Pneumatic Conveying from Bulk Railcars to Silos


Pneumatic Conveying from Bulk Railcars to Silos
Pneumatic Conveying from Bulk Railcars to Silos

 

Managing a process that’s frequently unattended, located outdoors, and can span hundreds of feet presents a variety of unique challenges.  When unloading bulk resins delivered by railcar into on-site storage silos, operators frequently aren’t equipped to optimize and monitor performance effectively.  Processors suffer inefficient use of time, energy, and resources, ineffective machine maintenance, premature component failure, and resin supply interruption.  Machine manufacturers suffer unnecessary warranty and service costs.  Condition monitoring and data analytics with real time feedback provide the tools and insights to keep both machine and process running at peak health and efficiency.

Case Study

A Leading Manufacturer of Plastic Containers Employs IoT Smart Solution to Hedge Bulk Material Unloading Problems


Customer:

A leading manufacturing company specializing in production of plastic containers looking for an effective IoT solution for their bulk material/rail car unloading challenges.

The Challenge:

The customer received resin via rail car several times a week. Inefficient and ineffective monitoring of the unloading process led to wasted energy usage and operator productivity, time-consuming delays, premature machine wear, production stoppages, troublesome angel hair in the conveying lines and loud fill alarms making them undesirable neighbors.

The Solution:

MachineSense developed a solution to deliver real-time vacuum unloading and pressure fill levels directly to a smart device. This put an end to countless trips back and forth to the railcar, silo pad and the plant to check fill levels and unloading conditions. In addition, the system provides real-time operating diagnostics, plus predictive pump analytics that will foretell railcar unloading failure before it happens and prescribes corrective action in the form of actionable maintenance advice via text and email.

The Benefits:

  • No more railcar unloading performance complaints
  • No more starved machines
  • No more line plugs
  • No more unscheduled downtime
  • Reduced angel hair
  • Reduced nuisance noise due to loud fill alarms
Pneumatic Conveying from Bulk Railcars to Silos
Before:
Chaos ensued during bulk material delivery and demanded frequent trips back and forth between the plant, the silos and the rail car. Material delivered too slow starved machines, stopped production and frustrated workers. Material delivered too fast caused conveying line plugs, delayed production, increased wear and maintenance on the pumps, and caused even more frustration. Loud, unattended fill alarms at the silo made the customer an unwelcome neighbor.

 

Pneumatic Conveying from Bulk Railcars to Silos
After
The MachineSense monitoring and predictive maintenance analytics technology for pneumatic conveying has eliminated the chaos and turned bulk resin delivery into a smooth operation. Operators can see real-time operating vacuum and pressure levels to easily understand unloading status, avoiding both starved machines and productivity losses, and ensuring peak conveying performance and machine operating health.

 

Pneumatic Conveying from Bulk Railcars to Silos

MachineSense developed a solution to deliver real-time vacuum unloading and pressure fill levels directly to a smart device. Putting an end to countless trips back and forth to the railcar, silo pad and the plant to check fill levels and unloading conditions.


Pneumatic Conveying from Bulk Railcars to Silos

MachineSense’s pneumatic conveying from bulk railcars to silos technology provides real-time operating diagnostics, plus predictive pump analytics, and prescribes corrective action in the form of actionable maintenance advice via text and email.