Horizontal Ribbon Blender® | Spices Powder Mixer

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Detailed Description of the Horizontal Ribbon Blender

1. What is ribbon blender machine?

The ribbon blender is generally used for mixing sticky or cohesive powders and granules, as well as for adding liquids or pasty materials into dry powders and granules. Due to the difficulty of cleaning sticky materials, ribbon blender machine normally suitable for large production and infrequent change of varieties. It is widely used in the fields of chemical industry, pharmaceuticals, and foodstuff. Its operating principle mainly relies on the rotation of the ribbon-type paddles, to uniformly mix the materials inside the container.

2. How does ribbon blender works?

The ribbon blender is mainly composed of electric motor, reducer, blender container, and stirring blades(ribbon). When the electric motor drives the blender through the reducer, the stirring blades(ribbon) start to rotate, thereby stirring and blending the raw materials inside the container. At the same time, the special design of the ribbon blender creates a V shaped flow trajectory for the materials inside the container, further improving the uniformity of the mixing.

The operation principle of the ribbon blender relies not only on the rotation of the stirring blades(ribbon) but also on the design and installation position of the stirring blades(ribbon). Different shapes and sizes of stirring blades(ribbon) can adapt to different types and viscosities of materials, and the installation position of the stirring blades(ribbon) also affects the mixing effect of the materials. In addition, the container of the ribbon blender is usually designed in a circular or square shape to ensure the uniform distribution and flow of the materials.

3. Constructure and Features of the ribbon blender

1), Ribbon blender consists of a U-shaped container, stirring blades(ribbon), and transmission components.

2), The U-shaped mixing container structure ensures low-resistance movement for the mixed materials (powder, semi-fluid) inside the container.

3), The rotating ribbons are installed on the one horizontal axis, creating a low-power and high-efficiency powder mixing environment. The ribbon type blades are generally made in double layers, the outer layer ribbons gathering materials from both sides to the center, and the inner layer conveying materials from the center to both sides, creating more eddies in the flow of materials. This accelerates the mixing speed and improves the mixing uniformity. The stirring components can also be made into paddle types or add flying knives, so as to adapt to different materials.

4), The horizontal ribbon blender is a new type of mixing equipment with high efficiency, high uniformity, high loading coefficient, low energy consumption, and low pollution.

5), Ribbon blender machine has a wide range of applications, capable of mixing powders with powders, powders with liquids, especially for mixing pasty, viscous, or high-density materials (such as putty, texture paint, metal powders, etc.). It is widely used in various fields, like pharmaceuticals, foodstuff, pesticides, dyes, chemicals, plastics, ceramics, coatings, putty, mortar, etc.

 

4. What are the Advantages of Ribbon Blender?

1) Good mixing effect: The ribbon blender uses ribbon type stirring blades to mix materials, ensuring a better mixing effect during the process. It can roll and mix materials in all directions, resulting in a more uniform and thorough mixing effect. This not only improves the quality of the mixture materials, but also meets different process requirements.

2) Fast mixing speed: Another advantage of the ribbon blender is its fast mixing speed. Due to the use of ribbon type stirring blades, it can complete the mixing process in a short time. This not only improves work efficiency but also reduces material retention time, lowering the risk of material deterioration.

3) Wide applicability: The ribbon blender has a wide range of applications. It can be used for mixing powders, granules, liquids, and materials of different densities and particle sizes. Additionally, it can be customized to meet different process requirements in various fields.

4) Easy to clean and maintain: The ribbon blender has a simple structure with few components, making it easy to clean and maintain. It can be disassembled and cleaned conveniently during use, ensuring equipment cleanliness. Moreover, its maintenance cost is low, and its components have a long replacement cycle and a long service life.

5) Safe and reliable: Safety was fully considered in the design of the ribbon blender. The equipment operates stably without producing intense vibrations or noise. Additionally, it is equipped with safety features such as emergency shutdown, ensuring the safety of operators.

5. How to feed the materials into the ribbon blender machine?

The ribbon blender commonly uses the following feeding methods:

1) Manual feeding: Operators manually add the materials that need to be mixed into the equipment step by step. This method is suitable for small batches, or processes that require precise control.

2) Automatic feeding: Through an automatic control system, materials are automatically added to the equipment at predetermined ratios and time intervals. This can be achieved using metering devices, conveyors, screw feeders, and other automatic equipment.

