2011-10-18 10:07:59
Since its inception in 2009, Process Components Ltd has been driven to provide high quality products and services to the processing and handling industries; striving to exceed customer expectations on delivery, service and product reliability.
In that time, our group turnover has grown by more than 25%, in what we would all describe as very difficult market conditions.
Our core business strategies continue to be: growth through better service provision, an expanding product portfolio and new strategic alliances.
To help achieve our strategic vision we are restructuring our UK Sales team and therefore it is with great pleasure that I announce the appointment of Rocco Mastrolonardo as our new Sales & Marketing Manager.
Rocco is a Sales and Marketing professional who brings with him a wealth of export sales experience and knowledge, gained from twenty years working within a broad range of industry sectors.
With immediate effect Rocco will take over the day to day running of the Sales and Marketing function. Working closely with all parties within the company, his overriding objective will be to devise and execute our strategy for growth.
2011-06-30 14:44:34
Introducing the new Mucon Slide Valve
Designed and manufactured by Process Components Ltd, we are proud to introduce our new range of Single Flanged Slide Valves to further extend the Mucon product range. Our own dedicated design team are continually working to pioneer new and innovative products, not only to maintain their market leadership but to meet continually changing customer and market demands.
This is the first in a range of forthcoming developments that will include, at a later date, Double Flanged Slide Valve and Pneumatic Cylinder Operated slide valve.
Process Components Ltd has committed themselves to an on-going programme of product development and enhancement.
Follow the link below to find out more or call +44 (0)1625 412000 to discuss your needs.
Visit the Mucon Slide Valve Product Page
2011-04-04 11:35:30
“Warburton's Ltd operates fourteen bakeries throughout the UK and has been synonymous with quality bread since 1876, when Thomas and Ellen Warburton started production in their small grocers shop in Bolton. As any successful baker knows, it is essential to take great care over the quality of the ingredients used to make their bread, Warburton's are no exception. Part of this quality control process ensures that the dry ingredients are sieved using high performance centrifugal sifters. These machines run on a 24/7 basis and are critical to the Warburton's operation, so when they were looking for a preventative maintenance provider they turned to a company with a proven track record for reliability and technical knowhow; that company was Process Components Ltd.
We provide scheduled preventative maintenance at Warburton's sites, often providing this service at weekends or out of normal hours. Our competitive rates and quality service ensures that Warburton's get value for money and peace of mind regarding their sieving operations”
2011-02-04 16:54:58
You may have seen our advertisement for our range of Metal Detectable Seals in February's edition of Food & Drink International.
Our range of seals are fully FDA compliant and can be extruded or moulded in all manner of shapes and sizes to meet your exact requirements.
Follow the link below to find out more or call +44 (0)1625 412000 to discuss your needs.
Visit the Metal Detectable Seals Product Page
2010-11-25 12:42:37
We are pleased to announce that Paul Bailey has joined Process Components Limited in the position of Senior Design Engineer. Paul has worked in the powder processing industry for over 20 years and brings a wealth of experience from his engineering background with Mucon, Kek, Gardner and PPS products. Paul’s expertise will add significant strength to Process Components Ltd Engineering capability. This will not only enhance the ability to support customers in respect to existing products and spares but will also enable the development of new products.
Paul commented, “I was working for one of the UK’s leading Engineering Company’s when I met with the Managing Director, Tony Goodwin, at Process Components Limited’s new premises in Macclesfield. I was immediately impressed by the infrastructure that had been put in place in a relatively short period of time and could see that this was a successful company. This coupled with the plans that Tony described for the future made it an easy decision for me to join the company. I am now enjoying the challenge of my new role and working as part of the committed team at Process Components Limited.”
2010-09-02 16:47:25
Process Components Ltd has recently expanded its website content relating to the PPS Air Classifier Mill product range. PPS related products and services have been part of the Process Components portfolio since the company was formed just over a year ago but a recent increase in demand for these types of products has prompted this step to enhance the website’s content yet further.
Air Classifier Mills are used the world over for fine grinding applications, beyond the capability of normal “hammer” style mills. The PPS range has been used successfully throughout the powder paint industry and in countless other applications.
Process Components specialises in after sales service and support for these and many other process related product ranges.
Visit the PPS Product Page
2010-05-06 13:40:26
The manufacture of industrial adhesives involves the use of a wide variety of ingredients each with their own inherent flow problems.
Materials such as Zinc Oxide & Lithium Carbonate have extremely poor flow characteristics whilst products such as Gelatine, Melflux and Blast furnace slag need only occasional assistance to get moving.
A well known adhesives manufacturer in Staffordshire uses a total of fourteen different ingredients housed in fourteen discharge hoppers on one section of his production plant.
Each of the fourteen hoppers was fitted with live bottom Bin Discharges that had been designed and constructed to handle a dedicated product.
