This vacuum system empties containers and minimizes dust
The Pneumati-Con ® dilute phase vacuum conveying system (photo) is designed to facilitate dust-free manual dumping and the conveying of materials from small bags or sacks. Additionally, it includes the ability to unload materials from containers using a handheld pick-up wand. Mounted on a carbon-steel access platform, the bag-dumping station includes a stainless-steel hopper with a dust hood that features a glove box. Using the gloves, the operator pulls bags of material from an adjacent table through an opening in the hood’s sidewall and onto a grate. Each bag is emptied without any material contacting the operator’s skin. Emptied bags are then passed through the opposite-side wall opening into a bag compactor. Dust generated from bag dumping, disposal and compaction is drawn away from the operator and onto the system’s two cartridge filters. Timed blasts of compressed air shake the dust buildup on the filter surfaces, which falls into the hopper. Filters are readily accessed for removal and replacement. The compactor’s cylinder can compress up to 80 bags into a removable bin. A handheld pickup wand is used to unload open containers from floor level. The wand is plumbed to the conveying line via a flexible hose, constructed of clear PVC with a static conductive wire and is compliant with regulations for handling dry food and pharmaceutical materials. — Flexicon Corp., Bethlehem, Pa.