Nick Basham, Magnum Systems regional manager, and Mike Abare, Magnum Systems technical sales manager, explain the critical role of material characteristics in packaging powder, pellets and flakes.
Explore the complexities of flow properties, moisture sensitivity, and static charge, and how they impact packaging efficiency and product integrity. Gain valuable insights and practical strategies to optimize your packaging processes for these unique materials.
Learn the keys to effectively packaging powder, pellets and flakes as Nick and Mike take AIM at better integrated systems.
Transcript
Mike Abare Show Intro:
Welcome to Magnum Systems Podcast, where we'll aim to dive deep into the world of: “A” for automate, “I” for integrate, “M” for manufacture. I'm your host, Mike Abare, and I'll be bringing you expert interviews, thought-provoking discussions, and real-world case studies that shed light on the latest trends and developments of systems integration. Whether you're a seasoned professional who's seen it all, or just curious about manufacturers who are revolutionizing their operations, this podcast is your one source resource. So, sit back, relax as we aim to cover all the challenges, automation and integration is solving today. Let's do this.
Mike Abare:
We welcome Nick Basham to our show. Nick, will you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Nick Basham:
I will. My name is Nick Basham. I was born and raised here in Kansas City, Missouri, and I've worked for Magnum systems little over four years now. I've been in the bulk solids handling industry for over 10 years, handling anything from water treatment chemicals to food products, to aggregates and anything in between. Glad to be here today.
Mike Abare:
Welcome, Nick. We're glad you're here today. Thank you. Today we're going to focus on the packaging of powders, pellets and flakes. We know these products have different characteristics and they behave differently when they're packaged. Nick, what do you need to know about the customer's products, their process to help you better understand which packaging equipment or packaging machines to select?
Nick Basham:
Yeah. Well, I mean, I think that it always starts with the product. Anytime you start with the equipment, you're going the wrong direction. So, we want to focus primarily on the product first. Not just what the product is, but how the product's handled. Take for instance, in certain applications, the product is handled pneumatically, so it's blown, it's aerated. You know, Magnum Systems is one of the only manufacturers in the country that manufactures and integrates pneumatics and packaging systems. And so, because of that, we understand that aeration in a product when you put air to it, lowers the bulk density. So, when the bulk density lowers in a product, it becomes difficult to one, get that air out of the product. And then also being able to put it in the right size package starts to get a little bit difficult. We handle powders, pellets, flakes, granules, just about anything that you can convey, you can package. And so, the unique part about Magnum is that we can handle the powders and the pellets and the flakes and knowing that those materials can be really difficult to deal with. And so, we try to focus on the product first and foremost rather than trying to make a piece of equipment fit within what we're trying to do.
Mike Abare:
So, you shared a lighter aeratable products. What about products that are sticky or cohesive or difficult to even move?
Nick Basham:
Yeah, you know, like we'll handle in the feed industry, we'll handle specialty feeds that have molasses in them. That product there really acts completely different than any of the products. And the unique thing about that, is that on the same machine, in the same plant, we could be handling a powder and in minerals or things like that. And then going to more of just a granular corn, ground up corn. And then the next product that'll come through will be this specialty feed that's a blend of a lot of different products. And then they use molasses in that as a binder and as one of the main ingredients. So, we may be receiving product that has 10, 15% molasses in it, and that molasses content really can hamper an operation if you don't design the equipment the way that we know how in order to handle that stuff best and get it into a bag efficiently and well.
So, take for instance you know, typically on those products in a feed mill, if we're not asking the right questions upfront to understand the most that we can about all of the products that our customers handling, we could really get in a tight spot when we install and, and all of a sudden, we find out that, oh, that there's molasses content in your product. Well, we need to . That's a huge deviation from, from the way that we design. So, you know, if, if we know that there's going to be a molasses in a product, we're going to want to feed with a belt rather than a vibratory tray. We're going to want be able to handle that stuff differently. We're going to want to have a wider open mouth on our throat in in the packer. We're going to want to make sure that the package that they're selecting is appropriate for the density of the product that's going in and things like that. And that's, you know, we're not bag experts, but we certainly are packaging experts and one of the things that we try to focus on is being an overall solution provider to our customers, understanding their products and their packages and the variety of different things that could be coming to us along the way.
Mike Abare:
So, you mentioned in their bags and certainly customers, we see all sorts of packaging on the shelves, right? Yeah. And there's a difference in bags. So, you talked about using products and what you got to do with the products to understand the flowability and, and how to package it. Talk to me specifically about the different types of bags out there and how does that influence decisions around selecting packaging equipment?
Nick Basham:
Yeah, and once again, we go back to the product itself, understanding the characteristics of the product will tell you what bag that is necessary. And once again, we're not bag experts, we're bagging experts. And so, you know, there's a lot of differences. There's pinch bottom bags, there is gusseted, open mouth bags, there's pillow style bags, there's valve bags and there's, you know, bulk bags and there's all kinds of different bags out there. We could be, you know, one day we could be packaging, you know, two to 10 ounces in a very small package handling, you know, coffee beans or coffee grinds or something like that. And then the next day we could be putting cement or grout or something like that into a valve bag coming out of a completely different style packer. But once again, what we try to do is focus on what is the customer's material and what are they trying to achieve with it.
If it's a food grade product, there are certain food grade products that have to go into a sealed bag. There's other food grade products that go into valve bags every single day. And a valve bag is like you would pour out a, it's basically a cement bag. You, you know, it's got a little spout on the front of it. It's usually open to atmosphere in certain applications. We'll take a food grade product, put it in a valve bag, and then we'll actually seal the valve spout on that ultrasonically. And so, we understand a very wide range of products and their characteristics to help our customer really understand what is the right package for their operation.
