acrylic resin - Jumbo Bag packing system
Client
Established in 1909, Rohm & Haas manufacture speciality chemicals used throughout the construction and retail industries.
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Webster Griffin were selected to manufacture a turn-key IBC filling and packaging system for acrylic resin powder, an impact modifier used in the manufacture of high quality extruded plastic profiles.
Challenge
This project presented Webster Griffin with several difficulties, the product although non-corrosive, was combustible and deemed to be capable of causing an explosion caused by ignited dust. This fine white powder is free flowing and becomes aerated when handled or poured into bags, therefore, powder densification and special bag handling techniques were required.
- Required high throughput of 25 x 500kg or 12 x 1000kg bags an hour
- A required labour reduction to just one operator and a part-time fork lift driver
- The bag to be filled is a heavy duty woven polypropylene bag with a 6:1 safety ratio and four top lifting loops
- Automation of pallet dispensing ensuring continuous production
Solution
Webster Griffin's eventual scope on this project included an integrated product settling hopper and two stage product dosing valves above the filling machine, an automatic empty pallet infeed system, with pallet magazine, automatic slip sheet applicator, bag filling and product consolidation station, check weighing station and accumulating conveyors for filled bags and the operator's platform.
- An intrinsically safe control panel and wiring with automatic monitoring for overheating of motors or other components in consideration of the low melting temperature of the powder
- To minimise the risk of combustion the powder is nitrogen purged in the silo and surge hopper above the filling equipment
- IBC-PF3 and IBC-PF4 high speed big bag filling systems
- Inflatable filling spout to ensure a perfect seal and prevent product wastage.
- Webster Griffin’s patented “semi-suspension” system with intermittent vibrations are used to ensure equal and compact filling of bags into square, stable bags
- Auto-adjusting system for different bag sizes and weights ensuring changeover time is kept to a minimum
- Fully automatic fork pallet magazine dispenser with a capacity up to 500kg
- Displaced dust is ducted directly to the client’s dust extraction system
Result
The new system increased production on the line and meant the customer could free up resources for other activities.
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