discharge carriage features a container lift-and-seal function that eliminates the release of migrant material dusts into the operator work area.
This bulk material handling system is built on the NBE integrated construction and controls infrastructure. The complete process sequence – including container loading and sealing, and container high-lift and discharge – operates on a paired, process-specific structural framework chassis with all automation and control functions centralized to a single, menu-driven HMI to enable standardized and system-wide data reporting. The integrated construction and controls infrastructure helps reduce total cost of ownership, relative to the common systems integration concept of bolt-together, divergent “islands” of equipment and controls, while also improving process performance and the accuracy of production data shared throughout the enterprise.
The system is built based on HACCP assessments that guided the determination of the framework and component materials of construction.