DMN Rotary Valves Case Study
Vigo/Alessi Food Importers is an importer of Mediterranean foods, oils, spices and specialty food products. A large part of their facility, is dedicated to the packaging of many varieties of rice and rice dishes.
Originally the rice transfer system vacuum conveyed from the outdoor storage silos to a day bin which fed the rice packaging system by gravity. This system worked well initially, but as the demand for rice products grew and additional packaging lines were added, the gravity fed system could not meet the demand.
DMN Inc.'s local representative, suggested that the system be changed from an essentially batch system to a continuous feed system by using a rotary airlock.
Vigo/Alessi purchased a DMN model AL250/3C airlock, hard-chrome plated to withstand the abrasive characteristic of the rice in the transfer system. The valve features an easy detachable rotor, an inlet restrictor plate and variable speed drive to provide clean ability during product change-over, adjustability to meet the fluctuating demands of the 7 packaging lines and eliminates the degradation of the rice.
The installation included strengthening the hopper support members, fabricating a more durable mounting flange for the airlock and several transitions to mate to the metal detection unit directly below the airlock. With the installation of the rotary airlock, the capacity has more that doubled and will be able to meet additional needs for many years in the future.
In Australia, the DMN range of rotary valves is exclusively available through NTR Engineers.