3) Vacuum feeding: For sensitive or easily oxidizable materials, vacuum feeding can be used. By connecting the ribbon blender to a vacuum system, materials are sucked into the blender container in a negative pressure environment to prevent oxidation or contamination.

4) Liquid spraying: When adding liquid components during the mixing process, a spraying device can be used to evenly spray the liquid into the equipment, achieving mixing and wetting.

The specific feeding method used depends on the characteristics of the raw materials, production requirements, the design and configuration of the equipment. Different feeding methods can meet different production and process requirements. When selecting and using feeding methods for ribbon blenders, it is necessary to evaluate and make decisions based on specific circumstances to ensure the stability, efficiency, and quality for the mixing process.

6. How to unloading from the ribbon blender machine ?

For powder materials, a pneumatic large door structure is used for discharging, which has the advantages of fast unloading and no residue. For high-fineness or semi-fluid materials, manual butterfly valves or pneumatic butterfly valves are used. 

Heating or cooling jackets can be added. Heating can be achieved through electric heating or thermal oil heating. For the cooling process, cooling water can be directly injected into the jacket, which has a large heat exchange area and fast cooling speed. 

Small ribbon blenders are directly connected to the reducer, with a simple structure, high operational reliability, and easy maintenance. Large ribbon blenders are driven by a belt pulley and a cycloidal pinwheel reducer, with the advantage of elastic connection in the belt drive to protect the transmission components during overload.

 

7. Application scope of Ribbon Blender

The ribbon blender is mainly used for mixing powder with powder, or mixing with viscous materials. It can inject a large amount of liquid into the material during mixing. Throughout the entire mixing process, the material can exhibit solid powder or a viscous state. It is widely used in pesticides, veterinary drugs, food, chemicals, biology, and aquaculture. It is suitable for mixing powder with powder, powder with paste, and especially for mixing viscous materials.

8. Ribbon Mixer's SPECIFICATIONS:

Model

Total Volume

Loading percentage

Motor Power

Size(mm)

Weight

 WLDH-300

300 L

40%-80%

4 KW

×630×980

&#;720 kg

 WLDH-500

500 L

40%-80%

7.5 KW

×730×

&#;980 kg

 WLDH-

L

40%-80%

11 KW

×920×

&#; kg

 WLDH-

L

40%-80%

15 KW

××

&#; kg

 WLDH-

L

40%-80%

15 KW

The company is the world’s best leaf grinding machine supplier. We are your one-stop shop for all needs. Our staff are highly-specialized and will help you find the product you need.

××

&#; kg

 WLDH-

L

40%-80%

18.5 KW

××

&#; kg

 WLDH-

L

40%-80%

22 KW

××

&#; kg

 WLDH-

L

40%-80%

30 KW

××

&#; kg

 WLDH-

L

40%-80%

37 KW

××

&#; kg

 WLDH-

L

40%-80%

45 KW

××

&#; kg

Currently, most users in the market are still using traditional double screw mixer equipment, which has significant drawbacks in many aspects, such as high maintenance rates, leading to increased operating costs for users. The mainstream equipment in the market now is the ribbon blender, which is used for mixing powders, granular materials, or particles. Compared to traditional powder mixing machines, ribbon blender has advantages such as high mixing efficiency, good mixing quality, short unloading time, and low residue.

9. VIDEO OF THE RIBBON BLENDER WORKING:

Powder mixing is an indispensable production process in modern industry. Mixing processes cover the entire industrial field, like chemical industry, foodstuff, building materials, pharmaceuticals, and fertilizers. At least one mixing process is involved in the production of the products we use every day. 

Powder blender machines, can be categorized into physical mixing and chemical-assisted mixing. Physical mixing involves solely the stirring action, where two or more materials are mixed to produce a mixture. Chemical-assisted mixing involves a chemical reaction accompanying the physical action, with the main purpose being to achieve complete chemical reactions. Physical mixing ensures more comprehensive contact between materials.

Mixing refers to the physical blending of two or more materials without any chemical changes. Mixing includes free-flow mixing and mechanical mixing.

