Will you reach your desired convey rate? One of the reasons Cyclonaire is so successful is because we can answer this question for you. Our company has more than 50 years of experience designing, engineering and manufacturing pneumatic conveying systems for plants and facilities throughout a wide range of industries.

Throughout our years of service, we have tested and analyzed a multitude of materials in our material testing facility to determine the maximum convey rate of your material.

You can learn more about our CycloTech Technology Demonstration and System Proving Facility in our new guide, The Benefits of Material Testing with Cyclonaire.

State-of-the-Art Material Testing Facility

The Cyclonaire CycloTech Technology Demonstration and System Proving Facility—also known as our “material testing facility”—is a large factor in what makes Cyclonaire able to provide advanced and reliable pneumatic systems in a wide range of industries. Our guide walks you through exactly what to look for when testing materials and all the steps to carry out in your processes.

Before Cyclonaire installs a new pneumatic system at your facility, we consider numerous factors to help you move your dry bulk goods. These include the characteristics of your material, such as the particle size, abrasiveness, moisture content, cohesiveness, friability, static charge, and toxicity.

In our material testing facility, we thoroughly examine how your materials will work in almost every scenario possible within the confines of your plant or facility. Through meticulous and exhaustive trial and error, we foresee any issues well ahead of installation in order to save you errors in real situations, which can be far more disastrous in the field.

Customized Consultation for Your Project

Cyclonaire’s material testing facility is essential in helping us deliver to you the exact solution for your facility.

The facility lets us asses several important factors related to conveying, including vacuum, pressure, or any vacuum-pressure combination. Through real-time data capture and reporting, our CycloTech material testing facility allows us to design the equipment that you need along with the correct protocols to ensure safe and cost-effective handling of your materials.

Download our eBook today to learn more about the capabilities and advantages of testing materials in a controlled environment.

When it comes to dry bulk materials, companies want to use the safest and most cost-effective way to transport and unload their goods. There are two primary methods for accomplishing this critical task, pneumatic and mechanical conveyors. So which one is the right method for you?

To help answer this question, we created a new eBook titled, The Advantages of Pneumatic Conveyors vs. Mechanical. The eBook discusses the differences between pneumatic and mechanical conveyors, and assesses how these two methods compare in a number of areas:

• Simple Routing: The design of pneumatic conveying systems has the ability to simplify the routing of bulk materials.

• A Cleaner Method: Pneumatic conveyors eliminate many opportunities for spillage that occur with mechanical conveyance systems. This means less lost product and safer working conditions

• Less Maintenance: Fewer moving parts means less maintenance for pneumatic conveyors

• Flexibility: Pneumatic conveying systems allow for design changes and upgrades that can be easily and quickly implemented.

• Enhanced Safety: Moving parts don’t just mean more maintenance, it also means more danger. So pneumatic conveyors not only offer safety but less noise, which improves workplace conditions

To learn more, download Cyclonaire’s free eBook, The Advantages of Pneumatic Conveyors vs. Mechanical. 

Pneumatic conveying systems have had a rich history in industrial processes and plants.

Pneumatic systems are constructed of a series of pipelines through which materials are transported by high velocity steams of air. The basic components of a pneumatic conveying system are a primary mover like a fan or a blower, a mechanism for feeding, mixing, and accelerating, a conveying component such as pipes, and a separation mechanism like a bag filter to separate gases and solids. Today, these systems are widely used in a variety of industries, one of which is the railroad industry.

Pneumatic Systems in Railways: Traction Control, Loading and Unloading Rail Cars

The railroad industry has been using pneumatic conveying systems for such actions as traction control as well as loading and unloading rail cars for transporting materials. They were first proposed in the 1880s for their benefits in traction control, and specifically for use in locomotive sanding, a process in which sand is deposited via compressed air into sandboxes. These sandboxes are then placed on rails in front of driving wheels to improve rail adhesion and track safety during wet or slippery conditions. 

Pneumatic systems are also essential in loading and unloading rail cars. These systems are relatively simple, typically involving a vacuum pump to transport materials to multiple receivers. They are also versatile, useful in permanent unloading, where the conveyor is buried beneath the track and protected from the elements, or portable unloading, where an automated, self-propelled unit moves between rail cars. Commonly handled materials in pneumatic systems range from aluminum, corn meal and sugar to diamond ore and titanium oxide.

