AZO at ceramitec 2018 from 10.-13.04.2018

Our highlights at ceramitec 2018

in Munich hall B6, booth 246

The emphasis of this leading trade fair for the ceramics industry is on fine ceramics. In this sector, firms are faced the challenge of creating efficient, automated production processes that comply with increasingly stringent environmental regulations and satisfy demands for great flexibility.
 
AZO, the expert for automated handling of raw materials, provides solutions for storing, conveying, screening, metering, weighing and feeding of bulk materials, powders, granulates and liquids. Intelligent process IT makes system controllers possible, right through to complete automation, tracking & tracing and end-to-end documentation for raw materials and processes.
 
Regardless of whether your requirements are for major, medium or minor components, bulk solids or liquids, AZO delivers bespoke solutions for automating your processes.

At our trade fair stand you can find out more about the following key themes:

AZO cyclone screeners combine operationally safe technology with high performance and easy maintenance and cleaning. The screeners can easily be integrated into existing systems thanks to their compact design. The tried-and-tested, inexpensive cyclone screener type E is available both in painted version and in stainless steel.
 
Typical areas of application include:
  • control screening before and during processing to ensure that no impurities, e.g. bag fibres, lumps and scraps of paper, get into production.
  • control screening together with a metal detector prior to filling and packaging to ensure that no foreign matter remains in the finished product.
  • breaking up agglomerates that can occur in bagged goods or hygroscopic bulk solids. The lumps are carefully broken up without any loss of product.
  • separation of agglomerates following drying processes.
  • fractionation of bulk solids in powder form into assorted fractions according to particle size.
AZO cyclone screener type E in painted version
AZO cyclone screening with ultrasonic assistance
For certain application areas the use of ultrasonic is useful. Sonic pulsing of the screen mesh can be used or fitted retroactively in the AZO type E, DA, FA and RA cyclone screeners.
 
Key advantages:
  • Increase in screening capacity
  • Improvement in selectivity
  • Longer times between cleaning
  • Straightforward retrofitting in existing machines
  • Converter is outside the screener and hence outside the flow of powder.
 
The use of ultrasound causes the stainless steel screen to vibrate at high frequency. These minute vibrations prevent near-size particles from sticking in the mesh of the screen fabric. The screen mesh stays clear for longer, which in turn noticeably improves selectivity. This may result in an increase in screen capacity. The screen basket needs to be removed for cleaning far less often and this significantly increases the useful life of the machine.
Cyclone screener

AZODOS® type P … DV dosing unit is used for volumetric metering of powdered products in weighing and finishing processes. The machine can be used in the food, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and plastics industries for feeding production processes with a constant mass flow in coarse or fine flow.
 
By adding a weighing device, the machine can be extended to form the AZODOS® type P... DW dosing system for gravimetric feeding of processes. The machine can be used as loss-in-weight scales to dose small quantities into the downstream system with gram accuracy. The AZODOS® P… DW is used with the AZO®CONT dosing controls for feeding continuous gravimetric processes, resulting in a DDW loss-in-weight feeder.
 
Key advantages
  • stainless chrome nickel steel design with various surface finishes
  • high grade dosing screws
  • easy-to-clean system for rapid changeover of components
  • compact design
  • easy to extend thanks to modular design
  • maximum dosing accuracy thanks to coarse/fine dribble feed
  • double screw version for bulk materials with poor flow properties
  • a range of screw geometries, adapted to product properties
 