Free-flow mixing refers to the movement of materials between themselves, achieving uniform mixing through friction, as seen in V blender machine, double cone blender, bin blender machine, IBC bin blender, drum blender, three-dimensional mixer, two-dimensional mixer, and square cone blender, etc.

Mechanical mixing refers to achieving uniform mixing through mechanical force. All mixing processes where the mixing container does not move are considered mechanical mixing, such as ribbon blenders, double screw mixer, sigma mixer, and paddle mixer.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q-1: Where are you Located ?

A: Jiangyin Free Machinery Co., Ltd is located in Jiangyin city, Wuxi, Jiangsu, China. With convenient transportation(Airport & High-speed railway station) access.

Q-2: How is your machine's quality?

A: My company is reputed in our industry. We have more than 20 years&#; experiences. The best way to check the quality is to see it in your own eyes. You&#;re very welcome to come to our factory for the field visit.

Q-3: What is the brand of the motors, inverters and electrical parts ?

A: The brand of motor, inverter and electrics are choosable. Normally we do equip with good quality Chinese brand. If you have special request, we can also use some international famous brand, like Siemens, ABB, Schneider, SEW, WEG, etc.

Q-4: Can the machine size be customized ?

A: Yes, all our machine can be customized, we do offer the design solutions if your spaces are limited, or if you have any special customize request.

Q-5: How do I install and run the machine ?

A: For some simple machine, after you received it, you will just need to wire it up then running, and each machine will be enclosed with the detailed manual book, and our team will be always here to guide you how to use the machines. As for some complicated machines, our service team are ready to come to your site for the installation and commisioning.

Q-6: What should I do if we can not solve the problems of the machine some times?

A: You just need to send or make a call to us. We will reply within 12 hours and analyse the problems with you. Find the reason and find the way. If we can not solve by communication after trying several ways, we can send our engineer to your place if you need.

Q-7: What is your payment method ?

A: We do take payment by T/T Wire transfer, Paypal and Western Union, and Alibaba Trade Assurance, etc.. We only accept Paypal and Western Union for payment amounts below USD400.

Q-8: What logistic forwarder do you usually work with ?

A: We work with EMS, TNT, UPS, FEDEX, Sea shipping with COSCO, ONE, MSK, YML, OOCL, HML, etc, and other logistric forwarders. Assigned your own forwarder for shipment is available.

Q-9: When will you arrange the production?

A: We usually arrange the production immediately after receiving your payment if we have the item in stock. Otherwise, please confirm with us for lead time.

Q-10: Can I visit your factory ? and test the machines ?

A: Yes, we do very welcome you to come to us, and see our machines with your own eyes, and also, if available, you&#;re very welcome to bring some of your product samples to us and make test trial running on our machines.

Q-11: What is the machine's guarantee ?

A: We promised all our machines to be with one year warranty and the whole lifetime after sales service, any parts will be offered free of charge to you if down within warranty(the easy damaged parts not included).

Why Choose Us ?

• We pride ourselves on our attention to detail and commitment to quality, ensuring that every product we deliver meets the highest standards.
• Our Machines are designed with functionality and practicality in mind, ensuring they deliver maximum value to our customers.
• Our Machines are easily installed and maintained, providing our customers with a hassle-free experience.
• We are committed to providing our customers with accurate and transparent pricing on all of our machines and services.
• We have a proven track record of delivering high-quality machines and services to customers around the world.
• Our products are built to deliver exceptional results, providing our customers with a competitive edge in their industries.
• Our team of experienced professionals is dedicated to providing top-notch customer service, aims to provide a unified experience for customers.
• We work closely with our customers to understand their unique needs and provide customized solutions that meet those needs.
• We offer a wide range of customization options for our machines, allowing customers to create their own unique designs.

1. What is a ribbon blender : definition

Ribbon blenders are made of shell having a U shape in which is rotating an agitator. The agitator is designed as a double helical ribbon which allows to create convective movement of the materials in 2 directions achieving mixing of powders and bulk solids.

Ribbon mixers are very widespread in process industries for bulk solids dry Mixing. Although other Mixers designs exist which are over-performing ribbon blenders in some areas (mixing speed, hygienic design...), ribbon blenders are still a very simple and robust solution to mix dry materials offering decent mixing performances which are sufficient for many applications. It is not rare to have 40-50 years old industrial ribbon blenders in factories, still perfectly operational. Many manufacturers propose industrial ribbon blenders, from few hundreds liters to several cubic meters.

