In the ever-evolving world of bulk materials handling, industries face increasingly complex challenges. From food and beverage to agriculture, manufacturing to mining and resources, and chemical processing to critical minerals, the need for efficient and safe handling of powders and aggregates has never been more crucial.
Current issues influencing conveyor system design
The most common issues faced by manufacturers and processing operations, in no particular order, include:
- Increasing material diversity: Industries are dealing with a wider range of materials, each with unique properties requiring specialised handling.
- Stricter regulatory requirements: Environmental and safety regulations are becoming more stringent, necessitating more sophisticated dust control and containment systems.
- Demand for higher efficiency: There’s growing pressure to increase throughput rates while maintaining product quality and minimising energy consumption.
- Space constraints: Many facilities face limitations on floor space, requiring more compact and versatile conveying solutions.
- Cross-contamination concerns: Especially in food and pharmaceutical industries, preventing cross-contamination between different products is increasingly critical.
- Automation integration: There’s a growing need to integrate conveying systems with broader automated processes and Industry 4.0 technologies such as sensors, robotics and Internet of Things (IoT) platforms.
- Sustainability pressures: Companies want more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly conveying solutions to reduce their carbon footprint.
- Flexibility requirements: With rapidly changing markets, there’s a need for systems that can handle multiple materials or be quickly cleaned between batches.
- Traceability demands: Many industries now require improved tracking and tracing capabilities throughout the powder handling process.
- Maintenance optimisation: There’s a push for systems requiring less frequent maintenance and offering predictive maintenance capabilities, to reduce downtime.
- Handling of sensitive materials: Some industries, like the battery mineral industry are dealing with increasingly sensitive or reactive materials that require gentler handling methods to maintain product integrity and increase yields.
These challenges underscore the need for custom conveyor system designs that can address multiple complex requirements simultaneously.
The importance of custom conveyor systems
Handling powders, aggregates, and other materials presents unique requirements that off-the-shelf solutions can’t meet. With increasing material diversity, each with its own characteristics – from flow properties to particle size, the efficiency and safety of bulk materials handling is put under duress. In addition, each industry must navigate an increasingly complex web of stricter regulations and safety guidelines without sacrificing operational efficiency and sustainability.
Custom conveyor systems offer a tailored approach to these challenges. By designing systems specifically for the material and operational environment at hand, companies can achieve a perfect balance of efficiency, safety, and regulatory compliance. These bespoke solutions can also address space constraints and flexibility requirements, allowing for systems that can:
- Handle multiple materials with a single machine
- Reduce the overall footprint using mobile options
- Offer multiple cleaning options to speed up downtime between batches
- Be quickly reconfigured or repurposed when market demands change.
If you decide to embark on a custom conveyor system design project, several factors must be carefully considered:
- Material properties and flow characteristics: Understanding how the material behaves during transport is crucial for designing an efficient system, especially given the increasing diversity of materials handled.
- Environmental factors and dust control: Many materials, especially fine powders and hazardous materials, require careful dust management to maintain a safe working environment, prevent product loss, and meet stricter regulatory requirements.
- Safety regulations and industry guidelines: Compliance with evolving standards is essential and can impact your ability to operate in certain industries like mining and resources. Sophisticated dust control and containment systems must be considered, especially when choosing a powder handling conveyor.
- Scalability and adaptability: A well-designed system should be able to accommodate future changes in production volumes or material types, addressing the need for flexibility in rapidly changing markets. This may include increasing the capacity or size of your conveyors, adding additional conveyors, or running.
- Integration capabilities: The system should be designed with automation integration in mind, allowing for seamless incorporation into broader Industry 4.0 frameworks.
Custom conveyor systems vs. fixed plant installations
When it comes to handling bulk materials, companies often face a choice between custom solutions and traditional fixed plant installations. Each approach has its merits, but custom solutions prove advantageous in many scenarios.
Comparing capital investment and return on investment
Custom solutions typically require lower upfront capital investment compared to fixed plant installations. While the per-unit cost might be higher, the overall investment is often significantly less. This lower initial outlay can lead to a faster return on investment, especially for companies dealing with changing market demands.
One of the key benefits of custom solutions is their flexibility. Unlike fixed plant, conveyors with a mobile option can be easily relocated to alleviate congestion on the plant floor or accommodate changing business needs.
Custom solutions often face fewer regulatory hurdles compared to permanent fixed installations. This can significantly reduce the time from project conception to operational deployment. While fixed plants may require years of government approvals, custom mobile solutions can often be implemented much more quickly, allowing companies to capitalise on market opportunities faster.
Case study: custom pneumatic tanker loader for regional building material hubs
An Australian building materials company found benefit in a custom conveyor system design. The company was establishing multiple regional hubs and wanted to decant building materials into pneumatic tankers. They were looking for an alternative to traditional fixed silo storage and road tanker loading facilities. They found fixed plant installations unsuitable due to high capital costs and lengthy approval processes.
The company needed a solution that could efficiently handle high volumes while maintaining flexibility to demobilise and relocate as needed across various locations. They were rightly concerned about operator safety and insisted that any conveying system had to meet industry safety standards. Lastly, they wanted to deploy a new solution quickly while avoiding extensive regulatory hurdles.
Floveyor was brought in to discuss how the company could rapidly convey materials like Portland cement or hydrated lime from disposable Flexible Intermediate Bulk Containers (FIBCs, also known as bulk bags) into pneumatic road tankers.
