A Midwest-based coffee processing company needed an efficient solution for moving ground coffee from rolling storage bins into filling machines. Given the sensitivity of handling ground coffee in a food processing environment, they required a system that maintained product integrity while delivering consistent throughput.

This process supports a new packaging line that runs approximately 4 lbs of coffee grounds per minute. To meet these requirements, the facility implemented two of Hapman’s Series P300 3” Portable Helix® Flexible Screw Conveyors. Each conveyor is 15 feet long and features a U.H.M.W. polyethylene food-grade conveyor casing with a stainless steel flat wire auger. Both Helix® units were custom-engineered with a portable base and an integrated control panel for flexible and efficient operation.

Hapman was selected for its strong industry reputation and proven expertise in food-grade bulk material handling solutions. The primary goal was to procure and commission a reliable, sanitary conveyor system that could seamlessly transfer ground coffee into filling equipment while minimizing downtime and manual labor.

Flexible Screw Conveyor Implementation Process

The integration of Hapman’s Series 300 flexible screw conveyors into the facility’s operations was both streamlined and effective. The equipment arrived ahead of schedule, giving the team a head start on assembly and integration. Upon delivery, the team promptly began assembly to proactively identify and resolve any issues. Installation followed a clear, methodical process: connecting the power supply, integrating the run signal, and attaching the connection tube. Meticulous attention to the assembly instructions was essential, as even small oversights could impact performance. By carefully following Hapman’s detailed guidelines, the team ensured a smooth start-up and long-term system reliability.

Challenges Encountered:
The primary challenge encountered was the meticulous attention needed during the assembly phase. Every small detail mattered to ensure the conveyors operated flawlessly within the coffee processing line.

Key Milestones:

• Successful preassembly before the arrival of other packaging equipment.
• Full integration into the filling machine system, enabling seamless coffee handling and processing.

Ongoing Performance and Future Plans

Since installation, the Helix® flexible screw conveyors have been running exceptionally well. The company reports minimal issues, with only occasional prop rod hinge breakage after prolonged use — a minor concern considering the overall performance.

The customer is highly satisfied with the equipment, noting no setbacks since the original sale. The success of this project has built a strong foundation for future collaboration. They plan to partner with Hapman again when they expand their processing lines, reinforcing Hapman’s role as a trusted provider for bulk material handling and food processing equipment.

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A leading dairy cooperative in Ontario, Canada processes milk from its member farmers to produce butter, cheese, yogurt, milk powder, and other dairy products. These products are supplied to retail, food service, and industrial markets. To enhance product consistency and texture, the facility incorporates cellulose powder and plant fibers in its dairy formulations.

Understanding the Challenges of Conveying Cellulose Powder

Cellulose powder is a fine, fibrous material commonly used in food processing for its ability to improve texture and stability. However, its lightweight nature and tendency to generate dust create unique challenges in pneumatic conveying systems. The material’s low bulk density makes it prone to becoming airborne, increasing the risk of dust accumulation and explosion hazards. Additionally, cellulose powder is electrostatically charged, which can lead to material sticking to equipment surfaces, causing flow disruptions and maintenance concerns.

Moisture absorption is another key issue. As a hygroscopic material, cellulose powder can clump and build up inside conveying lines, potentially leading to blockages and inconsistent material flow. Because of these factors, effective dust containment, explosion protection, and careful material handling are critical for maintaining system efficiency and compliance with industry safety standards.

Customer Challenge: NFPA Compliance & Dust Containment

The facility had been relying on Hapman filter/receivers installed in 2010 as part of its pneumatic conveying system. However, evolving NFPA safety standards required an upgrade to improve dust containment and explosion mitigation. The customer needed a replacement solution that would integrate seamlessly into their existing vacuum conveying system while meeting the latest safety regulations.

