Airweep® Solves a 4-Year-Old Material Flow Problem in Just 2 Weeks
Manual cleaning wasted time, money, and most importantly, put their workers at risk
Asphalt is made from aggregates, sands and asphalt cement. The materials have a tendency to conglomerate and compact in the silos. However, other flow aids like electric vibrators actually pack the material even more.
Problem
This was exactly what happened in the Mexico plant of a regional manufacturer of asphalt products. Despite having electric vibrators, plant workers still had to hit silos with a hammer or climb into the vessel to clean them.
“Over the weekend, when the plant was unstaffed, the asphalt materials would settle completely. When workers returned on Monday, they had to climb seven meters down into the dark silo, and clear thick layers of compacted material just to get the factory running again,” said the Sales Manager.
Their “Monday Morning Cleanup” wasted time, money, and most importantly, put their workers at risk. The company wanted to show their employees that they cared about their safety, and traded the hammers for an effective and reliable material flow aid system.
Solution
Control Concepts sent the AirSweep system for a free trial. The system was customized according to their client’s process and vessel size. The AirSweep Model VA-51 unit was ideal for large silos, and had the power to activate 6 to 8 feet (1.8 m to 2.4 m) of heavy material with one pulse. Eight units were positioned to ensure first-in/first-out on-demand flow.
The cones were made of concrete, but the engineer visited the site and quickly resolved the issue. After inspecting the vessel, he recommended adding a metal sheet – a cheap, fast and effective workaround.
Results
After two weeks, the plant manager called. “After four years, we finally have the right solution! We are very happy with the system.” They have saved time, energy, money from maintenance costs and losses from downtime. Workers were safe and free to focus on their real jobs. They are looking to install units in their other plants – and retiring the hammers for good.
