Mepaco Blog

Metering Screws Drive Surge Production and Eliminate Waste

Fri, 14 Jan 2022 15:05:04 GMT

Metering Screw Conveyors provide surge delivery to downstream equipment, allowing continuous production. Load cells can be integrated into the metering screw to use the loss-in-weight method for measuring product displacement. Metering Screws deliver and surge the correct quantity of product to the mixers, cookers, or blenders downstream as required by the recipe.

CLEAN SWEEP

The Metering Screw Conveyor is designed with a Clean Sweep Hopper that eliminates waste with a solution that mechanically clears food product between batches.

In the animation, a paddle agitator sweeps the sides of the tub and continually pushes product into the feed screw.

The spin ridge keeps product from barreling, maintaining positive conveyance until the food product is completely unloaded.

DESIGN

Mepaco has engineered Metering Screws up to 6000 lbs. capacity. The screw conveyor delivers metering, formulating and surge applications and handles ground and trim meats, prepared foods, frozen foods, and pet food. Design customization includes:

Incline up to 35 degrees
Load heights range from 72” and 84” for an average 3000 lb. unit
Discharge heights vary based on a 20’ screw length and incline angle
Screw lengths longer than 20’, are application dependent, and will require a hanger bearing

Contoured covers can be integrated on the screw conveyor, which allows for an increased incline angle, fully contained discharge and reduced footprint.

Processors can realize production efficiencies with options that include:

Single or dual screw
Screw covers
Load Cells
Clean in place (CIP) solutions
Electropolished food contact surfaces
Heating or Cooling Jackets
Fixed or variable speed drives

INFEED

A typical floor layout is a DP3000 (Direct Pivot) Dumper feeding the hopper. For discharge heights greater than 120”, custom platforms can provide elevated load height and higher discharge requirements.

While not as common, the HD3000, LD3000 and CD1000 dumpers have also been used to feed the Metering Screw.

Surge loading metering screws used in a formulation system configured side by side often use a reciprocating belt conveyor to deliver product between hoppers, depending on the recipe demand.

DISCHARGE

The discharge chutes on Metering Screws can be static or pivoting. Controls can be programmed to direct chutes to multiple discharge locations.

Mepaco engineers and manufactures many types of Metering Conveyors, from the Clean-Sweep configuration to the Cross-Screw Hopper Design and the conventional center-screw hopper. Our engineering team works with the processor to specify and modify the design to meet the goals of the application.

How to Determine if your Auger / Screw Conveyor is Failing

Wed, 18 Aug 2021 13:34:59 GMT

If you have a transport, incline or metering screw, these conditions are symptoms of a failing auger / screw.

The screw is rubbing on the wall of the tub
There is a bow or wobble when running
The hanger bearings are wearing out prematurely
The wear pads are ground down beyond normal wear.
The gear box is hot.
The drive shaft is worn out prematurely.

Screw conveyors are important to keep product moving between processes, so pay close attention to these systems to stay ahead of maintenance issues.

After any major incident, contact Mepaco Services to inspect repair. Mepaco Services may be able to make some repairs on site. Welding, straightening, stainless finishing can be performed on site. However, re-machining a new piece, shaft or remanufacturing a paddle/ribbon, needs to be worked at the factory.

It is important to assess the life and stress of the augers to make sure that you do not experience down-time. Mepaco Services can provide audits, service contracts or emergency repair to help to prolong the life of screw conveyors.

Surge Loading Metering Screw Conveyor is Key Component in 24/7 Formulation Line

Tue, 23 Mar 2021 15:26:33 GMT

The Metering Screw Conveyor with surge loading capabilities is the key equipment component in this (above) 24/7 formulation line.

In the system above, pre-broken frozen food products (red meat, fish, chicken, vegetables) are delivered to a designated metering screw on a traversing belt which locates the exact drop position. Once the recipe is established and the demand is made, the applicable metering screws deliver product.

Load cells are used to measure product displacement over a given time (loss-in-weight method). Mixers, blenders, or cookers signal for the raw materials in a given SKU, and the surge loading metering screw conveyors will deliver the correct quantity of product required through the primary grinder and then to the batch for final formulation.

Metering screws have versatile designs that are suitable for different food handling requirements:

Applications for the cross-screw hopper include trim meat and course or fine ground meats (fresh or frozen).
The best-fit applications for clean sweep hopper designs are course or ground meats or food product (fresh or frozen).
The dual-screw design is often considered in trim and / or whole muscle applications.

Metering Screws provide the surge loading benefits required to fulfill production goals in the batch formulation system above. The clean-sweep Metering Screw has an off-set screw agitator designed to clear food product from the hopper between batches. This batch processing line reduced labor and eliminated downtime with continuous, 24/7 large batch production: utilizing real-time material availability and on-demand formulation.

Visit Metering Screw page.

Ask the Experts - at Process Expo - the Screw Conveyor

Wed, 09 Oct 2019 14:42:19 GMT

We are highlighting the Screw Conveyor on display at the Process Expo in this video. This particular screw conveyor was customized for a specific pet food processing application.

Mepaco is fortunate to have all this equipment available this year to bring to Chicago.

Scroll up and down in this blog to watch other videos in this series, called "Ask the Experts".

Horizontal Screw Conveyors Provide Bulk Handling for Many Industries

Mon, 25 Jun 2018 15:57:05 GMT

Mepaco's screw conveyors are engineered to the requirements of the food processing application. In the photo, these screw conveyors transported pet food. The conveyor in the foreground was placed after the grinder and transported ground product. The conveyor in the background was utilized before the grinder. It featured a trough design that handled large meat chunks, which fed the grinder.

Engineers work closely with the customer's production experts to design systems that minimize space while maximizing flexibility for product formulations and production goals.

Mepaco's screw conveyor systems have served many food processing industries: Baking and Snack, Dairy, Fruits and Vegetables, Meat and Poultry, Pet Food, Prepared Food and Ready-to-Eat. Application expertise includes: Metering, Reversing, Formulating and Thermal Processing.

For more information on screw conveyors and augers, visit:

SCREW CONVEYORS

AUGER UNITS

New Animation: Clean Sweep Surge Loader

Wed, 12 Apr 2017 16:44:00 GMT

Mepaco's Clean Sweep Surge Loader offers a solution that mechanically clears food product between batches on surge loading applications.

In the animation, paddles sweep the sides of the tub and continually push product into the feed screw.

The spin ridge keeps product from barreling, maintaining positive conveyance until the food product is completely unloaded.

This solution reduces food waste and eliminates the need for personnel to have to manually clear product.

The Clean Sweep Surge Loader has been engineered for prepared foods, ground or trim meat products. The design is modified to meet the requirements of the application. Some of the options include different agitator configurations, customized safety grating, load cells, pneumatic covers on the screw conveyor discharge and electropolished food contact surfaces.

New Video Animation: A Demonstration of the Articulating Screw Elevator

Tue, 27 Sep 2016 14:41:00 GMT

The Mepaco group has expertise in manufacturing screw conveyor systems for many food industries and applications. The articulating screw conveyor is part of the customizable product offering that includes screw feeders and surge loaders.

In the video, the articulating screw conveyor is animated to demonstrate:

Lowering and elevating capabilities for safe and efficient sanitation and maintenance
Pivoting capabilities that allow for versatile production possibilities

These articulating conveyors have been designed with different pivot configurations, CIP (clean-in-place) capabilities, pneumatically controlled safety grating and covers, and electropolished food contact surfaces.

For more information, download Mepaco’s screw conveyor systems brochure.