What is a ribbon blender used for ? Ribbon blenders are actually used in many industries and applications : pharmaceuticals, food and bakery, cosmetics, plastics, spices, mixes for drinks, cements grouts and mortars, coffee and tea, tobacco...

This webpage is focusing in the detail design of ribbon mixers in order to offer selection and buying guidelines to operators of mixers.

2. Ribbon blender working principle

What is the mixing mechanism of a ribbon blender ?

Ribbon blenders are convective mixers. The mixture movement is forced by the rotation of the ribbon which is circulating the product in 2 directions : the ribbon is actually made in 2 parts, 1 external ribbon circulates the product in 1 direction while another ribbon located inside the 1st one moves the product in the other direction (it can be possible to have even more complex profiles to attempt optimizing the mixing efficiency and thus the mixing time). By mixing enough time, those 2 axial movement, coupled with some radial movement (blades "cutting" the material when rotating), will allow to reach the required degree of homogeneity. The twist of the helix must be studied by the manufacturer so that the direction in which the outer ribbons is pushing is towards the outlet valve of the mixer, if it is not the case, good discharging rate of the mixer cannot be achieved.

Contrary to double shaft paddle mixers the powder is not fluidized in a ribbon mixer. The optimal mixing speed is advised by the mixer manufacturer, some trials can however be done at higher or lower speed (provided the drive is able to sustain different speed) in order to verify the influence on the mixing quality and the product properties (in general, lower speed will require a longer mixing time but the product may be less damaged).

Figure 1 : Ribbon blender drawing

3. Mixing operating parameters

How to reach good homogeneity with a ribbon blender ?

For ribbon mixers, the mixing time is typically 3-5 min. Ribbon blenders have the reputation not to be supposed have a short mixing time, which brings some operators to mix 10-15 min. If the mix has no particularity (injection of liquid...) such long mixing time should alert the producer that the mixer operation may not be optimal.

The mixer performance, i.e. time to reach a desired homogeneity, is a function of the following operating parameters :

• Mixing batch size : 70-80% of mixer total volume. Visually, the top of the blades must be slightly above the level of product, and some head space to the top cover must always be available. It is a very common problem to find ribbon blenders overloaded which is strongly decreasing their performance. To be noted that it is not advised to under-fill a ribbon blender, since the level of powder must reach inner ribbon in order to be moved and thus mixed.
• Mixing speed : one should follow the supplier's recommendation, typical mixing speed for medium size blenders (500- l) is around 50 rpm (note that Froude number < 1 for ribbon blenders)
• Small and Minor ingredients to be introduced in the mixer after the main ingredients (or in sandwich), preferably in the central area of the mixer

Figure 2 : Ribbon mixer recommended and max mixing volume

Recent Discrete Element Modelling (DEM) [Basinskas] of ribbon blenders have confirmed that the key operating parameters influencing on the degree of mixing and thus the mixing time are :

• The mixing speed : higher mixing speed means shorter mixing times
• The filling level : a ribbon blender should not be under filled, typically if the level of powder is below the shaft the impact on the mixing quality will be very high
• The filling sequence : according to the simulation the axial mixing of a ribbon blender is not so good (which is surprising as the ribbon are supposed to bring some axial thrust), which means that it is better to fill the mixer by layers rather than having one side of the blender with some components and the other side of the blender with the rest of the components.

The ribbon movement has quite some impact on the product being mixed. The thrust imposed to the product combined to mixing times that are not very short, usually cause some breakage on the solids processed. Breakage means that the Particle Size Distribution (PSD) will be changed, with creations of some smaller particles due to the breakage of bigger ones. The impact can be minimized by validating the exact time required for mixing (Homogeneity) and thus not mix longer without need, and by optimizing the mixing speed to mix as low as possible. However, breakage is expected to be higher than in twin shaft paddle mixers for example.

Ribbon blenders are operating well with free flowing powders, due to their mode of operation (thrust by a rotating agitator), ribbon blenders may be less effective with cohesive powders and may even block if the the mixture is very cohesive.

The power input required for a ribbon blender is quite low, in the range of 3-5 kW/m3.

Are you interested in learning more about v blender dry powder mixer? Contact us today to secure an expert consultation!