Mike Abare:
Great. That's great. Hey, I know Magnum's got 60 years of experience in packaging and working with pellets and flakes and powders. Are there any hazards or gotchas that you should be aware of when you're working with those products or things we should avoid.
Nick Basham:
Well, first thing that comes to mind is explosivity, you know, understanding the Kst and the Pmax of a certain powder specifically in dust control, those are really big. On all of our equipment we give the option and the functionality to incorporate dust control into those pieces specifically around where the spout interacts with the bag. Take for instance, on our APO fillers, which is an open mouth bag filler using an auger, we will put a hermetic seal on that bag actually putting an inflatable spout into the bag and inflating that spout to where when the product goes in, if it's a dusty product, we're containing one hundred percent of that dust when that inflatable spout is filled. Then when we're filling there, you don't have any dust going around and we can capture the dust through a dust collection port on the top end of our filling spout. So just understanding, once again, always comes back to the product itself, understanding that, you know, okay, this is a dusty product and if it has an explosive rating, then we're also capable of manufacturing equipment that will meet the safety standards for whatever plant that you're in.
Mike Abare:
So other than explosivity, are there any other gotchas or hazards or materials we know that can't be packaged or conveyed?
Nick Basham:
Yeah, bulk density of certain products especially when they're aerated, you know, I talked about pneumatic conveying earlier, but just vertical drop, we'll aerate a product. So, if we're coming from a large bend and dropping down into our packaging bin, that will sometimes aerate a product and you'll see bags that get filled that the bag itself will wiggle like water. The powder itself actually has the material characteristics of water. And so, one of the hazards in filling powders, which is why some companies try to stay away from powders we actually dive into them, is that they're so hard to handle because they change characteristics so often. So, a hazard in handling certain powders is that they're highly “fluid-izeable”, which means that we got to be able to pull the air out of them while they're in the bag. So, you know, we manufacture a de-aeration probe that will actually go down into the bag and pull a vacuum on the product as it's filling to pull the air out of it to help densify it. The proper amount can get into the bag size that's been selected.
Mike Abare:
Is Magnum Systems able to put nitrogen blankets or things like that on top of the product before it's sealed.
Nick Basham:
Yeah, absolutely. So obviously isolating, and this is more along the powder side, but isolating your product from moisture is extremely important. Unless it's a product that requires a certain moisture content, you could put a nitrogen blanket on it. You could also just do some type of a warm air blanket depending on whatever the requirements of the products are. But isolating the product from moist air or any type of condensation from temperature change and things like that is extremely valuable and important to handling products and getting consistent packaging rates out of your production.
Mike Abare:
Great. The one question I always like to ask, try to have fun with this, what's the most bizarre material that you've ever been asked to package?
Nick Basham:
Okay, let's see. What's the most, what's the most bizarre product you've ever tried to package?
Mike Abare:
I see how you are, flip it back on the presenter, right?
Nick Basham:
You're just as much of an expert as I am.
Mike Abare:
Yeah, I mean as far as packaging, I, I mean probably recycled computer chips or things like that have been the most challenging just because there are different shapes and sizes and they want to interlock and don't want to flow very easily, but projects like that are fun.
Nick Basham:
Yeah, absolutely. I think some of the hardest materials are like your pigments and things like that, that are just so difficult to handle. They're sticky and they're very fluid and so it's a tough line to tow. You know, sometimes it's really important for us as experts to know what the limits of our capabilities are. Recognizing and admitting failure and faults is a big deal, which is something that we're going to cover in a few episodes down the road. But I think that understanding certain products and what we can and cannot do with them can also be extremely valuable to a customer as well. Cause if somebody comes to us and says, hey, can we handle this certain product? Or can we package this certain product? And we know that we don't do it well, there may be somebody else out there that can't and we kind of know what our limitations are and we're going to do what's best for the customer in that case. And not just try to sell a system. Once again, like keep up with the product rather than the equipment.
Mike Abare:
So, one last question before we wind this down is, does Magnum have the capabilities to test a customer's material to determine what machine or what process is best for it? And then certainly, you know, what's that look like if a customer were to want to test with Magnum Systems?
Nick Basham:
Absolutely. Actually, we just we just opened up earlier this year, our state-of-the-art testing facility in Lenexa, Kansas. We have dense and dilute phase conveying capabilities there along with all of our packaging machines. So, it's actually a very simple process. A future guest on this show, David Wallenberg, runs our testing facility there. So, you'll just fill out a test request form to get on his schedule. We need to know the material characteristics; we're going to need a certain amount of bags depending on the machine and the product that's going through. And then send us your product and we'll test it for free.
Mike Abare:
Great. Thank you so much Nick for coming today, sharing your thoughts. Hopefully it's been educational for everybody in, in the listening audience.
Nick Basham:
I enjoyed it. It was a good time. Thanks for having me.
Mike Abare:
Very welcome. Come back and see us again some time.
Mike Abare Show Close:
And that's a wrap for this episode of AIM. Thanks for listening and thanks for joining us today. If you have any questions or would like to learn more about the topic we discussed today, feel free to reach out to us on our website or social media channels so you never miss an episode packed with valuable insights. Please join us next time as we continue to explore the ever-evolving landscape of system integration. Until then, keep aiming for success. This is Mike signing off. Good day.
