Polished Stainless Steel Screw Feeders for Metering Snack Products

General Description

One of the world’s largest producers of cereals, dairy products, snacks and numerous other food products were making process improvements to the cereal line at their Ohio facility. For this project, the Customer required specially designed, food-grade screw feeders located under hoppers to meter dry cereal. The hoppers served to store out-of-spec cereal generated during startup or upset conditions. The out-of-spec product was typically of irregular size or color. The screw feeders metered the product into a tubular drag conveyor that conveyed the product downstream for further processing. Since the cereal was meant for human consumption, KWS took care to specify, design, and manufacture the screw feeders to meet the sanitary requirements of the Customer.

Design Parameters

KWS Advantages

The Customer contacted Burke Process, the local KWS representative at the early stages of the project to discuss possible solutions. Burke Process has extensive experience and has provided many systems for the food industry. KWS has a superior manufacturer’s representative network that offers excellent support for Customers who want an entire conveying and processing system from multiple manufacturers with one primary point of contact. For this project, available space was at a premium so the Customer required that the screw feeders fit in a tight space. KWS engineers provided a solution based on the Customer’s existing layout and ensured that each screw feeder mated perfectly with the existing hoppers and fit within the space provided. KWS even provided Inventor models of the drives, seals and trough ends so the Customer understood every component to be supplied. KWS reviewed the Customer’s sanitary guidelines and provided a detailed design submittal with drawings to ensure all project requirements were met. KWS has extensive experience with the design of food-grade process equipment and was a tremendous asset on this project.

Special Features

Space was a critical design parameter so KWS investigated multiple solutions for metering the product from the hoppers. The screw feeders fit right next to each other so it was necessary to locate the drive units on opposite ends. Most of the cereal product was out of spec and would eventually be reconstituted. Material degradation in the screw was not an issue so the screw feeders were designed with variable pitch flights. Double flighting was added at the discharge end of the screw feeder to promote even flow. Engineers at KWS reviewed the Customer’s specifications and incorporated numerous sanitary features. All internal product contact surfaces were either 2B mill finish or polished to 150-grit finish. Food-grade lubricants were used in the bearings and gear reducers. Sanitary air-purged shaft seals kept the product contained within the screw feeder housings. The finish provided by KWS ensured completely crevice-free and cleanable product contact surfaces. KWS has the technical expertise for designing and manufacturing high-quality sanitary stainless steel screw conveyors.