Feed Milling Equipment

	Material Handling Equipment		Pellet Mill
	Pellet Crumbler		Hammer Mill
	Universal Grinder for Fine Grinding		Batch Mixer
	Modular Filter for Dust Collectors & Catch Cyclones		Pneumatic Conveying Systems
	Bulk Tanker		Storage Silos
	Mobile Poultry Feed Plant		Live Bin With Discharger
	Pellet Cooler		Vertilift
	Dryer-Cooler		Flow Meter – Positive Displacement Type
	Rotary Valves / Air Locks		Molasses Mixer
	Aspiration System		Bin Activator / Vibratory Discharger
	Air Blast Assembly		Load Cell Type Electronic Batching System
	Drum Sieve		Catch Cyclone
	Load Cell Type Bagging Machine

Screw Conveyor

Screw conveyors are the most suitable conveying equipment for conveying free-flowing material between two points over a short distance, either horizontally or slightly inclined, where no change in direction is necessary. The conveying operation is carried out by the thrust of the screw. The Screw Conveyor consists of a shaft and mounted screw rotating in a U-shaped trough between the end bearings. Paddles are provided at the start of the screw except for small lengths. Screw conveyors are fabricated in convenient lengths with intermediate shafts, to connect the screw sections. Hanger bearings are provided at every joint for supporting the drive with a geared motor. To prevent any accumulation of material, an emergency outlet called overflow flap is provided at the end of the conveyor. A limit switch is also provided mounted on it so as to avoid tripping of the motor.

Bucket Elevator

The Bucket Elevator is used for conveying the material from lower level to higher level in the plant. The material entering at the bottom inlet is carried to the top by the bucket and discharged centrifugally in the outlet of the elevator. It consists of a rubber belt fitted with buckets at required intervals vertically and top and bottom pulley inside a fabricated steel casing (troughs). Sliding bearings are incorporated in the bottom pulley so that the tightness of the belt may be adjusted. The top pulley is rubberised to provide drive without any slip. Pawl-and-ratchet type back stop is provided on the top pulley to prevent reverse rotation due to the weight of the material on the active side of the belt. Bucket elevators are driven by a chain drive provided at the top through a geared motor or a worm reduction gear drive.

Chain Conveyor

The Chain Conveyor is used to convey different dry free-flowing materials from point to point using the least power and the smallest size of conveyor chain. The chain speed ranges from 0.5 Meter per second to 1 Meter per second.

Pelletising is a process of compacting finely ground material into a firm mass of the required shape and size by extruding it through a metallic ring die. Finely ground material is fed into the Pellet Mill through a feeder and then pressed into a rotating ring die with the help of two press rolls which are free to rotate on their respective shafts. The resulting pressure compresses the material and extrudes it in cylindrical form through the radial holes in the die.

Every Pellet Mill is backed by our efficient Spares Service Cell which guarantees prompt delivery of any component – from dies, press rolls and knives to even the smallest bolt.

 Pelleting Module:

Our specially designed ‘Pelleting Module’ can accommodate a Pellet Mill and all its associated equipment – Pellet Cooler, Pellet Sieve and Pellet Crumbler – within a very compact space, and on a self-supporting independent structure. This module can even be installed in an existing plant without requiring any major changes.

The Spectoms Pellet Crumbler is an essential equipment for the preparation of crumbled pellet feed. This is used for breaking the pellets into crumbs required for chicks which are 2-3 weeks old. Pellets are broken into pieces of the required size between the two rolls of the crumbler. The gap between the rolls can be adjusted to regulate the size of crumbs. The roller gap is adjusted with a hand wheel mechanism. The crumbler is fitted with drive parts which include drive and driven pulley, belt, guard and slide rails for the motor.

The Spectoms Hammer mill is basically an all-purpose grinder which can be used for grinding a wide range of feedstuff such as Oil Cakes, Extraction Meal, Broken Rice, Roots, Dry Herbs, Oat, Hulls and Maize. The material to be ground is subjected to the beating action of hammers until it is reduced to the fineness necessary to pass through the sieve. By using sieves with openings ranging from 0.03 inches to 0.79 inches (0.8 mm to 20 mm) the granulation of the material can be varied over a wide range.

