Conveying cereal ingredients along complex routes

ONE of the more streamlined conveying systems for breakfast cereal ingredients comes from Spiroflow Ltd, a leading manufacturer of conveying and automated bulk handling systems based in the UK. A system of multi-outlet conveyors can carry the ingredients to three lines of process hoppers.

To ensure that ingredients do not gather dust as they travel the operating plant, conveying systems have to offer flexibility and secure handling.

For flaked materials, powder, and granular products

Based on a customer’s requirements and the factory layout, the enclosed conveying system designed by Spiroflow maximizes floor space at the plant utilizing the T6 Bulk Bag Discharger, a fully self-contained unloading station with integral hoist for dust-free and controllable bulk bag emptying connecting directly to a feed screw that doses product into a mixer.  At this point different ingredients are added into the mixer via a sack tip station.  The base of the mixer is connected to a triple inlet screw which takes product to three intermediate hoppers located on a mezzanine above the three process lines.  From these  holding hoppers, multi-outlet flex screws feed the three process lines, each with 30 discharge points,  Isolation valves at each conveyor outlet shut off feed when a process hopper is full or if maintenance is required.

This model can convey powdered, granular and flaked materials to a maximum distance of 20 meters, although multiple units as used in this application can go farther.

The flexible screw conveyor is easy to install and maintain, and the whole system can be stripped down for cleaning in minutes. Being a mechanical system there is no separation of mixed ingredients.

The model meets requirements on hygiene and dust containment for the transportation of delicate ingredients such as oats, wheat, rice and corn, within a factory environment, from their raw state through each production stage before being transformed into clusters, loops, puffs and flakes - ensuring the end product is in perfect condition for distribution.

“Our customer wanted fully-automated, time-saving conveying equipment that would maximise production. The flexible screw conveyors have helped reduce manual handling and degradation of the product during the process, saving time and money,” said Spiroflow’s UK and Ireland sales manager, James Podevyn.

In addition to Flexible Screw Conveyors and Bulk Bag Dischargers, Spiroflow is also a manufacturer of Tubular Cable and Chain Drag Conveyors, Bulk Bag Fillers, Aero Mechanical Conveyors, Bin Activators, Vacuum Conveyors, Ingredients Handling and Weighing Systems. The company’s technical and engineering expertise has led to it developing an international reputation for an unrivalled range of products with state-of-the-art control systems.