Problems arose as production increased and it was necessary to use each hopper to handle any of the ingredient materials.
To overcome serious hold ups in production due to hopper blockage and non- delivery of ingredient materials, a system design change was necessary.
Process Components Ltd were approached to offer a solution to these serious flow problems and after carrying out a series of trials on the majority of ingredient materials, each hopper was modified to incorporate a pair of MUCON Promoflow Discharge Aids.
‘Promo-Flow’ Discharge Aids are the flagship of Mucon’s flow promotion devices for problematic dry bulk solids stored in hoppers and silos. They comprise internally mounted screens or grids actuated by externally mounted pneumatic vibrators. These powerful devices move difficult products by transmitting vibration directly into the material – and not into the bin. Accordingly, they are efficient, effective and quiet in operation. They have the added advantage of being easily retro-fitted to existing bins or silos, requiring minimal work to the container itself.
The installation of the MUCON Promoflow discharge aids immediately overcame the customer’s discharge problems.
An easy answer to what was a sticky problem.
Mucon’s range of discharge aids complements their well known range of Iris Diaphragm Valves with which their name is synonymous. The combination of discharge aids to get products moving and valves, to control (or stop) the flow, truly gives Mucon ‘The Power to Control Powders’.
2010-05-13 11:47:04
A brief history of the MUCON Iris Diaphragm Valve
Wood is not a material normally associated with engineering products. However, the possible exception is during the manufacture of prototypes. This was certainly the case 65 years ago when, during the birth of the world famous MUCON Iris Diaphragm Valve, wood was used in the construction of the second prototype. The first attempt to prove the concept was actually made of cardboard. It was made in the home of one of the inventors on the kitchen table! Although, the wooded version still exists, alas, the cardboard model has not survived. Today, an extensive range of MUCON Iris Diaphragm Valves, not constructed from either wood or cardboard, are manufactured and marketed globally by Process Components Ltd.
Wooden prototype Mucon IDV Latest powered Mucon IDV
‘Necessity is the mother of invention’ could not have been more applicable to describe the circumstances associated with the advent of the MUCON Iris Diaphragm Valve (IDV). At the time, two brothers, Alfred and Walter Douglas, working as engineers for Kodak were given the task of developing a valve to control the flow of the gelatine flakes used in the production of photographic films. Because of their very nature, these flakes kept getting into the guides of slide valves jamming their operation or finding their way through the seals and thus leaking to the atmosphere. Charged with this task, the two brothers turned to their previous experience in the flour industry where it was common practice to twist the sock at the outlet of a silo to control the discharge.
Together with a friend, Peter Dyson, the Douglas brothers made sketches and ultimately produced the models mentioned above to confirm the practicality of their creation – and a new valve was born! The key to the valve is a tube of flexible material (the diaphragm) held rigidly at each end. One end is then twisted up to 180 degrees relative to the other, resembling the iris of a camera, giving a complete shut off, even to the finest of free flowing powders. In practice, when assembled into the valve, the ends of the diaphragm are brought close to each other meaning that these valves are much slimmer than you might think. When closed, the diaphragm is extraordinarily strong. It proved so successful that a company, Mucon Engineering Co Ltd, was established by the inventors to promote the wider use of this new concept.
The diaphragm protects the metallic working parts from contact with the product and, therefore, there is no jamming or sticking during operation. Because the diaphragm is a continuous tube running from the inlet to the outlet, there is no leakage to atmosphere. The concentric nature of the valve opening is ideal for accurate flow regulation. As a result of this, and their ease of operation, MUCON IDV's soon found favour with operators the world over. In addition to these benefits, one of the valve’s major advantages is its ability to close around large lumps or foreign bodies whilst preventing the flow of smaller particles, an essential benefit when controlling the flow of products with a wide particle size distribution. A classic example of this being when Wedgwood experienced problems weighing out bone from silos for bone china. The bone was a combination of dust and almost complete animal bones. If the latter were trapped during closure of the previous slide valve, then dust continued to flow, exceeding the required weight and making a mess on the floor too. After the IDV was fitted, any bone trapped during closure was no longer a problem.
Today, the range includes models varying in size from 50 mm to 450 mm, with a choice of 16 diaphragm materials ensuring that even very abrasive, hot, moist or free-flowing products can be accommodated. One of the biggest obstacles to the wider use of the MUCON IDV has been the unwarranted concern about the fallibility of the diaphragm. Those who express such concerns happily drive cars at motorway speeds on rubber tyres, relying on fabric webbing if the unthinkable happens, their cars have an engine whose timing belt is of flexible plastic and whose oil seals are of rubber! Some may even enjoy sailing, white water rafting, parachuting, hang gliding, or bungee jumping – whatever, they put their faith in flexible materials! The diaphragms of MUCON IDV's are no less well engineered! In many respects, it may be said that MUCON were pioneers of flexible material engineering.
