A Guide to Dual Shaft Ribbon Blenders
Mixing Separate Powders into a Homogeneous Blend
Companies in several different industries use blenders to mix separate powders into one, but if you’re dealing with smaller particle sizes and bulk densities, the Dual Shaft Ribbon Blender may be your answer.
This type of blender uses ribbons on two shafts to agitate and mix powdered ingredients into one homogenous blend. When mixing two segregated powders, the ribbons in these blenders push the two ingredients together inside a trough until completely mixed.
Once the new mixture is made, it’s discharged from the trough. There are many different ways the blend is discharged, and we’ll cover those different styles in a later section of this document.
After being discharged, the mixture will then be ready to continue to the next step of production.
What industries use ribbon blenders
You’ll find these blenders in several different industries such as: Food Chemical Fertilizers Pharmaceutical Plastics Pigments Cosmetics
Why a Dual Shafted Ribbon Blender is useful
With several different mixing settings, the Dual Shafted Ribbon Blender can be used to mix a wide array of products. The blender can satisfy even the most demanding blending needs with a variety of horsepower and speed combinations. It’s common for ribbon blenders to have between 15 to 25 horsepower motors. The machine takes materials of different particle size and bulk density, and mixes them rapidly and efficiently to create a consistent blend.
By design, this blender is best suited for free-flowing products such as sugar. However, it’s versatile enough to operate in both batch and continuous modes.
Working Capacity
To get the most out of this machine, don’t fill the trough all the way to the top. The mixing batch size should only be 70-80% of the entire trough. You should leave enough room to see the top of the blades.
Different ribbon blender designs
When looking to purchase a processing blender, you may notice different designs when it comes to the ribbons and shafts inside the trough of the machine. Those include:
Double Helix Ribbon Blender
The Double Helix has two different ribbons encompassing a single shaft. This ribbon design will move the product in different directions until thoroughly blended.
Video Source: N&N Nadratowski
Dual Shaft Ribbon Blender
This blender incorporates two separate shafts with one long ribbon going around each one. It uses the two shafts and ribbons to push the ingredients together.
Types of blending agitation: Ribbon vs. Paddle
Ribbon Blenders
Typically, a ribbon blender is used in food manufacturing to mix powdered ingredients like spices. It’s able to do this because of its long, thin blades.
Paddle Blenders
Process manufacturers may also be interested in paddle blenders. This particular blender uses large, wide paddles to scoop, push and mix dry ingredients.
The ribbon and paddle blenders do a similar job. However, a paddle blender will need less cleaning and lower maintenance.
Vacuum Construction
A vacuum cover is a feature many manufacturers should consider, especially those in the pharmaceutical industry. The airtight lid helps keep debris and different types of allergens out of the trough and out of the product.
Video Source: Miltimix
Different blender discharges
Once mixing is complete, the blend needs to be discharged so it can continue to the next phase of production. You can find several different discharge examples below.
Tilt Discharge
In this option, the trough is tilted until its contents are poured out. The tilt in the video below shows a trough that has to be manually pushed over.
Source: Unitech Exports
You can also go with a crank to operate the tilt. For this feature, you have to manually crank the trough until it tilts over and releases the mixture.
Source: Fixit Engineering
Bombay Discharge
Some blenders have Bombay-style doors at the bottom of their troughs. Once the mixture is complete, the doors open and the product is released.
This type of discharge releases product at a higher rate and larger capacity.
Bottom Discharge
The Bottom Discharge is another common release mechanism you’ll see on ribbon blenders.
These can also have different types of release valves such as:
- Ball
- Knife
- Butterfly Gate
Bottom Discharges take a little longer for products to completely release compared to the Bombay Discharge.
Pneumatic Gate Discharge
The valves to the Pneumatic Gate use air to open. Once opened, the ribbons work to push the product out.
Popular Manufacturers
- Ross
- Ensight Solutions
Conclusion:
The Dual Shaft Ribbon Blender has one job: to mix dry powder ingredients into a homogenous blend. Whether you’re in the food industry or cosmetics, these blenders are capable of mixing bulk powdered ingredients, allowing your production line to run smoothly and more efficiently.
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