Hapman’s Solution: E-Line Model 24R with Flameless Vent

To address the customer’s needs, Hapman supplied a Model 24R E-Line filter/receiver with a flameless vent. This unit was selected due to its compliance with current NFPA standards, ability to handle fine powder materials efficiently, and compatibility with the customer’s pneumatic conveyor system. Made of stainless steel with a food-grade finish, the E-Line unit ensures hygienic processing. If an explosion occurs, flames and dust discharge into the device and are extinguished as they pass through multiple layers of heat-absorbing stainless steel mesh, thus protecting the people and the equipment.

Why the Customer Chose Hapman

Proven Performance – The facility had successfully used Hapman equipment for over a decade.

Seamless Integration – The new unit fits into the existing process with minimal disruption.

Enhanced Safety – The flameless vent ensures compliance with modern NFPA standards for dust mitigation.

Results & Future Outlook

With this upgrade, the dairy cooperative will enhance workplace safety, improve dust containment, and ensure compliance with updated NFPA standards. By integrating a flameless vent, the system offers superior explosion protection while maintaining efficiency in pneumatic conveying. This investment supports the company’s long-term commitment to safe and effective bulk material handling.

Hapman continues to provide customized conveyor solutions for the food and dairy industry, delivering equipment that meets both regulatory requirements and operational efficiency goals.

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Customer Challenge: A Pennsylvania-based food manufacturer producing layered high-protein bars, granola bars, baked cookies, breakfast squares, brownies, and other high-protein baked goods needed a safe and efficient way to load various protein powders into a blender located approximately 11 feet above floor level. Additionally, the process required screening of the powders during dumping to prevent any foreign material from entering the batch—ensuring high product quality and consistency.

Hapman Solution: To meet these challenges, Hapman provided a complete material handling system designed for safety, efficiency, and clean operation:

• Series 500 5” Helix Flexible Screw Conveyor

Engineered to convey various protein powders from a floor-level bag dump station to the elevated blender at a rate of approximately 250 lbs/min. The flexible design ensures consistent flow of the material without separation or degradation. The conveyor system is mounted on a portable base with a tilting feature that allows it to be lowered for easy cleaning and maintenance—ensuring minimal downtime and enhanced sanitation.

• Model #30 FL Bag Dump Station with Dust Collector and Screener

This station allows operators to safely dump ingredients at ground level while integrated screening captures and removes any foreign material. The built-in dust collection system maintains a clean work environment by minimizing airborne particles.

Why Hapman: The customer selected Hapman based on a successful previous installation at a different plant location in 2022. The proven performance, reliability, and adaptability of Hapman’s equipment made it the clear choice for this project. The ability to safely load ingredients from ground level, screen for contaminants, and reduce operator exposure were key decision factors.

Conclusion: By integrating Hapman’s flexible screw conveyor system with floor-level dumping, dust collection, and inline screening, the customer was able to enhance operational safety, maintain batch integrity, and support consistent production—all with equipment that is easy to clean and maintain. This tailored solution demonstrates Hapman’s ability to address the specialized needs of food manufacturers handling delicate bulk materials.

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Industry: Food Processing, Snack Foods

Customer Profile: An industry-leading supplier specializing in nuts, seeds, and specialty snack products, providing premium ingredients to renowned names within the restaurant and snack food industries.

Challenge: The customer required a precise and consistent method to evenly distribute seasoning along the entire length of a horizontal tumbler. Their previous approach resulted in uneven coverage, impacting product quality and consistency.

Hapman Solution: Hapman implemented a customized model 281SV PosiPortion feeder, featuring an 8 ft³ extension hopper and an extended-length, slotted discharge nozzle designed specifically to span the full length of the horizontal tumbler.

Goal: The primary objective was to achieve uniform and controlled seasoning dispersion within the customer’s existing horizontal tumbler, ensuring consistent product quality and enhancing efficiency.

