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Feeder Types Selection &

Operation

The Generic Feeder Model

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UPSTREAM

MATERIAL
INPUT

MEASURING
&
SENSING

CONTAINMENT
&
CONDITIONING

CONTROL

METERING

DOWNSTREAM

Metering
Design types

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Screw
Cone
Liquid Pump
Vibratory
Rotary Valves
Bulk Solids Pump
Belt
Smart Flow Meter

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SCREW FEEDERS

Screw Metering
Principle of Operation

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Material enters screw positioned

at/near the bottom of the feeder bin

Advancing flights move the material

through tube to discharge.

Design Variables

Single or twin screws, open-, or

closed-flight, diameter, pitch, speed
range, etc.

Rate Control

Adjustment of screw speed

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Single Screw Feeders

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Twin Screw Feeders

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Micro Screw Feeders

Screw Feeder Sizing

Product bulk density (bd) (kg/m3)

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Screw capacity (sc) m3/rev

Screw speed (ss) rev/min

Q (kg/min) = bd x sc x ss

Set Up
40% < drive command < 60%
for constant rate

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Screw Type Selection

Screw Type Selection

Screw Type

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Concave screw
Auger screw
Spiral screw

Diameter
Tube length

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Screw Selection Chart

Twin Screw Feeder Screw Chart

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K2MVT35

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CONE FEEDERS

Cone
Principle of Operation

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Screw-less feeding mechanism

Design Variables
Stepper motor
Low rate tip

Vertical discharge option

Rate Control

0.2 to 2 dm3/hr (0.007 to 0.07 ft3/hr)

with extension tip:
as low as 0.1 dm3/hr (0.004 ft3/hr)

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Very Good Accuracy

Applications

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Mainly low rate of granular material, such as color

additives
Injection Molding

Plastic Compounding
Fiber and Filament

Plastic Wood Profile

Plastic Film

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Cone Feeder

Click on the image to view the video

Advantages

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Modular design
Screw-less rotating cone, no friction
Superior accuracy (even at 1 second intervals)
Simple mechanical construction
Low maintenance costs
Minimal spare parts requirements
Easy and fast to clean
Simple on-machine calibration
Visual run check (tube rotation)
Interchangeable with BSP-100 for higher rates

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LIQUID FEEDERS

Liquid Pump
Principle of Operation

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A metering pump or control

valve with liquid supply tank is
continuously weighed

Discharge rate equals sensed

rate of system weight loss

Periodic manual or automated

refill is required

Liquid Pump
Design Variables

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Selection of pump type, flow

range, scale range, holding
tank capacity and refill
parameters

Rate Control

Closed-loop modulation of
pump speed or control valve
position based on sensed rate
of system weight loss

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VIBRATORY FEEDERS

Vibratory
Principle of Operation

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A specially configured springmounted metering channel is

vibrated causing material to
advance through the channel to
discharge.
Vibration offers gentle handling
of free-flowing, granular, friable,
abrasive or fibrous materials.
Periodic manual or automated
refill is required

Vibratory
Design Variables

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Hopper design, inlet sizing, tray/tube size and

geometry; drive power, spring constant

Rate Control

Closed-loop modulation of vibrational amplitude based

on sensed rate of system weight loss

Vibratory Control Principle

Vibratorytray

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Spool

Controller

Setpoint
amplitude

Feeder
signal

Drive

Digital/
analog
converter

Amplifier

Setpoint
frequency

Amplitude
control (fast)

Frequency
adjustment
(slow)

Current signal

Strokesignal

Vibratory

MF = x A x D x

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where

= bulk density

Am = area of product on tray

D = tray displacement

= tray cycles per minute

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ROTARY FEEDERS

Rotary Feeder
Principle of Operation

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Free-flowing material held

in a weighed supply
hopper fills the voids of an
integral pocketed spool.
Rotation advances the
confined material to
gravity discharge. Periodic
manual or automated refill
is required.

Rotary Feeder
Design Variables

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Spool size, number of pockets, rotation speed range,

supply hopper type/size, purging and refill requirements

Rate Control

Closed-loop modulation of spool rotation speed based

on sensed rate of system weight loss
When used as a
pre-feeder only,
spool speed may be slaved to feeder rate

RUN EDK VIDEO HERE

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BULK SOLIDS PUMP

BSP (Bulk Solids Pump)

Principle of Operation

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Inter-particle forces produce a lock-up

condition in multi-channel spool

As spool rotates, lock-up forces relax

at bottom of feeder and material is
pushed to controlled gravity discharge

Design Variables
Rate Control

Lock-Up Principle

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The BSP principle provides continuous, positive

displacement volumetric control by exploiting the
phenomenon known as lock-up.

