Ajax supplies Liberty Powder Metals with twenty hoppers
Solids handling solutions provider Ajax Equipment, Bolton, England, UK, has supplied Liberty Powder Metals, part of GFG Alliance’s Liberty Steel Group, with fifteen storage hoppers, five blending hoppers and three mass flow screw feeders for metal powder handling.
The geometry of the fifteen stainless steel intermediate bulk containers (IBCs) was designed for efficient discharge and repose fill of powder, while the five larger hopper’s steep double cone shape is said to allow the blending of metal powders. The design of both hoppers includes supports enabling handling with a forklift, efficient storage and straightforward loading onto the screw feeders.
Ajax’s cantilevered screws use a variable pitch to help ensure mass flow from the hoppers. The feeders’ casing is mounted on ferrules allowing access to the full length of the screw for easy cleaning.
“From the initial phone call and subsequent first meeting, Ajax quickly understood what we wanted to achieve with our powder handling system and provided initial proposals to a fully working powder handling system that we have integrated into our processing equipment,” stated Dan Frith, Manufacturing & Engineering Manager, Liberty Powder Metals. “When we had a specification issue on one of our transfer stations, Ajax was quickly able to calculate the new requirement and an alternative gearbox was sourced. Ajax’s hoppers and screw feeders perform very well.”
Eddie McGee, Managing Director, Ajax Equipment, added, “This is one of the largest and most unusual hopper orders Ajax has received. Typically, customers require a substantial hopper that will be static for the length of its service life. These compact, portable hoppers can easily be moved between storage, filling and loading the screw feeders also supplied.”
