Knife Gate and Vacu-Valve Solve Sandy Problem
Vacu-Valve
The Problem
Like all foundries understand, abrasive materials can wreak havoc on dust and particulate managing equipment. For a foundry on the shore of Lake Michigan, the dust collection system often experienced downtime because of sand and metal dust in the shop. Unfortunately, these dusts are extremely abrasive and created a need for constant maintenance on the foundry’s rotary valves. Maintenance cycles required the shutdown of the facility’s baghouses to remove and repair the valves, leading to a great deal of operational downtime. Rotary valve bearings and rotors needed replaced regularly, and sometimes even the valves themselves were replaced altogether, which got expensive and exhausting for the foundry.
The Solution and Measurable Results
Frustrated, the company contacted Aerodyne for help, and one of our engineers recommended the Vacu-Valve— a popular replacement for rotary valves due to its reliability and low maintenance design. Where rotary valves often suffer damage to their rotors and bearings from abrasive materials, the Vacu-Valve’s streamlined vacuum driven rubber sleeve design reduces damage capabilities. The valve’s design also reduces the amount of time and effort needed for maintenance– sleeve replacement can take as little as five minutes.
Knife Gate Valve
The Armadillo Vacu-Valve, with its particularly sturdy design, creates the perfect balance of collection security and ease of operation. With this in mind, an Armadillo was purchased for trial at the aforementioned foundry. Additionally, an installation of Aerodyne’s Knife Gate helped to isolate the newly installed valve, and the hardy pair reduced maintenance time from hours to minutes, keeping the foundry in production longer. This was a huge win for the foundry, because it eliminated their need to stop operation altogether to see to a suffering valve. It’s safe to say the trial was a success, and the resulting savings in time, money, and manpower prompted the foundry to later purchase several more Vacu-Valves to keep their dust collecting system operating at its best.