LOCK-UP

Zone 1:Consolidation

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ZONE 1: CONSOLIDATION
Interparticle forces produce lockup at the end of Zone 1

Zone 1

Zone 2: Rotation

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ZONE 1: CONSOLIDATION
Interparticle forces produce lockup at the end of Zone 1
ZONE 2: ROTATION
Material is in lock-up condition
throughout Zone 2 and rotates
as a solid body

Zone 2

Zone 3: Relaxation

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ZONE 1: CONSOLIDATION
Interparticle forces produce lockup at the end of Zone 1
ZONE 2: ROTATION
Material is in lock-up condition
throughout Zone 2 and rotates
as a solid body
ZONE 3: RELAXATION
Interparticle forces fall below
lock-up threshold

Zone 3

Zone 4: Active Discharge

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ZONE 1: CONSOLIDATION
Interparticle forces produce lockup at the end of Zone 1
ZONE 2: ROTATION
Material is in lock-up condition
throughout Zone 2 and rotates
as a solid body
ZONE 3: RELAXATION
Interparticle forces fall below
lock-up threshold

ZONE 4: ACTIVE DISCHARGE

Flexible guide aids material
discharge

Zone 4

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BSP Video Clip

click on the graphic to start the video

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BELT FEEDERS

Purpose

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Meter relatively high volumes of granular or freeflowing product into the process with an accuracy
of +/- 0.5% with good precision

SWB 300

WF 300

Belt
Principle of Operation

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Material enters upstream end of advancing belt and is

sheared into a shallow, reasonably uniform bed
Material discharge by gravity off end of belt. Scraper
assures complete discharge

Design Variables

Belt width, inlet gate geometry, belt speed range

Rate Control

Continuous feeding according to set point

Batch feeding according to batch time
Belt speed constant metering of a bulk material flow

WBF Control Principle I

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Single scale version

speed pick-up

Belt load (q)

Weigh Bridge

Speed feedback (v)

Weigh bridge

Q = q*v

Mass flow

Setpoint

Controller

Drive command

Controller

Motor
drive

WBF Control Priniciple II

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Twin scale version

Belt load (q)

Weigh Bridge
Speed feedback (v)

speed pick-up

Weigh bridges

Q = q*v

Tare

Brutto

Mass flow

Setpoint

Netto

Motor
drive

Controller

Controller

Drive command

Shift
register

Weight Belt Feeder Sizing

Capacity

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Product

Bulk density (BD)

Shear gate area (GA)

Bed depth

Belt speed (BS)

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Inlet Section

Raise or lower to set belt loading

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WF Speed and Slip Sensors

Belt Slip Detector

Sensor

WF300 Speed sensor

and In-Line Gear
Reducer

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SWB Optical Belt Speed Encoder

SWB300 Belt Optical Tachometer

2000 pulses per revolution

Belt Feeder Sizing

Lb/hr

dm3/hr

ft3/hr

SWB-300

20 20000

44 44000

10 40000

0.4 1400

SWB-600

40 40000

88 88000

20 80000

0.7 2800

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Kg/hr

Belt Speed controlled to within +/- 1RPM over a 100:1 range full motor speed

Inlet
Small
Medium
Large

SWB-300

SWB-600

75mm (3)

300mm (6)

150mm (6)

375mm (9)

230 mm (9)

450mm (18)

Drive reducers: 20:1, 40:1, 80:1

Material Bulk Densities: 0.5 to 2.5 Kg/l (31 to 156 lb/ft3)

Maximum Material Particle Size: 10mm (0.4)

Weigh Belt Feeding

Advantages

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High gravimetric accuracy on most free flowing

materials; suitable for high-rate applications
Accommodates larger particle size materials
Compact, low headroom

Disadvantages

Floodable or hard-to-flow materials may require

the use of a pre-feeder
Requires periodic calibration

Relatively mechanically complex; potential

cleaning/maintenance concerns

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Smart Flow Meter

Smart Flow Meter

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The K-SFM provides accurate

and reliable gravimetric flow
measurement of the resin
Models for rates up to
200 m3/hr (7,000 ft3/hr)

Two strategically placed

digital Smart Force
Transducers
are combined to produce
the flow rate measurement

FR
FP

Theory vs. Practice

Easy Flowing

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Single screw feeder

Twin screw feeder with intermeshing augers
Weigh belt feeder with standard shear gate
Bulk solids pump
Vibration tray

Difficult Flowing

Single screw feeder that has an undersized screw in

reference to the tube
Twin screw feeder that has non intermeshing screws
Belt feeder with a modified inlet section

Theory vs. Practice

Floodable (1)

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Twin screw feeder with concave screws

Adhesive & Cohesive (2)

Twin screw feeder with augers or twin spirals

Belt feeders with screw pre-feeders

(1) For refill devices avoid slide gates and butterfly valves. A rotary feeder provides a nice
even drop of materials without inducing a lot of air
(2) Most difficult material to handle. Most likely require the use of flow-aid devices

Comparison Summary
Screw
Feeder

Belt
Feeder

Rotary
Feeder

Vibratory
Feeder

True positive
Displacement Action

Linear over full operating

range
Uniformity of discharge
Active discharge
(no residual material)

Unaffected by differential
pressures
Mechanical &
maintenance simplicity

BSP

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Attribute

No

Dependent
on material

No

No

Yes

Poor
(screw fill
dependent)

Dependent
on material

Poor

No

yes

Poor
(pulses)

Dependent
on material

Poor
(pulses)

Good

Good

limited

limited

Bad

Bad

Good

(product plug at
screw flight)

(product plug
at belt)

(product plug
at the rotary
wall)

Limited

No

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

yes