AZODOS® Type P … DW
  • used as loss-in-weight feeder
  • precise online adjustment control and quick correction in case of any deviations from target values
  • absolute weight registration
  • no falsification due to bulk density fluctuations
  • no intricate calibration work
  • measurement value logging with high resolution
AZODOS® type P 50/1 with dosing screw extracted
Design of AZODOS® types P … DV and DW
The basic machine consists of a housing where, depending on the model, one or two dosing screws are installed. The dosing screws are driven by frequency-controlled gear motors. An upstream discharge agitator serves to ensure that the dosing screws are evenly filled from surge bins. The surge bins are available in a variety of models and sizes and, depending on the model, can be filled under gravity, pneumatically or manually. An extraction device can be used to remove the dosing screws from the back of the housing, which makes cleaning or replacing individual components very simple.
If the basic machine is expanded with a platform load cell or a 3-point weighing frame, this forms an AZODOS® type P … DW dosing system that can be used as loss-in-weight scales. Flexible connections at the supply hopper inlet and screw outlet decouple the system thus preventing force shunts. If the AZODOS P….DW is combined with the AZO®CONT dosing controls, this creates a loss-in-weight feeder. The controls continuously regulate the mass flow in terms of target and actual throughput.
AZODOS P30/1
Operating principle of AZODOS® type P … DV, DW, DDW
The AZODOS® Type P … DV operates in volumetric mode. The powder bulk products flow out of the supply hopper into the dosing screw. An agitator is used to ensure uniform discharge. With a frequency-controlled motor, the dosing screw can be switched from coarse to fine flow for precision dosing in the downstream weighing process.
In the case of dosing scales, the basic machine is mounted on a platform load cell or integrated in a 3-point weighing frame. It can be mounted in a frame structure on the floor or suspended from the ceiling. The dosing screw meters the bulk material in coarse/fine flow to the downstream process. The amount of product that is metered out of the AZODOS® is weighed. The system operates gravimetrically in accordance with the negative weighing principle.
The AZODOS® type P … DW becomes a loss-in-weight feeder if an appropriate control system (e.g. AZO®CONT) is provided. The bulk material is discharged by the dosing screw and the resulting loss in weight per unit of time is registered by the weighing and control system. The actual loss in weight per unit of time (actual throughput) is compared against the required setpoint, which is defined by the downstream process, e.g. extruder. Differences between the actual decrease in weight and the decrease in target weight over time are corrected by adjustments to the batch controller's throughput.
Once the product reaches a predefined level in the AZODOS®, the control process is paused briefly and the surge bin is refilled. During the refill time the dosing screw output is set to a value based on empirical weight and output data gained from previous dosing cycles.
 
Operation and control
Up to 10 dosing stations can be controlled with the central AZO®CONT controller. The system is displayed and its parameters set on an operator control panel. A PC-based visualisation system (Intouch, WinCC, etc.) can be connected corresponding to requirements. An interface for the KASTOR process control system is additionally integrated in the controller. Extensive work flows such as balancing and recipe handling can be implemented with this process control system. The material feed for replenishing the dosing units can be additionally controlled with the AZO®CONT controller. AZO®CONT can control up to four independent collective feeding system with max. 32 receivers.
The most diverse requirements can now be configured with a single AZO®CONT control unit. This is regardless of whether this involves controlling up to 10 AZODOS® dosing units or whether up to an additional four collective feeding systems are to be controlled with a maximum of 32 receivers in total.

By using a robot, it is possible to dose an extremely variable number of micro quantities up to 10 kg in a fully automatic process. This is how AZO RoLog® replaces complicated and expensive manual weighing of micro quantities. The safety cage surrounding the robot provides complete protection for the product and the machine operator.
This means extremely critical and harmful raw materials can also be dosed without difficulty. This system can be implemented in the pharmaceuticals, food, chemicals and plastics industries to dose pigments, dyes, aromas, additives, active substances and numerous other micro quantities. The modular structure also makes it possible to achieve maximum versatility, regardless of whether it is an individual solution or a solution integrated into the overall logistics system.

Key advantages
  • High throughput and 24/7 production
  • Reduces costs and saves on resources
  • Extremely reliable
  • Flexible formulations
  • Reproducible dosing results
  • Consistent formulation accuracy
  • Shielded work envelope
  • Dosing of extremely critical raw materials without operator contact
  • Simple to transport thanks to modular structure and easy to upgrade
  • Variable number of raw materials
  • Continuous traceability of batches
  • Tracking & tracing
The revolution in automatic micro-dosing
Functional principle
The machine operator first ensures that the raw materials are prepared ready for automated further processing in dispensing and storage units. A safety cage separates the automation range (the robot’s work envelope) from the production environment. The raw materials logistics system, in a shielded cage, offers maximum protection for the machine operator and the product. In addition, the modular design of the storage module for raw materials ensures a high degree of flexibility when expanding raw materials components.
 
The robot assembles the batch in accordance with the required formulation in a fully automated process by preparing the correct dispensing and storage units. At the dosing point, the required micro quantities are dosed reliably and accurately from here into the target containers. Reproducible dosing results are achieved in the range from 50 g to 10 kg. After weighing all components into the target container, the latter is placed ready at a specific intersection for further processing.
 
AZO®RoLog is now immediately ready for processing further production jobs. This means the system operates efficiently and without losing time. 24/7 production is possible with constant provision of raw materials and receptacles. AZO RoLog® can be operated as a standalone system or it can be fully integrated into an overall logistics system.  
The revolution in automatic micro-dosing