Comparison with Mechanical Conveying Systems

There are a number of advantages in using pneumatic conveying systems over mechanical conveying systems. Mechanical conveying systems typically run in a straight line, with minimal directional changes. Each directional change in turn requires its own motor and drive. Furthermore, mechanical conveying systems may be open rather than enclosed, which has the potential to generate a prohibitive amount of dust. These systems are also characteristically large, and tend to take up a lot of valuable real estate in a plant. In the railroad industry specifically, mechanical systems invite a range of potential problems that can slow locomotive servicing.  

A significant risk with mechanical conveyor systems is their potential to create unsafe working conditions. Since these systems are open and exposed to the elements, workers in turn are exposed to machinery. Clothing, jewelry, and long hair can get stuck in open gears or troughs. Chain and roller conveyors are especially hazardous due to their potential for “nip points” when chains contact sprockets and can cause injury to workers in close proximity.

Advantages of Pneumatic Conveying Systems

Pneumatic conveying systems, in comparison, use simple pipelines, smaller in diameter, to transfer material. The pipelines can be tailored in a number of ways, eliminating the need to be perfectly straight, and even being able to bend around existing equipment. This allows the layout to be more flexible and have a relatively small footprint on a plant’s real estate. Each pneumatic system is totally enclosed, and since it is electronically managed, typically has fewer moving parts. This streamlined flexibility leads to greater efficiency, reducing potential spotting or filling problems that can slow down workflow processes.

Parts in pneumatic systems are made of easy-to-connect aluminum vacuum which ensure quick leak-proof connections, and stainless steel and food grade rubber flex hoses mean secure system attachments. These systems are completely scalable, allowing them to minimize or grow along with rail car loading or unloading requirements. The ease of automation reduces the amount of manual attention necessary, and along with streamlined parts, increases the safety of working conditions, protecting workers from exposed gears, chains, and machinery which can trap them and cause serious injuries.

As an industry leader in the engineering and manufacturing of pneumatic conveying equipment, Cyclonaire has years of experience in scaling these systems to your traction control and loading needs.

The proprietary SandMaster Sanding Station, for example, quickly dispenses traction directly into the locomotive sandbox to help rail yards run efficiently and keep service tracks on schedule. Our streamlined and automated processes can be tailored just for you. As a result, costs are reduced, while workflow is made safe and secure.

For more information on Cyclonaire's railroad sanding systems, download our free guide, 6 Reasons to Replace a Sanding Tower with a Cyclonaire Locomotive Sanding System.

There are few efficient and effective ways to transfer dry bulk materials, other than with a pneumatic conveying system. If you choose pneumatic conveying as your means of moving bulk material, there are a number of critical key questions to be answered—one primary question being: Which conveying phase is right for my material and my exact needs?

Cyclonaire understands that this can be a challenging question to answer without the assistance of an expert within the pneumatic conveying industry. That’s why we created a new eBook, Identify the Correct Phase for Your Pneumatic Conveying System: Dense, Semi-Dense or Dilute.

Our unique and informative eBook touches on a number of critical topics to consider when selecting the right conveying phase for your material.  Below is an overview of what you can expect to read about in the document.

• How pneumatic systems work
• Industries that use pneumatic conveying such as foundries, utilities, railroads and general manufacturing
• A look at all the diverse applications, for example fracking, ash handling, rocket fuel and many more
  
  

Three different pneumatic conveying phases:
As the title implies, this section takes a closer look at the three major pneumatic conveying phases: dense, semi-dense, and dilute. While this topic can be confusing, our experts do a great job of simplifying the subject matter and providing a thorough explanation, without losing any accuracy.

Identifying the correct phase for your materials & applications:
This section is at the heart of Cyclonaire’s eBook. We take you through a wide range of factors and considerations you need to review to ensure you select the right phase. Some of these factors include particle size and shape, abrasiveness, bulk density, level of toxicity, and melt point. We also discuss how your plant’s location and environment plays a role in your decision making process.

Testing & phase selection:
After our pneumatic conveying experts make you aware of all the factors and considerations that will go into your choice, it is time to deal with testing and your ultimate phase selection decision.

At Cyclonaire, we have a comprehensive knowledge of and experience in all aspects of pneumatic conveying technology. We utilize our state-of-the-art CycloTech Technology Demonstration and System Proving Facility to verify the conveying selection.In the end, the results provide complete assurance that the equipment you choose will handle the target rate, air usage, pressure, degradation requirements, and more.

If you want to learn more how to identify the correct phase for your pneumatic conveying system, visit our website and download our free eBook, Identify the Correct Phase for Your Pneumatic Conveying System: Dense, Semi-Dense or Dilute.

To discover how Cyclonaire can help make your decision even easier, contact one of our pneumatic conveying system experts today.