Vibratory conveyor / Oscillating Conveyor

A vibratory conveyor essentially consists of an open or closed trough or pipe, generally horizontal but not always so, and which is elastically supported on a base structure or suspended from an overhead structure by springs. The trough or pipe is caused to oscillate at high frequency and small amplitude by an appropriate drive mechanism. Vibratory conveyors are commonly employed in industry to carry a wide variety of particulate and granular types of bulk materials. The fundamental action of the vibrating troughs on the bulk material loaded on it is to throw the particles upward in the forward direction so that the material performs series of short hopping movement and propagates at a certain speed.

Oscillating conveyors are utilized to convey sand or other granular particles at a desired rate. The conveyor is generally placed under a vibrating shakeout or a grid to eliminate direct handling of hot sand by the belt conveyor. In the process of reciprocation, the oscillating conveyor cools the hot sand to some extent which increases the life of the return sand conveyor belt.

An important characteristic of vibratory conveyor is the ease with which the flow rate of the conveyed material can be controlled by adjusting the amplitude and or frequency of the vibration. This particular aspects of such conveyor has led to the wide spread application of vibrating trough as feeders employed to supply material in controlled amount to various machines. When the trough is replaced by a screen, the vibratory conveyor may serve as vibrating screen, which has wide application in various industries. A distinction must be made between feeders and conveyors. A feeder is used as a discharge device under a storage hopper or bin and is subjected to varying head loads. A conveyor requires regulated feed rate and must not operate under varying head load conditions.

Construction details of Oscillating Conveyor:

CASTING

Methods are:

1. Pressing
2. Centrifugal Casting
3. Slip Casting
4. Extruding
5. Gravity Casting
6. Rolling
7. Iso-static Moulding
8. Explosive Compacting
9. Fibre Metal processes

Pressing:

The function principles of the mechanic press machines differ in how to ensure the upper punch main movement by cams, spindles and friction drives, eccentric, knuckle-joints or by the round table principle, independent if the die or lower punch movement is realized by cams  or eccentric systems or other mechanically or hydraulically combined systems. The executions of auxiliary movements are also not decisive for a term-classification. These auxiliary movements can also base on pneumatic and hydraulic principles. In comparison to hydraulic press machines the maximum compaction forces of mechanical powder presses are limited and are placed in the range </= 5000 kN. For the requirements of wet and dry pressing techniques in the field of Technical Ceramics cams, eccentric, knuckle joint as well as round table presses have proved and tested, whereas cam presses especially used for wet-press-techniques of pourable materials. The range of compaction force of mechanical presses for products of the Technical Ceramics is < 2500 kN, what is caused from the less density of the ceramic materials. Normally the upper punch, lower punch and die systems of mechanical presses don’t work on base of multi subdivided punches.

Centrifugal Casting:

It employed for compacting heavy metal powders such as Tungsten Carbide. The powder is twirled in a mould and packed uniformly with pressures up to 3 MPa. The uniform density is obtained as a result of centrifugal force, acting on each particle of powder.

Slip Casting:

Green compact of metal powder may be obtained by slip casting. The slurry, consisting of metal powder is poured in to porous mould. the free liquid in a slurry is absorbed by the mould tearing the solid layer of material on the surface of mould. The mould may be vibrated to increase the density of component. The Components are dried and sintered to provide sufficient strength.

Extruding:

It employed to produce the components with high density and excellent mechanical properties.

Both hot and cold extrusion processes are used for compacting special materials. In cold extrusion the powder is mixed with binder and the mixture is often compressed into billet before being extruded. The binder must be removed before or during sintering. In hot extrusion the powder is compacted in to billet and is then heated to extruding temperature in non oxidizing atmosphere.

Gravity Casting:

It used for making sheets having controlled porosity, the powder is poured on a ceramic tray to form a uniform layer and then sintered up to 48 hrs in Ammonia Gas at high temperature. The sheets are then rolled to desired thickness and to obtain a better surface finish. Porous sheets of stainless steel, made by this process are used for filters.

Rolling:

It employed for making continuous strips and rods having controlled porosity with uniform mechanical properties. In this method the metal powder is feed in to two rolls, which compress and interlock the powder particles to form a sheet of sufficient strength. It is then sintered, re-rolled and heat treated if necessary. Metal powders which can be compacted in to strips include Copper, Brass, Bronze, Nickel, Monel and Stainless Steel.