The Hammer Mill is robustly constructed for high-speed continuous grinding. It consists of a fabricated body. The grinding chamber is usually formed by a series of steel plates built up on a shaft and separated sufficiently to allow the beaters to be mounted between them upon transverse spindles or pins which pass through the beaters near their outer edge. The perforated sieves surround the beaters except at the point where the feed enters the machine. A hinged cover is provided for easy accessibility to the grinding chamber. The beaters are made from Mild Steel (hardened) and can be reversed when the tips have worn. The rotor is dynamically balanced and is mounted on two self-aligned bearings. The grinding chamber and the motor are directly coupled and are mounted on a common base frame. Vibration dampers are provided to check all sorts of vibrations occurring due to the running of the machine.

Ground powder from the Hammer Mill is normally conveyed by Pneumatic Conveying Systems. In normal operation, the feed to the Hammer Mill is controlled by a Shaker Feeder or adjustable vibro-feed manually or electronically. The feed to the Hammer Mill should be controlled in such a manner that the Hammer Mill is neither overloaded nor underloaded. This can be judged by observing the current taken by the motor as well as through the sight-glass provided on the pneumatic conveying pipeline. For suction pneumatic system the conveying air should be properly regulated.

The Spectoms-Breckner Universal Grinder can handle dry solids, solids in slurry, greasy solids and fibrous material in dry or moist form (upto 20 %) and wet fibrous material in slurry form in various sizes. The consistency of the feed material and the size of the ground output will determine the final capacity. The Universal Grinder is a vertical disc-shaped grinder utilising two separate grinding zones. The material to be ground is fed by a screw conveyor or a hopper to the first grinding zone where it is coarse ground. It is then fed automatically to the second or fine grinding zone, from which it is discharged under its own momentum through a top-mounted discharge chute. The direction of the movement of the material from zone one to zone two and then to the discharge outlet is controlled by fixed ‘transition guides’ mounted at the end of the material flow channel in each zone. An adjustable grinding zone allows the highest possible output while achieving the finest grind.

The Spectoms Batch Mixer is suitable for mixing various ingredients in food processing plants and feed milling plants. A double-ribbon type rotor and close tolerances between the rotor and the body guarantee a very high mixing uniformity. The rotor is mounted on heavy-duty bearings fitted on both sides along with bottom discharge arrangement. Inspection doors are provided for supervising the activities. The mixer can either be drop bottom type or emptied through manually or pneumatically operated discharge gates located as desired. It can function with a mixing efficiency of upto 1 in 1 million. Capacities range from 250 Kg to 2 Tonnes per batch, with mixing time of approximately 4 to 6 minutes. The machines are supplied with 5 HP, 10 HP, 20 HP or 30 HP drive motors and gear boxes as required. The driving mechanism is directly mounted on the body. For special applications, mixers are supplied with Stainless Steel contact parts.

Modular Filters are ideal for cleaning dust-laden air generated while handling powdered materials. They are suitable for intake dumping points, grinding mill aspiration and dust collection systems. Non-woven felt filter bags are encased in a compact sturdy sheet metal cabinet which permits easy access to the elements. Dust collection is at the bottom and there is a hood at the top for the collection of cleaned air. A motorised beating mechanism, automatically actuated by an electronic timer, is available for the periodic cleaning of filter elements. The Modular Filter works generally under a negative pressure. The dust-laden air enters at the inlet of the bottom hopper. Air having light dust particles enters into the filter bags. Because of the pressure difference across the filter element and the mechanised shaking of the filter bags, dust separated from air falls into the hopper. The cleaned air escapes from the bag sides and is diverted into the hood at the top from where a blower sucks it out and discharges it into the atmosphere. Dust falls into the hopper by gravity. Dust collected in the hopper is discharged by means of an air lock. The filter bottom may be made suitable for a rotary air lock or a collection basket. Capacities range from 100 cubic feet per minute to 5000 cubic feet per minute of dust-laden air. The models available can be provided with 5, 16 or 25 bags, as required.

