Context
A major customer specialising in process installations for the food industry needed to carry out a project in the United States. The customer asked ISERCO to modify the extraction of 3 wheat flour silos installed at a final customer’s site.
There are several points to consider. Firstly, the nature of the product to be extracted. Wheat flour requires careful handling because of its explosive potential in the form of dust and its ability to become very sticky when in contact with water. Appropriate safety measures are essential to prevent accidents and ensure product quality.
Then there are the constraints imposed by food industry regulations. Indeed, the standards to be met in the manufacture of production equipment for the food industry are very demanding. In particular, these standards require hygiene and safety to be integrated into the design stage, to facilitate cleaning and disinfection, to protect operators and to guarantee the performance and reliability of the equipment, thus contributing to the production of safe, high-quality food. This also means obtaining food certification for materials.
Finally, it’s important to remember that the final customer is in the USA. The regulations for manufacturing machines for the food industry may differ from those in Europe. It is therefore important to know and comply with the American regulations imposed by the FDA.
The proposed solution
The customer’s request concerned the modification of the extraction of 3 existing wheat flour silos at a final customer in the USA. The desired extraction rate is 10 T/H.
The solution chosen to avoid modifying the silos and to provide easy access to the inside of the bottoms for cleaning is the retractable bin activator.
The latter is particularly appreciated in the food industry. Regular maintenance of production equipment is essential in the food industry. This system provides easy access under the deflector and to the outlet for cleaning without removing the unit. It features toggle screws and eye nuts that can be easily removed for quick access to the interior. . The bin activator with retractable outlet provides easy maintenance of the unit and drastically reduces the risk of product contamination.
In addition to its retractable outlet, each bin activator is made of 304L stainless steel with a diameter of 1500 and is composed of :
- FDA TPE U-profile connection sleeve with 304L stainless steel counterflanges and closed holes.
- Stainless steel suspensions.
- Atex Zone 21 (dust) motor, as flour is a volatile product with potential explosion hazards.
- UL-certified motor.
- Grounding lugs.
- Welded deflector.
Rigorous manufacturing adapted to the food industry
Our welders made continuous welds inside these 3 bin activators, a technique favoured in the food sector. It enables us to design and manufacture equipment that meets the stringent requirements for hygiene, durability, corrosion resistance and food safety. It greatly reduces the risk of contamination, facilitates cleaning and ensures a longer service life for the production equipment.
What’s more, these units have been given a SUBLIMOTION-process® mineral treatment on the inside and bead-blasted on the outside.
Bulk information
- Industry: food
- Product: wheat flour
- Product density: 0.5 to 0.6 kg/L
- Required flow rate: 10 T/H