Materials Handled
Types & Characteristics

Abrasive/Corrosive materials: Abrasive materials are those that cause wear and tear on equipment surfaces due to their hard and rough nature. Examples include sand, metal powders, and certain minerals. Corrosive materials are those that chemically react with surfaces they come into contact with, leading to deterioration or degradation over time. These materials can be highly acidic or alkaline, such as certain chemicals, acids, and salts. Trantec feeders are engineered to handle the challenges posed by abrasive and corrosive materials. Manufactured from 304 or 316 stainless which is known for its superior corrosion resistance, and ability to withstand extreme temperatures, ensurs that Trantec feeders are robust in build, equipped to provide a reliable performance in demanding environments. 

Fine powders and fibrous materials: Fine powders are characterised by their small particle size, which can cause issues such as dusting, bridging, and poor flowability. Examples include flour, talcum powder, and powdered sugar. Fibrous materials, composed of long, thin fibers, can entangle and cause blockages. Examples include wood fibers, and synthetic fibers. Trantec screw feeders are engineered to address the challenges associated with handling fine powders and fibrous materials. Our feeders incorporate an adjustable speed 360-degree ribbon style rotating agitator within the feeders hopper. The agitator is specifically designed to ensure material remain loose and flowable.

Delicate and friable materials: Delicate and friable materials are those that can easily break down or degrade when subjected to excessive force or agitation. Examples include certain food products, pharmaceuticals, and soft powders. These materials can cause bridging and clogging, therefire require gentle when handling to maintain their integrity. Trantec screw feeders are designed to handle materials with care, ensuring smooth and consistent feeding without causing damage. When the feeder’s agitator is used in a slow, intermittent operation, this allows successful feeding of delicate and friable materials, reducing the risk of degeneration and ensuring delicate handling.

Sanitary materials: Hygienic material handling is crucial in industries such as food processing, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and biotechnology, where product purity and safety are paramount. Trantec hygienic feeders are constructed from materials that meet EC and FDA food contact regulations and are manufactured crevice-free with a smooth brushed easy clean surface or mirror finish (0.2Ra). As standard, our feeders include blue, metal detectable silicone gaskets, PTFE based cartridge shaft seals, and are comprised of autoclave-friendly removable parts to ensure optimal and easy cleaning of all parts to promote a contamination-free metering process. In addition, optional quick-release, easy-clean features are available across all our feeder ranges, enabling rapid dismantling and easy acess to all parts for non-problematic cleaning. 

Sticky and cohesive characteristics: Materials that are sticky and cohesive pose significant challenges in industrial processes, especially when it comes to handling and feeding them consistently. Sticky materials tend to adhere to surfaces, including the walls of hoppers and feeders, leading to buildup and blockages. Cohesive materials have strong intermolecular forces that cause them to stick together, forming lumps or clumps that can obstruct material flow. For effective feeding, Trantec’s agitators adopt proven technology from the mixing industry with left, and right-hand contra-rotating scroll blades This ensures the material is evenly and continuously stirred to prevent bridging or rat-holing. For extremely sticky and cohesive materials, vibration can be added on the outer side of the hopper for further agitation.

Free-flow materials: Free-flowing materials are powders and granules that exhibit minimal resistance to flow under gravitational forces. These materials have characteristics that make them behave almost like liquids, easily flowing through openings without the need for additional mechanical agitation. Common examples include fine sand, granulated sugar, and certain types of plastic pellets. Trantec screw feeders are supplied without the agitator for very free-flow powders and granules as the hoppers angeled design is optimal for materials that naturally flow well. The absence of an agitator also reduces mechanical complexity and prevents unnecessary disturbance to the material that could lead to product degradation.

Materials that fluctuate in density: Materials can fluctuate in density due to various factors such as moisture content, compaction, particle size distribution, and temperature. Some examples of materials that commonly exhibit fluctuations in density include powdered chemicals and food/seasoning ingredients. Understanding and managing density fluctuations is crucial in industries such as food, pharmaaceutical and chemical processing. Trantec Gracimetric feeders are optimised for materials that fluctuate in density as they operate based on a weight based principle, where the weight of the material being dispensed is continuously monitored. An advanced loading cell and controller combination accurately measures the weight of the feeder as material is discharged. During operation, if there is any deviation between the actual dispensed material rate and the setpoint rate, the gravimetric controller automatically self-calibrates, adjusting the auger screw speed. This adjustment ensures that the correct dispensing rate is maintained, regardless of fluctuations in the density of the material being fed. Trantec Gravimetric screw feeders typically achieve exstremely high accuracies of 1 to 2%