For heavy-duty applications cleaning of filter elements is required more frequently and rigorously. For this purpose pressurised air is blown through the filter elements periodically in the opposite direction of the clean air cleaning the filter. The sequence and duration of this blast is controlled by an electronic sequence controller. These units work as Dust Collectors and can operate using rinsing air from a high-pressure compressor or a roots blower and can work under negative as well as positive pressures. These units are made with 8, 16, 32 and 96 bags, with cleaning for individual bags or for a group of bags at a time.

Spectoms Pneumatic Conveying Systems are ideal for the bulk handling of various free-flowing materials in powder or granular form. They are specially designed and extensively used in the feed milling and food processing industries. The conveying systems are fabricated from epoxy powder coated steel, stainless steel or aluminium, as required by the application. Individual solutions are developed for each customer, based on the specific conveying problem, the conveying capacity required and the conveying distance.

With the use of bulk storage facilities, bulk transportation has become an essential requirement for any modern feed mill or food processing facility. Different kinds of powders, pellets, granules and grains can be carried in bulk all along the distribution chain, and bagged only when absolutely necessary.

The Bulk Tanker is basically a specially shaped pressure vessel, at the bottom of which are three or four discharge cones fitted with butterfly valves to regulate product flow. The discharge valves are manifolded to a discharge pipe with its outlet at the rear bumper. The tanker can be loaded by gravity through manholes at the top; it can also be filled pneumatically. To unload, the tank is pressurised to assist the flow of material to the discharge pipe when the discharge valves are opened. The material entering the discharge pipe is conveyed by compressed air to the receiving silo. The compressed air needed for the operation is supplied by an oil-free twin-lobe type compressor driven by the tractor engine or by a separate engine. At large unloading stations, the compressed air is supplied by centralised air generating units. For powdery materials like cement, the bottom of the tanker is fitted with a specially designed aerating arrangement to fluidise the material flowing out of the tanker.

We make 5-Tonne and 10-Tonne Bulk Tankers in MS/SS construction, complete with pneumatic discharge lines, pressure balancing lines, relief valve, fluidisation unit, pressure gauge, rotary compressor and other accessories.

Spectoms modular corrugated galvanised steel silos enable the scientific storage of foodgrains and a wide variety of free-flowing materials such as animal feed, pellets and granules, oilseeds, etc. They are designed to withstand extreme weather conditions and wind loads, intense rain and also the stresses arising out of product movement during loading and unloading operations. The body sheets have punched holes and are pre-formed for a given silo diameter. Special bead seals and bolting arrangements with rubberised washers ensure complete water-tightness. Whenever necessary, the silos are strengthened with channel-shaped vertical stiffeners to increase the structural stability. The modular construction facilitates future capacity expansion. The optional features include: ladder, hand railing near the roof edge, manhole, solid-state temperature detection system, level indicators, motorised grain spreader, discharge auger and aeration blower.

The Spectoms Mobile Poultry Feed Plant has been developed specifically to serve poultry farmers who produce feed for their own requirements. Farmers can use the self-sufficient portable plant to make feed exactly according to their own formulations and at their own poultry farm. The mobile plant can be operated by a variety of power sources, including the power from a farm tractor. It can work efficiently even in remote areas close to the raw material sources and in the vicinity of the bird houses. The cost of transportation of raw materials and finished goods is eliminated and the feed quality can be controlled as desired.

