Technical Center, Canada

“We recently had a challenging test involving a powder that was very cohesive and clogged quickly,” says Bryan Sangalang, laboratory manager at Kubota Brabender Technologie Inc.’s Technical Center in Toronto, Canada. “Extensive research showed that the characteristics and flow properties of the material changed considerably when we cooled it down to around eight degrees Celsius. The DVT120 vibration feeder handled the powder very well at these low temperatures. We completed the test successfully and provided the customer with a satisfactory solution.”

This case shows how important the work of technical centers is. The Technical Center in Canada gets plenty of inquiries from both new and long-standing customers, who wish to make use of it for feeding tests - on average, roughly 100 to 120 inquiries a year. “Customers from the plastic, food and chemical industries use our test capacities,” Bryan Sangalang reports. “New customers with little experience of loss-in-weight processes and feeding also find the Technical Center very helpful.” Most inquiries are to do with continuous gravimetric feeding solutions. The FlexWall® feeder is therefore the most frequently requested, and this is based on its versatile deployment options using a wide range of different bulk materials and digital precision weighing.

The three Kubota Brabender Technologie Technical Centers save and share information on tests and bulk materials on a common database, which can only be accessed by its own employees. The bulk materials expert describes the test inquiry procedure as follows: to arrange an appointment, all you have to do is contact one of the regional representatives. So that the Technical Center staff can prepare for the relevant bulk material, they often ask for small samples in advance. The larger the feed quantity, the greater the challenge that the staff face. Given local circumstances, the engineers have to make special arrangements for quantities starting at 1.3 cubic meters per hour.

To achieve valid results, specific material properties and specifications of the bulk material involved need to be clarified prior to each feeding test. This is undertaken in a three-step process:

Step 1: Safety datasheet: you the customer provide the laboratory team with the safety datasheet (SDS) for the material.
Step 2: Written test request: you answer questions about process data and requirements on this form.
Step 3: Shipping instructions: once both have been checked by our laboratory team, you receive shipping instructions and information on how much bulk material is required for the test.