Piab, Täby, Sweden, has recently introduced the piFLOW®p SMART vacuum conveyor which, in the case of additive manufacturing, is capable of easily delivering the production powder to the 3D printing systems without risk of employees being exposed to any polluting particulate matter. Thanks to the system’s intelligence and self-learning features, no tedious adjustments or testing are required – just activation of the start button

The use of vacuum conveying technology can help to protect people, the product itself and the environment. As a supplier to the pharmaceutical, chemical and food industries, Piab faces this issue daily and is able to draw on 40 years of experience. Accordingly, the piFLOW® SMART vacuum conveyor was developed as a closed system to solve this problem. Filters in the vacuum conveyor as well as additional exhaust air filters on the vacuum pump prevent fine dust from entering the system in the workspace and thus causing employees to come into contact with these substances. This ensures a clean working environment where health concerns are minimised as far as possible. At the same time, the powder is protected against contamination by environmental influences with consequent loss of quality.

As it becomes ever important to ensure powders and granulates are conveyed in a controlled manner to dosing and mixing equipment, the autotuning feature of the new piFLOW® SMART vacuum conveyor automates the process of powder and bulk conveying. Based on its renowned COAX® ejector technology, the system is pre-programmed with advanced algrorithms to eliminate complex manual timer settings and allows continuous adaptive automatic fine tuning of the conveying process as well as recipe handling. As a result of the autotuning and Industry 4.0 capabilities, the vacuum conveyors can be fully integrated into automated process chains. www.piab.com

 

With the piFLOW®p SMART vacuum conveying systems from Piab, handling of powders for additive manufacturing is an intelligent and safe process

« Back