Page 18 - Industrial Technology July 2021

DESIGN ENGINEERING

MIX MASTERS

PRODUCT HANDLING

MATTHEW BASELEY, SENIOR INTERNAL TECHNICAL SALES
EXECUTIVE AT INTERTRONICS, DISCUSSES THE FACTORS
CONTRIBUTING TO RETURN ON INVESTMENT WHEN
CONSIDERING PLANETARY MIXING EQUIPMENT.

hen mixing liquids, pastes and powders therefore time and labour — from the
during an industrial process, manufacturers process. THINKY Mixers enable you to
may identify issues that lead them to simultaneously mix, disperse and degas
Wconsider alternative methods. Common materials in jar, beaker syringe tube or
areas for improvement include variance due to a manual cartridge — and so can free up time that
process, difficulty validating the process, or a high defect would otherwise be spent manually
rate. Manufacturers may also have productivity reasons to mixing, degassing, filling and decanting.
change their mixing processes, such as to increase This can both speed up the process to
throughput or reduce waste. improve throughput and potentially
Many industrial applications require fast, homogenous productivity, and free up the operator’s
mixing of materials, including adhesives, inks, cosmetics, time to perform value-added activities
and pharmaceuticals. It could be the combination of elsewhere. There may be an indirect
materials of differing viscosities, or the addition of solids health and safety benefit too, because
such as conductive powders, catalysts, phosphors, fillers manual mixing can lead to repetitive
or even nanoparticles, into liquids or pastes. There are strain injury (RSI).
multiple methods of mixing materials. One common Because material does not have to be
approach is contact mixing, which can range from stirring decanted between containers and the
with a stick, using glass stirrers and beakers, electric process is non-contact, it reduces the
stirrers with blades or paddles, or magnetic stirrers. amount of wasted material left in a
Manufacturers usually look to change their mixing previous vessel or on a paddle or stirrer,
process if they identify specific issues or areas for greatly reducing cleaning the
improvement. It might be to reduce the time or number of requirements and meaning there is a
steps required; a mixing process could require material to minimal risk of cross contamination
be weighed into a cup, mixed, degassed, decanted into a between batches.
syringe or other dispensing technology, and then perhaps
even degassed again. Alternatively, there may be problems Quality and yield
with quality and repeatability; the paddle or stirrer may THINKY Mixers enable precise and
introduce air into the mixture, homogeneity may vary repeatable control of the mixing process,
between operators or contamination might be introduced which can lead to improved formulation
between batches. quality, reduced human error and less
An alternative to contact mixing is planetary variation between batches due to operator
centrifugal mixing. The non-contact mixing action of this technique or skill. Process variables like
technology combines rotation and revolution within a set time and speed are programmable and
radius to achieve a fast, fully homogeneous mix. These stored in “recipes”, so the mixing is the
mixers can mix, disperse and degas materials in seconds same each time.
to minutes in the user’s own product container. Contrary The technology can also prevent
to contact mixing, they also tend to remove air rather than serious product defects that occur from
cause it to be entrapped. incomplete mixing. For example, when
working with a two-part adhesive, if homogenous mixing
Determining ROI is not achieved it can lead to incomplete cure. Material
When determining the possible ROI of new mixing that has not fully cured may be unable to withstand the Mixing using rollers, blades or propellors can cause
equipment, the first step is to understand the intricacies of chemical, structural or environmental conditions the physical damage to fillers, and subject the materials to
the mixing process for your specific application and product will be subjected to — full cure is required to high rates of shear which can be harmful. Non-contact
determine exactly what it is you wish to achieve. Building achieve the parameters listed on the data sheet. In these mixing is effective at controlling shear during mixing, and
up a clear picture of the current process will help cases, the partially cured material either must be is usually quite benign to the products.
determine the most suitable equipment for you to trial but mechanically or chemically removed, or the entire part
will also help you understand the indirect cost savings, as discarded. If you are operating a multi-step process and by Costs and other considerations
well as the more obvious direct ones. the time adhesive is applied the product has been heavily Understanding the requirements of the process and what
One benefit of using a planetary centrifugal mixer, such invested in, you may find that the payback period for a steps are required is central to equipment choice; there
as a THINKY Mixer, is that it can remove steps — and THINKY mixer is extremely rapid. are different types of planetary mixer, offering a range of

18 INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY • July 2021