The current family of MUCON IDV’s
Testament to the success of the MUCON IDV is the sheer number sold over the years right around the globe. Thousands continue to be sold every year and the applications are as diverse as the valve types themselves. The IDV is a natural for IBC’s; models have been developed specifically for this high volume role, which are light, robust, weather resistant and economic. The advent of the FIBC brought further opportunities to exploit the unique advantages of the IDV. Valves have been designed specifically to satisfy the needs of the ever growing demand for FIBC (bulk bag) discharging applications. This is a demanding duty where valve durability and reliability are critical. Hand operated models have a ratchet arrangement to enable the valve aperture to be set to give the discharge rate required. For years, to combat wear, IDV’s have been furnished with liners ‘strangled’ by the operation of the valve – putting the neck of an FIBC through an IDV works just as well! IDV’s are thus popular with those manufacturing FIBC discharge stations. Given their strength, IDV’s are found on the bottom of large silos. The concentric design of the hand operated models in particular makes them the ideal partner for bin activator type dischargers. IDV’s are found on a myriad of dry bin / hopper applications and are probably the best valve for applications involving the dosing of products into containers on a weigh scale. Power operated models have a dribble feed function meaning that 95%+ of a weighment can be discharged rapidly, then the final few percent can be controlled at a slower rate to facilitate high accuracy. The inlets and outlets of mixers, sifters, dryers, are other typical applications. IDV’s are suited to virtually any application requiring a controlled flow of dry, and not so dry, bulk solids..
See below for some of the unusual, if not bizarre uses to which MUCON IDV's have been put over the years. Although these are not mainstream application, some graphically demonstrate the benefits that IDV’s have to offer.
The IDV concept may not have changed much over the last 60 years but MUCON have continually striven to develop both the valve mechanism and the all important diaphragm to keep abreast of technological changes and customer demands. The most recent developments include valves with moulded diaphragms where only the diaphragm comes into contact with the product: because it acts as the gaskets too. These valves, which can be disassembled without tools, were specifically designed for high hygiene pharmaceutical, dairy and food applications. Both hand and, more recently still, power operated versions are available. The very latest MUCON IDV development, general purpose power operated models, use some ingenious designs and state of the art engineering components. Being smaller, lighter and more competitively priced than their predecessors, whilst still retaining the same robustness and speed of operation, extending the scope of applications for which powered IDV’s are suited.
As Gerry Wetton, who has been selling MUCON IDV’s for 44 years now, concludes, “Like many a good invention, the MUCON IDV is simplicity itself. The fundamental concept has not been bettered in 60 years. It will be interesting to see how the valve mechanisms, diaphragms and applications develop over the next 60 years!” Gerry has been instrumental in developing applications for the IDV – including most of the unusual ones listed below.
THE UNUSUAL APPLICATIONS
Shot blast cabinets
Where long lengths of pipe have to be de-scaled in shorter cabinets, MUCON IDV’s make excellent seals around the apertures through which the long sections are fed.
Fish farming
The gentle outlet valve, ideal for tanks used to transport live fish from fish farm to reservoirs and rivers. IDV’s can be successfully used for slurries, pastes and solids in suspension.
Fish breeding / Snake venom
MUCON IDV’s have been used as a means of holding fish, underwater, whilst their eggs are extracted and to hold snakes whilst their venom is extracted, again confirming that the valve has a gentle action - meaning that products will not be damaged if trapped during closure.
Crimping
The MUCON IDV has formed the basis of many a special device whether it’s been for closing polyethylene bags around lettuces out in the field, crimping hand made Christmas crackers and crimping sausages!
Machine vice
A US organ (as in Church) maker uses a MUCON IDV to hold organ pipes in a trimming machine. The valve holds the pipe rigidly enough for machining without marking the surface finish.
Glanding
MUCON IDV’s act as the seal / gland through which the extruded pipe exits the cooling bath. Not only does it stop leakage, it wipes unwanted coolant from the surface of the tube. IDV’s have glanded cables from outside-broadcast vehicles and darkrooms.
Others
In addition, MUCON IDV’s have been used for rubbish chute ‘lids’, baby incubator hand apertures and air conditioning flow control valves on US war ships.
In addition to Iris Diaphragm Valves MUCON offer Disc type valves, Butterfly valves, level indicators and a range of Silo Discharge Aids to provide customers with a complete range of flow promotion and control solutions. Further products within the Process Components Ltd range include, Spares Parts for Centrifugal Sifters, Cone Mills, Pin & Disc and Turbine & Screen Mills, PPS Air Classifier Mill Spares, a wide range of Metal Detectable seals.