Integration Process: The integration involved mounting the Hapman PosiPortion feeder on a tailored stand, positioning the feeder nozzle precisely at the required height for optimal insertion into the horizontal tumbler. The feeder’s screw and slotted nozzle were meticulously sized to guarantee even distribution of seasoning across the entire length of the tumbler, effectively addressing the customer’s production challenge.

Outcome: The precise control and consistency provided by the Hapman feeder significantly improved seasoning distribution, ensuring product uniformity and enhancing overall operational efficiency for the customer. This tailored solution has strengthened their position in supplying high-quality snack ingredients to their notable clientele.

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A leading pharmaceutical manufacturer needed a vacuum conveying system to transfer finished product from a dryer to a mobile, scale-mounted bulk bag filler for precise batching. The primary challenge was ensuring complete cleanability to eliminate any risk of cross-contamination during product changeovers — a critical requirement in pharmaceutical processing.

Solution

Hapman engineered a Vacuum Conveyor equipped with individually controlled spray wash ports strategically located throughout the interior. This feature enabled automated, thorough cleaning and sanitization without external disassembly.
To further simplify maintenance, the system included a side access door for fast filter cartridge replacement and a clean-in-place rotary valve that could be disassembled, cleaned, and reassembled within minutes.
The entire sanitary assembly was built from 304 Stainless Steel with sealed motors and controls rated for explosive and wash-down environments, ensuring compliance with stringent pharmaceutical standards.

Results

The custom vacuum system met all performance and cleanliness requirements, enabling faster product changeovers, reduced downtime, and improved process efficiency while maintaining the highest standards of product purity.

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One of the nation’s largest snack food producers needed a conveying solution that could be quickly cleaned between batches and easily moved between production areas. Frequent product changeovers required full wash-down capability, while the existing process forced employees to clean conveyors from ladders — a time-consuming and unsafe method.

Solution

Hapman provided a Hi/Lo Helix Flexible Screw Conveyor designed to meet both mobility and sanitation needs. The unit’s mobile base and pivoting design allow operators to raise or lower the conveyor for cleaning, inspection, or auger changeovers — all from ground level.
With an electric actuator for smooth height adjustment, the conveyor can be safely and efficiently maneuvered throughout the plant — even through standard doorways — without disassembly. This design eliminated the need for ladders and improved worker safety during routine maintenance.

Result

The snack manufacturer now performs complete cleanouts in five minutes or less using one maintenance person, without special tools or equipment. The Hi/Lo Helix’s portability and fast changeover capability helped the team meet strict food safety requirements while reducing downtime and improving overall production efficiency.

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For this application, the customer did not have the ceiling height that was needed to unload the bulk bag directly into ta filler in a vertical common frame, so Hapman quoted the option of a Bulk Bag Unloader into a Hi/Lo Helix® and finish with a Bulk Bag Filler. Loading the Bulk Bag Unloader is easy with the integral hoist. The operator can safely prep the bag for discharge using the custom untie box. An automated pinch valve provides control of flow from the bulk bag for operator safety and improved operations flexibility. The unloader discharges into a hopper with integral dust collection and flow aid components to ensure consistent feed of the Helix flexible screw conveyor that supplies the Hapman Bulk Bag Filler. This Bulk Bag filler uses hanging load cells for gain-in-weight control of the Helix to ensure accurate bag filling. Standard feature provide rapid empty bag inflation and secure spout retention for quick filling with minimal dusting. The entire system is safety interlocked and managed as a complete controlled packaged.Once the bag has reached the target weight, the operator would raise the pallet to the filled bag, deflate the bladder to release the fill spout, and unhook the straps to remove the filled bag. The process would be repeated.

Hapman’s Bulk Bag Unloader frame was fabricated in stainless steel with standard 3” square, tubing and a 4,000 pound bag capacity. It includes fixed height frame, pre-drilled mounting pads, and a load tested and certified hoist style bag adapter. An electric hoist and trolly were designed to give the operator the ability to lift and support the bulk bag while unloading the powdered sugar. A bag agitator assembly was included to keep material flowing from the bulk bag even when nearly empty. The pneumatically actuated pinch valve mentioned above is capable of close through a static column of material, which enables retying and removing partially used bags not possible with a basic iris valve. The pinch valve has specifically designed opposing plates that close around the discharge spout to provide a more positive closure than conventional iris valves.