The Live Bin Discharger, with agitators, is one of the most frequently used devices for feeding powdery materials for processing in food processing industries. It is generally used to feed material which tends to settle and clog. The agitator arms rotate to give a dynamic momentum to the materials inside the bin. The entire contents of the bin are kept ‘LIVE’ by imparting slow agitation. The possibilities of demixing are thus eliminated and batches of duly mixed powdered ingredients can be discharged through the discharge chute at the desired rate for further processing. The bin is generally cylindrical in shape. It has an impeller provided at the bottom, an inspection door, top cover, and an outlet with a variable opening. Capacities vary according to requirements, from 500 Kg per hour to 5 Tonnes per hour. The bin discharger is driven by a 2 HP/40 RPM to 5 HP/40 RPM drive motor.

The Pellet Cooler is used for cooling hot feed pellets from 80^o C to ambient temperature. It consists of an intake box made from Stainless Steel plates with the top cover of bolted construction. It contains SS wedge plate for pellet distribution on both sides of the cooler column with SS flap supported on bearings. On one end there is provision for a mercury switch and on the other end a suitable balancing weight is provided for automatic operation of the discharger. When the column becomes full, the flap gets lifted and the mercury switch operates the auxiliary contact of the starter for the discharger motor and the discharger. Cooling columns are on either side with central duct for conveying hot air. SS wire mesh separates pellets from air. Set of louvers (flaps) regulate flow of cold air inside the cooler. The pellets while falling operate inside portion of the flaps and cold air is passed through stock of pellets. Pellet discharger has an arrangement for pellet collection and flow adjusting through a mechanism. The discharging mechanism with Spring Steel strips vibrates by means of eccentric drive with pulleys fitted with weights.

The Vertilift is a versatile vertical conveyor for economic, efficient and dust-free handling of powdery and granular materials. The Vertilift consists of a dump hopper with a stirrer, a material flow regulator and a vertical screw with drive and controls. The screw runs freely in the pipe, and is mounted on shielded anti-friction bearings. The screw and the stirrer have a common drive.

The bulk material is tipped in the dump hopper and the stirrer moves the material to the intake of the screw for positive feeding. A grill is provided in the hopper to ensure that empty bags, rags, etc., do not hamper the function of the stirrer, or clog the screw. The screw conveyor carries the material upwards and discharges it through an outlet. The upper end of the screw is designed to facilitate smooth discharge of material from the outlet. A reversible switch facilitates quick cleaning of the screw by opening the cleaning flap at the bottom of the screw and reversing the direction of rotation. The rigidly fabricated enclosed base platform supports the screw, hopper and the drive motor. Drive parts are enclosed in the platform. A vertical flange-mounted motor is rigidly fitted on the base platform. The drive motor can also be mounted on the top of the screw conveyor.

The Vertilift can handle material at any rate from 0 to 5 Cu. M./Hr. It can lift material upto a height of 2.5 M with a single screw, and more with multiple screws. The machine avoids segregation of material and ensures dust-free conveying. It avoids the need for making holes in the floor or for digging pits for dump hoppers. The unit is offered in MS or SS. For pharmaceutical, food and similar industries special designs are available which allow easy dismantling of all contact parts for thorough and quick cleaning. Various accessories like mobile chassis, hopper cover and dust collection hood for the hopper are also offered.

Among the many materials which can be handled by the Vertilift are :

The Spectoms Modular Type Single-Pass/Double-Pass Dryer-Cooler is frequently used in the food processing, feed milling and oilseed processing industries. It is a composite unit finished with spray galvanised or Stainless Steel slat conveyor of perforated sheets fitted on the chain with a ventilation arrangement and moving over the sprockets with a variable-speed drive. The product to be dried is evenly spread on perforated apron links forming a bed of uniform height. Drying air is percolated through the contents of the bed causing the heat transfer needed for moisture migration. The dryer also includes blower, steam radiator and steam control valves. The length and width of the dryer depend on the product to be dried and cooled. The unit is provided with driving and driven sprockets built with a chain tensioning device and an overload protection shear pin and panels fully insulated to minimise the heat loss. The exhaust fan is mounted on the drier while the cooling fan is installed at the side. The air from the cooling chamber moves to the pre-heating zone and consequently to the drying zone and finally to the exhaust line. Air circulating fans circulate the hot air through the product on an apron conveyor. The exhaust fan takes the required quantity of air and exhausts it into the atmosphere. Dryer conveyors are driven by a suitably sized varispeed unit with gear box at the desired speed. Temperature sensors are provided in the heating zone which control the steam inlet to the heating coils. At the bottom two fines-collection conveyors are provided to collect the fines and remove them out of the dryer. A mechanically or hydraulically controlled oscillating spreader is provided at the inlet to uniformly spread the product on the apron conveyor if required.

