MATRIX PROJECTS

AIR PALLET PACKAGING SYSTEM

November 1, 2000

Matrix Engineering provided the structural, mechanical and electrical engineering for the addition of an air pallet fill stand to an existing box packaging system. The product handled was very hygroscopic as well as overly free flowing - capable of bridging the discharge or flowing uncontrollably. We used a positional butterfly valve on the packaging bin discharge with a control loop to position the valve based on the throughput rate from the fill stand scale. Level instrumentation was also used for preventing material from backing up in the delumping mill.

Much of the complexity of this project involved sizing an incline screw feeder between the hopper and fill stand large enough to handle instantaneous flooding with control logic to watch and adjust the average throughput to keep the screw running in the 15% - 30% full range. This helped to minimize the challenge to the inlet end seal on the screw conveyor.