A series #500 Helix® conveyor with controls was fabricated with a 15 foot long stainless steel bevel wire auger, 5” diameter U.H.M.W. polyethylene food grade conveyor casing, quick release T-handle stainless compression couplings, and stainless steel drive/discharge assembly. The Helix included an 8 cubic foot volume surge capacity, stainless steel, receiving hopper with 45° pick up, and quick-release end clean out cap. An integral ribbon style agitator within the hopper ensures mass flow of powdered sugar into the auger without bridging. All components were assembled onto a common Hapman’s Hi/Lo Portable base assembly that allows easy maneuvering and lowering the conveyor for the fastest possible cleaning and changeovers..

Lastly, a bulk bag filler was supplied with fully welded stainless-steel square tube framing with fork-lift pockets for portability of the entire piece of equipment. This Filler design is made to fill directly onto a pallet that can be removed with a fork truck. The powered frame adjustment includes a motorized lift assembly to accommodate different bag sizes and ease of hanging new bags. The filler includes basic “up-down” pushbutton controls with a stop switch, stainless steel quick release bag hooks, and a venturi empty bag inflation system. The fill head utalizes a 304 stainless steel product fill tube with inflatable rubber bladder with self-contained pressure control and a product fill tube, fabricated of #304 stainless steel. Finally, four (4) frame mounted load cells and Hardy based controls were included for precise filling of bags.

A future project will see the loaded bags moving to the production area which will also feature Hapman equipment.

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With their knowledge and history working in wastewater treatment, Hapman’s product specialists are regularly called upon to integrate the tubular drag conveyor in transportation of dried wastewater sludge and biosolids. Hapman engineers the most robust and reliable tubular drag conveyor in the market. Hapman’s standard schedule 40 tube design with patented, factory-fit flanged connections offer superior sealing, strength, and quick install and maintenance. Hapman also offers a large range of chain and flight options with patented engineered chain technology which offer superb reliability in demanding industrial environments and any situation where uptime is critical. The low speed en-masse conveyance mode of Hapman Tubular Drag Conveyors results in maximum up time, low power input, and minimal maintenance. Unlike cable conveyors and round link (log) chain tubular conveyors, Hapman’s engineered chain used on its Tubular conveyors are designed for routine starting and stopping under load, full of material, and overload conditions. Finally, what makes the tubular drag ideal for wastewater sludge and biosolids is the dust tight construction that eliminates the opportunity of some deflagration or explosion conditions, enables maintaining nitrogen blanketing, and eliminates undesirable dust and odor conditions.

For this particular project, Hapman teamed up with Jim Myers & Sons, an OEM that sells systems exclusively for the wastewater treatment industry, to supply an automated dried biosolids handling solution for the Jordan Basin Water Reclamation Facility in Utah. The project involved Tubular Drag Conveyor systems taking 100+ degree Fahrenheit biosolids from the dryer into storage silos and En Masse Conveyor systems discharging from the silos to the loadout facility directly to retractable discharge chutes for discharge into semi trucks. A nitrogen inerting system and dust collection were also involved in the project.

Biosolids were conveyed from the dryer to multiple silos using two Tubular Drag Conveyors. A 157 foot, 4 inch (100 mm) Tubular Drag Conveyor in a gooseneck configuration received the dryer discharge and transferred material to the second 150 foot, 4 inch (100 mm) Tubular Drag Conveyor using a square loop configuration. The conveyors utilized Hapman’s engineered UHMW molded flights with special rivet-less drop forge chain. Schedule 40 pipe was used with special hardened elbows and connected with Hapman’s unique factory-fit locking flange design. All conveyors run continuously, 24 hours/day, 7 days a week and required Class II, Div 2 Explosion rated electrical components.

