Industrial Screw Conveyors: Design and Use
Water treatment plants, food and chemical processors, biofuel, agricultural, and wood pulp industries all use industrial screw conveyors. They efficiently convey materials frequently to or from hoppers and bins, for instance. Likewise, thermal screw conveyors are extremely useful. For example, the ability to heat or chill the conveyed material brings big improvement for processing operations.
The Major Components of Industrial Screw Conveyors
Industrial screw conveyors consist of augers, troughs or tubes, a motor, a drive system, and in/outlet chutes. Certainly, mild steel and 304 stainless steel are the primary materials of choice. The spiral attached to the center shaft is the “flighting.” There are two main types of flighting we fabricate.
Sectional flighting are individual segments of wraps formed into a helix. As a result, they work best for moving large amounts of heavy material. This type of industrial screw conveyor has great wear resistance. Ribbon flighting is a shaftless system. It’s a thinner gauge metal that conveys lighter weight materials. Thus, this is to separate the liquid from the from solid.
Other Components
Motors and drives are essential components to achieving success because of their function. Motors are calculated using the auger size, in combination with the volume and density of the material. A gear reducer takes the constant speed of the motor and reduces it to a lower speed of auger rotation. This allows for a higher torque for start-up or heavier loads, and is essential for successful operation. The VFD (variable frequency drive) controls the speed and monitors power level to avoid motor burn-out.
Other minor, yet necessary components include seals and bearings. Seals keep the contents in the auger from oozing into the bearings or gear reducer. This keeps the shaft centered and running smoothly. It’s important to pick the correct type for the application, whether it be for food, high heat, or other.
Astro Metal Craft: Your Industrial Manufacturer
Industrial screw conveyors are essential equipment pieces for many processors to reliably convey products. There are many features that bring more benefit to the user such as mixing, heating or chilling, and mobility. Certainly, choosing the right manufacturer is key to ensure arrival of an optimal screw years of benefit. At Astro Metal Craft, you can expect our experienced engineers to make proper decisions and design for your application. Importantly, all we need is the information of the sizing and its use – and we’ll take care of the rest! Call us at 763-777-8087 today for more information.
