switching from manual feeding to a fully automated conveying system
storage of all components
weighing of each batch with a tolerance of +/- 3 kg
weighing accuracy between +/- 50 g and 3 kg
feeding of dissolvers with minimum generation of dust
dissolver feeding throughput of up to 15 t/h
flexible allocation of formulations
100% reproducibility
The Solution
Automated bulk materials handling in the manufacture of house paints
The majority of raw materials (bulk components such as chalk) is supplied in bulk tankers and transferred into the storage silos. As an alternative, three big bag discharge stations can also be used to transfer bulk components into the outdoor silos.
Vibration bottoms, aeration diaphragms and frequency-controlled dosing screws are responsible for discharge and dosing into the conveying line to the vacuum conveying scales.
The raw materials stored in the silos are weighed incrementally into several large scale hoppers via vacuum conveying systems. These scale hoppers can be allocated to the following dissolvers flexibly with pipe diverter valves.
Another important raw material, which plays a vital role in the production process, is TiO2 (titanium dioxide). As this raw material has special properties, it is stored, dosed, weighed and conveyed differently to the other raw materials. Dosing and weighing is carried out consecutively, directly below the storage silo into two scale hoppers; then the weighed quantity is conveyed in several stages into the large scale hoppers:
The weighed raw materials are fed from scale hoppers to the dissolvers using pressure conveying at a rate of up to 15 t/h. The conveying distance to the dissolvers can be up to 90 metres.
The entire production process from storage of raw materials through to feeding of the dissolvers is documented in batch protocols.
The Kastor process control and instrumentation system with formulation management ensures that production is both reliable and efficient and that the plant and dissolvers operate at maximum capacity.