Due to local ordinance, the silo height was limited and unbale to offer a typical drive-thru load out. Hapman worked closely with CDM, their sister company, to provide an En Masse conveyor system to transport the dried biosolids to the loadout platform. The first En Masse conveyor ran 62 feet horizontally underneath the silos to pick up the biosollids. A second En Masse conveyor came off the first, ran 14 feet horizontally before running another 39 feet at a 40° angle in a L-path to the load out mezzanine. The final En Masse conveyor ran 60 feet horizontally along the mezzanine with multiple discharge chutes for unloading into semi-trucks beneath the mezzanine. The system was able to meet the 20 minute semi loading time using direct silo discharge.

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Dust Control

Dust is the No. 1 issue most processors face with handling bulk chemical powders. And for good reason, too – dust threatens both plant and worker safety. Dust explosions are an obvious concern, with ignition resulting from electrostatic discharge, friction, hot surfaces, or open fire. Depending upon the level of dust control required by the process, many options are available when conveying.

 Conveying methods that move material en-masse (like tubular drag conveyors) can minimize dust. Because the tubular drag conveyor’s components come into contact with a smaller percentage of material compared to other conveying methods, it is less likely to create dust. Tubular drag conveyors also create less friction as the chain and flight mechanism moves the material at a relatively slow velocity.

When handling bulk bags, dust collectors are an effective way to minimize plant and worker exposure to powders. Such systems can be configured to filter material down to 1 micron. The system can also include glove box access to further assure worker protection from dust and other hazardous materials. Adding a bag compactor to these systems can extend dust control to the bag disposal process, as well as enhance operator efficiency. In addition, dust-tight connectors can be employed with bulk bag handling equipment to minimize dust entering the plant environment.

Contact us today to ensure that the ignition of hazardous dust explosions does not take place and that you’re maintaining safety in your plant or job site.

Equipment Design and Material Construction

Other factors to consider when handling chemical powders deal with the design of equipment and materials used in their construction. For example, does the process require sanitation or washdown? Is the chemical powder corrosive or will it react in some way with equipment handling it? Is the powder abrasive? All of these considerations should be used and considered with the design of new equipment and materials.

There is a wide range of options available to effectively meet sanitation standards, which may include various materials for construction and finishes. Likewise, materials for construction and the design of the conveyor can reduce wear from abrasive materials.

Easy to Operate

Material handling equipment that is easy to operate alleviates environmental concerns and promotes health and safety in a processing facility. Operators who may have only worked with one part of a process in the past may now be responsible for multiple pieces of a process as organizations have found ways to increase productivity.

As the baby boomer generation exits the workforce, they take their important knowledge and experience with them. To reduce training required to effectively and safely operate equipment and reduce errors that can result in wasted materials or operator injury, equipment will need to be intuitive and employ safeguards for new workers. One example of this would be the use of programmable logic controls (PLC) to ensure batching consistency. However, depending upon the equipment and process, a number of design elements are available.

Conclusion

Handling chemical powders is more complex than simply moving products from point A to point B. The use of systems and processes that assure the safe and efficient processing of chemical powders are just as important. Many options are available related to dust control, safety, and efficiency from manufacturers of bulk solids and powder handling and conveying equipment.

Contact Hapman Today for Bulk Powder Handling and Conveying Equipment

Our commitment to you is that we will ask the right questions to understand your needs, challenges, and goals, and then present the top material handling equipment or system options for your application. For more information about material handling equipment and the measures that we take to make your company’s processes safer and more efficient, contact Hapman today.

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By Steve Grant, Product Specialist

Pneumatic conveying systems are frequently an excellent choice for moving large quantities of powdered, granulated or pelletized material. And among the many different approaches to pneumatic conveying, regenerative blower-driven vacuum systems can provide ideal cost effciencies, compactness and simplicity where vacuum requirements and transfer distances are modest.