The Dryer-Cooler consists of:

The entire unit is built from standardised modules which permit flexibility in construction of the dryer/cooler to suit a range of duty requirements. Capacity augmentation is possible at a later date in such modular designs.

The Positive Displacement Type Flow Meter is an oscillating-rotary-piston type device. It has a measuring chamber and an annular piston. The liquid pressure causes the piston to rotate in the chamber. The rotary motion is transmitted to a vertically positioned indicator by means of a gear train. The piston displaces a fixed volume per revolution which is shown on the indicator. A six-digit mechanical counter continuously accumulates the total volume. If required, electronic signals can be generated for process control.

The Rotary Valve is a device which performs a vital function in the feed milling and food processing industries. It discharges powdered materials from the cyclones of pneumatic systems without allowing air to leak past the openings. In a pressure system, it permits material to be injected in the conveying system at the feed point where there is consequently a tendency for the air to leak to the atmosphere. Besides loss of pressure, this results in considerable dust nuisance and necessitates a larger air pump and a higher power consumption than would otherwise be required. In order to overcome this problem, a rotary valve is used as an air lock. The air lock action is achieved by means of a vaned rotor rotating within a housing with a very close tolerance (maximum 0.076 mm or 0.003 inch). It either feeds materials into the conveying system or discharges materials from it without allowing the conveying air to lock nut.

The main features of Spectoms Rotary Valves are:

• Sturdy housing allows no distortion due to aged castings or stress-relieved fabrication.
• Precise tolerance between rotor, housing and covers prevents air leakage while allowing free material movement.
• Smooth operation and long life are ensured by special bush or anti-friction bearings which support the rotor.
• Dust seals protect bearings from impurities.
• Air seals on side covers prevent leakage across bearings.
• Bridging of material within rotor cavities is eliminated to give smooth and uniform throughput.

The Molasses Mixer is used to mix the required quantity of molasses or other liquid ingredients in premixed batches. Its horizontal design ensures that the mix coming out is of uniform composition and free from lumps or balls. The design allows for the injection of two liquids synchronised with the feeding material. The maximum percentage of single liquid that can be injected is 10 % of the throughput. The capacity of the molasses mixer ranges from 5 Tonnes per hour to 10 Tonnes per hour.

 A lot of dust emanates from the material transfer points while handling grains and powders in almost all feed milling, food processing, chemical and pharmaceutical plants. This dust tries to escape from any open joints in the machine, thereby creating a lot of inconvenience to operating personnel. This fine dust is also prone to catch fire. In order to contain this dust and keep the working environment clean, all material transfer points are connected with pipes to a central point. This central point is either a cyclone-and-blower combination or a bag filter. The dust from the various points is sucked through the pipeline and collected from the dust-and-air mixture by the filter and discharged in the system, and clean air is let off into the atmosphere. This aspiration system generally consists of horizontal or vertical pipelines, bends, Y joints and air valves made from 22 SWG Galvanised Iron sheets to prevent corrosion and make it light in weight.

 The Spectoms Vibratory Bin Discharger is ideal for the uniform discharge of non-free-flowing materials such as high-oil-content flours, baby foods, high-protein blends, etc., from storage bins or silos. The discharger has a specially designed body, adequately reinforced to mount an eccentrically loaded discharger motor. Special flexible rubber connections isolate vibrations completely from the main discharge bin while permitting unrestricted movement of the discharger cone, which is supported by a special arrangement of forged links and rubber bushings. The Vibratory Bin Discharger is available in capacities ranging from 1 TPH to 15 TPH, in either Mild Steel or Stainless Steel construction, depending upon the application.

