Last month, I went to a milk powder factory in Hebei to inspect equipment. The workshop director, Lao Ma, pulled me straight to the packaging workshop and pointed to the dust accumulation next to the filling line and shook his head: "Your dust removal system should be designed more ruthlessly! These milk powder foams float to the sealing position, and there are always one or two bags out of ten that are not sealed tightly." I felt hot on my face when I heard this. I immediately went into the laboratory when I returned to the factory and worked with the brothers in the R&D team for three nights.
The dust problem is indeed the "invisible killer" of the packaging machine. Last year, when we upgraded the equipment for a Chinese medicine pill company, their technician complained: "The powder gets on the heat-sealing knife, and we have to stop the machine for cleaning in half an hour." We added a two-stage filter to the dust removal system design at that time, using a metal filter to intercept large particles at the front end and an electrostatic adsorption device at the back end. Now customers report that after eight hours of continuous operation, there is basically no powder accumulation in the heat-sealed area. The workshop master joked: "This suction is more powerful than the Dyson at home!"
This year, the focus is on the cyclone separation device. The old equipment of a puffed food factory in Guangdong always "sprays powder" when packaging potato chips, and their operators have to wear dust masks to work. We installed the self-developed cyclone dust removal module on the new model, using the airflow swirl to throw the potato chip crumbs directly into the collection bin. Last week, the customer sent a video showing that the air detector value next to the production line dropped by 70%, and the workers in the picture were finally able to smile and show their big white teeth.
A clean production environment is not just a demand of food factories. Last month, I visited a lithium battery company in East China. Their technical director pointed to the electrode sheet packaging line and complained: "Graphite dust floats into the equipment bearings, and parts have to be replaced every two months on average." We modified the dust removal system design overnight and added a magnetic adsorption layer in the negative pressure pipe. Now, not to mention graphite powder, even metal debris can be arranged clearly. During the customer acceptance, he joked: "This system is like wearing an N95 mask on the equipment."
Easy maintenance is an important consideration when we design the dust removal system. In the past, it took seven or eight screws to clean the filter, but now it has been changed to a quick-release buckle structure. Last month, when training mechanics at a grain factory in Shanxi, their team leader demonstrated the disassembly and assembly of the cyclone separation device on site, and laughed while twisting it: "This is easier than changing the filter element of the water dispenser!" We also added a transparent observation window to the dust removal bin, so that workers can know whether to clean it at a glance when passing by, so as to avoid always disassembling it for inspection.
Recently, something happened that was particularly encouraging. After a soluble coffee factory in Zhejiang replaced our packaging machine dust removal system, the yield rate directly jumped to the industry benchmark level. Their factory manager always boasts to everyone at the industry exhibition: "Dust control is in place, the heat seal defect rate has dropped, and there are fewer customer complaints. This dust removal system design has really 'scraped the sha' of the production line." I heard that tea companies from neighboring provinces came to inspect it, and the workshop receptionist received two extra boxes of mineral water this month.
When tinkering with new technologies in the laboratory, the chief engineer often said: "Dust removal must be as meticulous as embroidery." The pulse backflush technology developed last year is an example. Compressed air is used to "wake up" the filter element at fixed intervals. The owner of a spicy snack factory came to see the prototype and stared at the automatic dust removal device and smacked his lips: "This design is smart! It's like setting an alarm for the equipment, and it will shake off the dust when the time comes."
Standing in the assembly workshop and looking at the newly rolled packaging machine, the silver dust removal pipeline is like a giant dragon perched above the equipment. Xiao Wang from the Quality Inspection Department is holding an anemometer for the final test: "The negative pressure value is stable, and the sound of the wind at the air intake port sounds rhythmic." This reminds me of a wonderful metaphor from a Northeast customer: "Your dust removal system is like a range hood, it sucks away troubles in two whirrs."
We are currently working with universities to develop an intelligent early warning module and prepare to install a "physical examination report" function on the dust removal system. I heard that some customers have asked: "Can I see the dust concentration in real time on the mobile phone APP?" If this is done, our dust removal system design will lead the industry again!