Many other types of pneumatic conveying systems like pressure-driven systems are designed for moving heavier materials over longer distances; they require fairly robust pressure, large capital equipment investments, more operating energy and higher maintenance costs. Downscaling this kind of pressure-driven technology to meet the needs of smaller-volume, shorter-distance transfer isn’t always a practical or economical approach. Fortunately, regenerative blower-driven vacuum systems like those produced by Hapman give processors the right combination of design and operating characteristics for excellent economics in lighter-duty situations.

Operating principles of vacuum conveying systems

Vacuum conveyors are relatively simple systems that include a pick-up inlet, a conveying tubing line, a receiver and a vacuum generator, which is the power source. The vacuum generator creates the required negative pressure to pull the material through the conveying line and into the receiver. Internal filters separate the material from the air to remove any dust and protect the vacuum generator. A number of different gating systems may be used for removal of product from the receiver, including simple sliding valves, pneumatically-operated dump gates or air lock rotary valves.

Power source options for vacuum systems include regenerative blowers, compressed air driven eductor (venturi) units, plant central vacuum using liquid ring vacuum pumps or low-pressure blowers or positive displacement vacuum pumps. With the exception of regenerative blowers, all of these vacuum power sources are external to the conveying equipment itself.

Vacuum systems are preferred for transporting materials that tend to pack or plug in a pressure system. And they are excellent choices where space is at a premium. With many lightweight materials, their conveying velocities can be quite high, between 3,600 and 5,000 feet per minute. One notable limitation is reach; they’re not typically used for conveying distances above 200 feet, or where vertical distances are above about 50 feet.

Integral vacuum generator

Unlike almost any other pneumatic conveying technology, regenerative blower equipped conveying systems like Hapman’s are unique in that the vacuum generator is integral to the system; no external plant air or vacuum is required.

The regenerative blowers that power these systems are very simple and reliable. They have few parts, just an electric motor with sealed bearings, an impeller and a housing with a cover. There are no other moving parts or wear parts that require lubrication of maintenance.

Inner workings of a regenerative blower

Regenerative blowers work on a vortex air flow principle. Air is effectively moved between vanes as a single-stage impeller rotates in a casing. The spinning impeller and air flow create a vortex flow pattern which boosts velocity incrementally as the air moves from vane to vane inside the housing. The flow of air on the output side is very steady and smooth. Product lines like Hapman’s include blowers from 1.5 to 15 hp, which can supply suffcient vacuum for material conveying capacities up to 18,000 lb./hour.

Advantages of Stand-Alone Regenerative Blower Vacuum Conveying Systems

Lower initial costs – Regenerative blower vacuum conveying systems are self-contained, requiring only an electric power hookup. There’s no requirement for air or vacuum supply runs, or for internal studies of available capacity utilization. For facilities without plant air or vacuum supply already in place, operators avoid the expense of planning, installing and maintaining these external vacuum power systems.

Lower operating costs – Compared to externallypowered pneumatic conveying systems, onboard regenerative blower systems offer considerably higher energy effciency, typically twice that of conventional air compressor-driven systems. Maintenance costs are also much lower, especially when compared to external air compressors or positive displacement (PD) blowers, where ongoing maintenance items include lubrication and replacement or maintenance of filters, belts, regulators, coolers, muffers and plant air lines.

No competition for plant air or vacuum – These self-contained systems place no additional demand on plant air systems. It’s an advantage in terms of overall capacity planning and swing capacity availability for other users in the facility during peak demand periods.

Easy to install – Regenerative blower vacuum systems weigh less and take up less space than other pneumatic conveying systems. They’re easier to transport into manufacturing environments, and they’re simpler to install.

