Technologies
Know how> Technologies
Manipulation Technologies
Defining the correct layout of a complete factory or a unique equipment on a material handling system requires deep knowledge of the physical characteristics and particular behaviour of each product on every specific circumstance and on each point of the planned process.
The precise design of each component, its detailed features, and the way it integrates on each process determines the successful operation of the entire plant, as well as its reliability and economic efficiency.
Over the years, METALOGONDE has perfected a set of innovative bulk handling technologies. These resulted not only from the internal processes of systematic study aiming to create scientific knowledge and to reduce actual technological gaps, but also from the vast experience in handling all types of powdered and granulated products. Thousands of equipment and plants have been commissioned while recording results and evaluating the obtained performances, seeking the permanent improvement of each technology involved.
Loading, unloading and storage technology
Incoming raw materials or semi-manufactured bulks and loading them in silos, tanks, hoppers or other storage vessels, is a critical step in any material handling and processing process. The correct design of these containers and their resources for loading, unloading and conditioning the product is vital for its good conservation and flow to the subsequent processes.
METALOGONDE developed innovative technology for controlling the discharge of tankers, unloading of big-bags, manual dumping of bags and automatic bags emptying. With different levels of automation and human intervention, METALOGONDE equipment meets the needs of the most demanding products: fine powders with low flowability, compacting, sticky, toxic, hygroscopic, perishable, temperature sensitive, fragile, explosive, etc.
The Loading, Unloading and Storage Technology is a set of engineering concepts, technical requirements and design rules that allow METALOGONDE design and build silos, tanks, unloading stations for big-bags, sacks and other equipment intended for the incoming of bulks, correctly adapted to each product, to the particular requirements of each location, and guaranteeing the safety of operators and the most efficient use of energy.
Pneumatic Conveying Technology
Pneumatic conveying of solids is the process of moving powdered or granular products between two points inside an industrial production process. The nature and physical characteristics of the products to be transferred, the distance to be covered, the flow rate required and the uniqueness of each installation site are the main variables to be considered while developing each project.
Pneumatic Conveying Technology is a set of techniques that have in common the use of energy produced by the compression or expansion of a gas to move a certain solid bulk product. These techniques differ essentially in two parameters: the operating pressure and the gas/product ratio used. Thus, this Technology comprises pneumatic conveying by vacuum and under positive pressure, distinguishing also the dilute phase and dense phase regimes.
The selection of the correct technique and operating regime for each project is crucial to obtain the desired result with the least amount of energy consumption and the lowest maintenance cost. Knowing all the variables involved is essential to determine the technological solution that best fits each case.
Over the years, METALOGONDE has developed and perfected its own mathematical models for calculating pneumatic conveying systems. These models are complemented by functional procedures and design rules that support the selection of the most suitable pneumatic conveying technology, ensuring the success of your application.
Dosing and Weighing Technology
Bulk handling involves, in most industries, the need to produce recipes with several solid and liquid ingredients at various stages of the production process. Automatic feeding and weighing different raw materials in bulk, ensuring accuracy and repeatability, is a complex task that requires mastery of Dosing and Weighing Technology.
This technology, consolidated by a long experience in a wide range of industrial applications, describes the relation between the physical properties of each ingredient and its behavior when facing different designs of feeding equipment and weighing hoppers. Thus, it is an essential tool to select the correct equipment design, ensuring a stable flow and a remarkable precision, along with the required production capacity.
METALOGONDE has developed its own algorithms for PLC programming and developing of complex applications containing bulks dosing and weighing, in both batch and continuous recipe production processes. Our process weighing hoppers and volumetric or gravimetric feeders, together with those software blocks, are able to maximize the installed production capacity while optimizing the precision and repeatability of each weighing process, being, therefor, essential for the success of every project.
Mixing and Homogenization Technology
The design and construction of an industrial mixer for dry powders, pasty or liquid products is a complex challenge. The successful final result depends, essentially, on experimentation and know-how accumulated over the years. Countless machines with different designs, dimensions, speeds and mixing tools, make possible to obtain and add more and more information to METALOGONDE’s material and mixture results database. The systematic recording of the performances obtained by each machine on fluidification, dispersion and mechanical homogenization, generate new knowledge, thus contributing actively to Mixing and Homogenization Technology.
Separation, Classification and Filtering Technology
Whether due to the need for particle size segregation, removal of impurities from a product or simply to comply with a process safety requirement, screens, sieves, classifiers and filters are essential equipment in most bulk solid and liquid handling plants.
Calculation and simulation models developed by METALOGONDE, accompanied by detailed knowledge of the behavior of the most varied raw materials used in the industry, laboratory tests and performance tests on prototypes, allow to accurate design of machines for Separation, Classification and Filtration of solids and liquids, thus meeting the requirements of your particular project.
Air Filtration and Dust Collection Technology
In any industrial installation for handling dry powdered products there is a need to collect dust and retain it inside silos, hoppers or other collecting containers. For example, the manual emptying of sacks and the feeding, mixing and unloading of fine powders, among others, are likely to generate dust clouds that escape through hoppers vents or other vessel openings.
Therefore, those dusty air flows must be controlled or they will pollute the surrounding environment or even cross-contaminate any sensible products on the same plant. The Air Filtration and Dust Collection Technology consists of a set of rules and calculation formulas that allow the design of an efficient dedusting system. In addition to these fundamental rules and calculation methods, METALOGONDE has developed several technological innovations on system design and operation control of dust collection that lead to achieving high performances while optimizing energy consumption.