Hi, my name is Brooke, and I used to run the HR department in a factory. I filed a lot of injury reports and helped a tragic number of people make claims for workers' compensation or WorkCover. In many cases, the accidents involved convener belts. By seeing what not to do, I really learned what should be done in terms of conveyor safety. I love writing and wanted to convey some good will to the world through a blog – I also love puns. In this space, I plan to post on conveyor belt safety as well as other posts related to a range of industrial equipment. I hope these posts help to protect you and your workers.
When bins, silos, rail cars or other containers get clogs or blockages of the materials they're moving, you can often choose to install an air cannon on the side or top of the container, or use industrial vibration equipment to move materials along. While each method may be effective in stopping this material's flow problem, air cannons offer some advantages over industrial vibration equipment. Note when it's better to use an air cannon versus an industrial vibrator for moving your materials through any container.
1. Heat
Industrial vibration equipment may actually allow heat to be conducted with those vibrations, and this can damage certain materials. In some applications, the materials in a bin or other container need to be exposed to a heat source slowly or kept away from the heat source altogether. An air cannon, if positioned properly away from the heat source, won't bring that heat with the pressurized air, and your materials are protected. This can also protect the container itself, if it's not designed to withstand that heat source in all areas.
2. Material absorbency
Some materials may absorb the vibrations of industrial equipment and actually become ruined. For example, spongy materials or those with an entanglement factor may become stuck to one another or entangled around each other when exposed to vibrations. Air cannons will ensure that the materials in your container will actually separate versus clump together or become entangled; this will protect your materials avoid making workflow stoppages even worse.
This material absorbency may also become a factor for materials that quickly congeal or solidify, or that are best left separated. Using vibrations can actually cause those materials to congeal even faster, as it may mix water or other moisture through more quickly or may work to mix the raw materials more quickly than needed and the substance is ruined.
3. Cleaning
Another advantage of air cannons is that they can often be used for cleaning operations for your bin, silo, railcar, and the like. If materials cling to the sides of these containers after it's been emptied, the air cannon can effectively scrape them off, along with sludge, dirt, and other buildup. Being able to direct an air cannon to one area in particular of the container means more effective cleaning, and the strong air pressure from the cannon can also more readily rinse away water, detergents, caustic materials, and other substances used for cleaning, more so than an industrial vibrator.
Share