Easy to clean – For routine filter cleaning, regenerative blower systems like Hapman’s are designed for easy filter element access without tools. Where there’s a need for overall system cleaning, regenerative blower systems are available with provisions for central unit and tubing washdowns.

Oil-free air – Regenerative blowers don’t require internal lubrication, so they produce oil-free air.

Low noise – Noise levels for these systems are very low compared to other air or vacuum supply systems.

Comparisons to Other Air/Vacuum Supply Technologies

Table 1 provides a useful comparison of regenerative systems to two alternatives, positive displacement and air compressor technologies, that are sometimes used in similar applications.

Case Studies: Real-World Solutions to Production Challenges

Automating Material Handling System Improves Worker Safety, Economics and Production Rates

Werner G. Smith, an Ohio-based chemical manufacturer, was awarded a long-term contract for a new customer to blend a granular powder with an aqueous chemical solution. Werner was able to dedicate a large reactor to the contract manufacturing process, but the building housing the reactor presented serious logistics issues. There was no loading dock, and to get the operation up and running quickly, Werner initially relied on a team of five employees to manually carry 55 lb. bags of material into the building and up one story where an operator would manually dump material into the reactor. In the course of a week’s production the team had to handle over 800 55 lb. bags of material.

Said Jennifer Bugbee, Vice President of Operations at Werner G. Smith, “This was an enormous waste of time and manpower, and we needed to streamline the process, reduce powder hazards and reduce strain on the workforce.” Through a local industrial equipment supplier, Werner connected with Hapman.

Hapman designed a material handling system that included a Loss-in-Weight Bulk Bag Unloader that feeds a Hapman Vacuum Conveying System that delivers material to process. The vacuum conveyor system includes an integral regenerative vacuum blower, integral filtration, a reverse pulse filter cleaning mechanism and automated batch controls.

The returns for Werner G. Smith were almost immediate. Production time improved by several hours per batch, and facility housekeeping improved dramatically. The system also eliminated the need for a third-party vendor to break down and repackage material into 55 lb. bags so Werner employees could manually handle them. The five employees were assigned to duties more directly related to production.

Vacuum Conveying System Eliminates Cross-Contamination for Pharmaceutical Company

A major pharmaceutical company came to Hapman with a need for a vacuum conveyor system to take their finished product from a dryer and discharge it into a mobile bulk material handling system, which was scale mounted for precision metering and batching. The challenge was that it needed to incorporate an efficient cleaning system to eliminate any possibility of cross-contamination with product change overs.

Hapman engineered a pneumatic vacuum conveying system with individually controlled spray wash ports placed throughout the interior of this material handling conveyor. This self-contained design allowed the customer the ability to reliably clean and sanitize the conveyor’s interior without the need for time-consuming external procedures. Further time saving enhancements included a side access door for quick filter cartridge change outs, and a cleanin- place rotary valve which allowed disassembly, cleaning and reassembly within minutes. The entire sanitary finish assembly was 304 stainless steel with sealed motors and controls rated for explosive atmosphere and wash down applications.

The completed system delivered on all design goals. Effciency and processing rates were subsequently increased.

Conclusion: The Ideal Choice for Modest Production Requirements

Regenerative blower-driven vacuum conveying systems certainly aren’t for every application. They aren’t a viable alternative to the more powerful systems needed for longer transfer distances and heavier materials. But as described here, they deliver an outstanding suite of advantages for smaller, shorter-run conveying systems that operate at lower vacuum or air consumption rates. Their effciency, simplicity of operation, small footprint and low maintenance requirements mean they can deliver a unique combination of economics and practicality.

Advantages of Pneumatic Conveying

Whether pressure- or vacuum-powered, pneumatic conveying systems offer processors many advantages, including:

• Simple; essentially tubing, receiver and vacuum source
• Fully enclosed, no dusting, contamination, ignition spark generation
• No large, heavy conveyors with numerous wear parts and maintenance
• Good-to-excellent energy-effciency
• Can run horizontally and vertically
• Quiet

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