A custom pneumatic tanker loader was designed to meet all the requirements for the building materials company. The solution addressed the customer’s unique needs while offering advantages over traditional fixed plant installations.
The custom conveying system used an Endura F5 aero-mechanical conveyor (AMC) with a semi-mobile design which was relocatable with a crane in large assemblies. Dust management was performed using an integrated dust extraction and containment system to capture dust during FIBC splitting and tanker-loading operations. It included a control system with PLC-based touchscreen HMI, offering manual, semi-auto, and automatic modes.
Key features and benefits
- Full custom conveyor design and build based on the client’s requirements and to their specifications
- Compliance with CCAA guidelines for safe cement tanker loading, ensuring regulatory adherence
- Dual unloading stations for 2 tonne flat-bottom FIBCs to increase operational efficiency
- Onboard dust collection and material recirculation, minimising waste and maintenance needs
- High conveyor capacity of 54,000 kg/h to meet high-volume demands
- Safety features including loading bellows and access platforms, prioritising worker safety.
Advantages over traditional fixed plant solutions
- Reduced capital intensity, allowing for more strategic allocation of resources
- Faster deployment with fewer regulatory hurdles, enabling quicker market entry
- Improved operational flexibility, with the ability to relocate units as needed.
The standalone conveyor system was able to rapidly transfer powders and granules from disposable FIBCs into pneumatic road tankers. The solution enabled the client to establish their regional hub network more quickly and with greater flexibility than traditional fixed plant alternatives. While specific performance metrics are proprietary, the system met the client’s throughput and efficiency targets.
This case study demonstrates the potential for custom-engineered solutions to address complex material handling challenges in the building materials industry. It shows how innovative design can balance high-performance requirements with regulatory compliance and operational flexibility.
The role of aero-mechanical conveyors (AMC) and tubular drag conveyors (TDC) in custom solutions
AMCs and TDCs play a crucial role in many custom conveyor system designs, especially for handling bulk powders and granules. Used alone or in combination, the conveyors provide speed and precision in bulk material transfers.
Advantages for handling bulk materials:
- High throughput rates with minimal product degradation
- Enclosed systems that reduce dust emissions and product loss
- Ability to convey materials horizontally, vertically, or at any angle
- Low energy consumption compared to other conveying methods
- Gentle handling of materials, preserving product integrity
- Accommodate tight spaces, low headroom, complex routes and multiple planes.
AMCs and TDCs can be seamlessly integrated with other equipment such as bag dump stations, bulk bag unloaders, hoppers, and screw feeders. This versatility makes them ideal components in custom conveyor system designs, allowing for efficient material transfer between different stages of the process, from the intake of raw materials through to packaging.
Best practices in custom conveyor system design
Collaborative approach with clients
Successful custom conveyor system design requires close collaboration between the equipment manufacturer (OEM) and the customer. This ensures the final solution addresses all specific needs and constraints of the operation.
Conducting thorough site assessments is crucial for designing effective custom solutions. Factors such as available space, existing infrastructure, material properties, and environmental conditions all play a role in shaping the optimal design.
Balancing performance, safety, and cost-effectiveness
The best custom designs strike a balance between high performance, stringent safety standards, and cost-effectiveness. This often involves innovative approaches to system layout and the selection of bulk material handling equipment to complement conveying technology.
Future trends in conveyor system design
Three major trends are emerging in custom conveyor design solutions.
- Automation and smart technologies: The integration of sensors, IoT devices, and advanced control systems is becoming increasingly common. These technologies enable real-time monitoring, predictive maintenance, and improved process control.
- Sustainable and energy-efficient designs: As sustainability becomes a greater focus, conveyor system designs are evolving to reduce energy consumption and minimise environmental impact. This includes the use of more efficient motors, regenerative systems, and materials with lower environmental footprints. Floveyor AMCs and TDCs have been optimised to provide extremely energy-efficient transfers of powders and granules.
- Adaptability for changing market demands: Future conveyor systems will feature modular designs that can be easily reconfigured or scaled to meet changing production needs. This adaptability will be crucial for companies operating in dynamic markets.
Conclusion
The value of custom conveyor systems in modern powder handling applications cannot be overstated. As industries face increasingly complex challenges in material handling, custom solutions offer the flexibility, efficiency, and compliance needed to stay competitive.
Long-term benefits of investing in custom conveyor design solutions include:
- Improved operational efficiency and productivity
- Better alignment with specific business needs and processes
- Enhanced safety and regulatory compliance
- Greater adaptability to changing market conditions
- Potential for significant cost savings over time.
By carefully considering the unique requirements of each application and leveraging advanced technologies, companies can design conveyor systems that meet current needs and prepare them for future challenges in the ever-evolving world of bulk materials handling. Partnering with an OEM and powder handling specialists is the first step to realising the long-term benefits and achieving a lower total cost of ownership for your powder handling and industrial conveying applications.
Learn more about custom conveyor system design
Get in touch with Floveyor for advice on powder handling. As powder handling specialists with a long history in multiple industries, we can give you advice on how to get the most long-term value from your conveyor system design.
Further reading
- A coffee conveying solution for Allpress Espresso
- Klen International – A robust and flexible material handling system for harsh applications
- Tubular drag conveyor and aero-mechanical conveyor team up for panacea conveying challenges
- Meeting the challenge of complex materials with Floveyor’s chemical conveying solutions
- Conveying solution increases production time by 20+% for agribusiness
- Floveyor used in battery-grade nickel sulphate hexahydrate processing