Powdered ingredients when stored in bins and hoppers tend to stick to the walls of the vessel. There are many methods to loosen the fine dust sticking to the walls. One of the effective ways is to create an impact with a high-pressure air pulse. Dry, demoisturised, high-pressure air from the receiver flows to the ventury of the blast system and always keeps the rubber diaphragm pressed. When the timer-operated arrangement triggers the solenoid coil, the air jet pulse gushes inside the vessel and creates vibrations inside the stockpile. This impact loosens the layer sticking to the walls of the storage vessel. The pulse rate of the air jet can be varied by adjusting the timer. The arrangement is very effective in loosening and breaking the briges formed inside the storage vessel.

The Load Cell Type Electronic Batching System is used for the preparation of a batch of upto 20 ingredients discharged and weighed accurately in a Batch Hopper. It facilitates pre-programmed intake of feed ingredients, their weighing and then their discharging to the conveying system. The Batching System consists of a Batch Hopper of 1 to 2 MT capacity with a pneumatically operated gate. The hopper is supported on load cells and is provided with a weight indicator. The material is fed from ingredient bins provided with the dischargers according to the process formula pre-stored in the memory. As many as 100 feed formulae can be stored in the memory and batches can be prepared accordingly. The accuracy of the system is 0.2 %. The machine ensures faster weighing cycles, increased batch to batch consistency, tighter tolerance and accuracy, more efficient use of manpower and reduced unscheduled down time.

The Drum Sieve is generally used for separating large fibres and big lumps from materials. A horizontal overhung sieve drum rotates in an enclosed casing. This drum is made of perforated sheet metal and is kept open by a brush scraper. The product is fed via the inlet spout into the interior of the drum and is revolved so that the fines drop through the sieve, while the rolling motion causes the coarse impurities to move to the outlet channel below the inlet. The guide spiral located in front of the outlet assists the discharge of the coarse impurities and prevents the inclusion of fines. The sieve drum is subdivided into a feed cylinder and a discharge cylinder. Optimum adaptation of the perforation to the product, throughput capacity and the separating efficiency can be obtained with different sieving combinations.

The main features of the machine are:

• High throughput capacity with minimum space requirement
• Reliable removal of long fibres
• Rugged maintenance-free construction
• The sieve drum can be changed easily within minutes
• Easy accessibility
• Simple erection

The Catch Cyclone replaces the conventional cyclone and can be installed wherever there is a space constraint. The biggest advantage is that no maintenance is required as there are no moving parts (the Catch Cyclone is based on the principle of centrifugal force and inertia). The inspection doors on both sides allow for easy cleaning. At the entry the dust-and-air mixture is pressed into the turbo separator by means of the fan and passed into a helical type casing. The form of the casing causes the air to rotate. The dust particles are pressed against the inner wall of the casing and directed into the secondary separator. The nearly dust-free main air stream flows through passing along the lamillars. Due to the sudden change in the air stream direction, the residual dust is passed into the main stream. The main stream air is purified and let off into the open atmosphere along with the part stream. The secondary separator works like a cyclone and consists of a central pipe, a cyclone head and cylindrical casing. The efficiency of the catch cyclone is considerably higher than that of the conventional cyclone.

The Load Cell Type Bagging Machine or Bagging-Off-Weigher is an electronically controlled bagging machine. It is a heavy-duty machine for the repeated and accurate weighment in bags of products like pelleted or mashed feed, grains, sugar and cereals. It consists of a hopper, a belt feeder with slow-speed and high-speed drives, a weighment chute supported on load cells and a pneumatically operated bag clamp. The operation of the machine is controlled by a solid-state controller. The weight indicator can be connected to a printer. The accuracy of the machine is 0.2 %. The machine ensures faster weighing cycles, increased bag to bag consistency, tighter tolerance and accuracy, more efficient use of manpower and reduced unscheduled downtime.