Iso Static Moulding:

It used to obtain the products having uniform density and uniform strength in all directions. metal powder is placed in elastic mould (Deformable Mould) which is subjected to Gas pressure (65 to 650 MPa). After pressing the compact is removed.

Explosive Compacting:

It employed for pressing hard particles. The metal powder are placed in water proof bags which are immersed in water. It contained in a cylinder having wall thickness. Due to sudden deformation of change at the end of cylinder the pressure in the cylinder increases. The pressure used to press the metal powders to form green compact.

Fibre Metal Processes:

In this process, the metal fibers (Fine wires of Convenient length) are mixed with a liquid slurry and poured over a porous bottom. The liquid is drawed off leaving the green mat of fibre. The mat in which the fibers are randomly distributed is pressed and sintered. The products are mainly used for Filters, Battery Plates and Damping’s.

 

CONVEYOR

Conveyor Take-up Arrangement:

All belt conveyors require the use of some form of take-up device for the following reasons:

• To ensure adequate tension of the belt leaving the drive pulley so as to avoid any slippage of the belt
• To ensure proper belt tension at the loading and other points along the conveyor
• To compensate for changes in belt length due to elongation
• To provide extra length of belt when necessary for splicing purpose.

Usually there are two types of take up arrangements.

• Fixed take up device that may be adjusted periodically by manual operation
• Automatic take up devices for constant load type

In a screw take up system the take up pulley rotates in two bearing blocks which may slide on stationery guide ways with the help of two screws. The tension is created by the two screws which are tightened and periodically adjusted with a spanner. It is preferable to use screws with trapezoidal thread t decrease the effort required to tighten the belt.

The main problem with the use of manual take-up is that it requires a vigilant and careful operator to observe when take up adjustment is required. Perfect tension adjustment with this system is also not possible. For this reason these devices are used only in case of short conveyors of up 60 m length and light duty.

In automatic take up arrangement the take up pulley is mounted on slides or on a trolley which is pulled backwards by means of a steel rope and deflecting pulleys. The carriage travels on guide ways mounted parallel to the longitudinal axis of the conveyor, i.e., horizontally in horizontal conveyors and at an incline in inclined conveyors. Hydraulic, pneumatic and electrical take up devices are also used.

Automatic take-up has the following features:

• It is self adjusting and automatic
• Greater take-up movement is possible.

NANO GENERATOR

After six years of intensive effort, scientists are reporting development of the first commercially viable Nano generator, a flexible chip that can use body movements — a finger pinch now en route to a pulse beat in the future — to generate electricity.

This development represents a milestone toward producing portable electronics that can be powered by body movements without the use of batteries or electrical outlets.

The latest improvements have resulted in a Nano generator powerful enough to drive commercial liquid-crystal displays, light-emitting diodes and laser diodes. By storing the generated charges using a capacitor, the output power is capable to periodically drive a sensor and transmit the signal wirelessly.

If we can sustain the rate of improvement, the Nano generator may find a broad range of other applications that require more power.

Example:

• Personal electronic devices powered by footsteps activating Nano generators inside the sole of a shoe;
• Implanted insulin pumps powered by a heart beat; and
• Environmental sensors powered by Nano generators flapping in the breeze.

Preparation:

The key to the technology is zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires. ZnO nanowires are piezoelectric — they can generate an electric current when strained or flexed. That movement can be virtually any body movement, such as walking, a heartbeat, or blood flowing through the body. The nanowires can also generate electricity in response to wind, rolling tires, or many other kinds of movement.

The diameter of a ZnO nanowire is so small that 500 of the wires can fit inside the width of a single human hair. Scientist found a way to capture and combine the electrical charges from millions of the Nano scale zinc oxide wires. They also developed an efficient way to deposit the nanowires onto flexible polymer chips, each about a quarter the size of a postage stamp. Five Nano generators stacked together produce about 1 micro Ampere output current at 3 volts — about the same voltage generated by two regular AA batteries (about 1.5 volts each).

While a few volts may not seem like much, it has grown by leaps and bounds over previous versions of the Nano generator. “Additional nanowires and more Nano generators, stacked together, could produce enough energy for powering larger electronics, such as an iPod or charging a cell phone.”