Measuring Material Level in Dusty Talc Applications for Luzenac
America
PROBLEM:
“Ultrasonic systems from two leading manufacturers don’t
work because of the heavy dust. The older weight and cable style
doesn’t work well because of high maintenance. I need a reliable
solution.”
EXPLANATION:
Luzenac supplies the pulp, paper and board industry with talc for
use as a pitch control agent and a runnability aid, a coating pigment
in both rotogravure and offset, and a functional filler. In certain
specialty papers, e.g. colored papers, labels, Luzenac talc’s
special properties help to improve quality and productivity. Talc
also has application as an additive to ceramic, rubber, plastics
and even roofing materials. Talc is about 50lbs/ft³ and very dusty.
Older electromechanical weight & cable devices couldn’t
live up to the rigors of the application, neither could ultrasonic
systems that were blinded by the heavy dust.
SOLUTION:
The Monitor Technologies SiloPatrol® smart cable-based sensor
system with 4-20mA output was being used successfully on this difficult
application at the Luzenac plant in Sappington, Montana. The Three
Forks plant needed a solution and decided to try the SiloPatrol inventory
monitoring system to reliably keep track of their finished goods
inventory. In this tough application the SiloPatrol proved to be
the best solution. The sensor is unaffected by the dust and internal
bin structures. The SiloPatrol sensor uses a powerful direct drive
motor and 270lb. tensile strength cable along with state-of-the-art
microcontroller based electronics.
Luzenac prefers the SiloPatrol
system to other equipment they have tried. This is evidenced by
their usage at the two plants in Montana
and one plant in Houston, TX. They have dozens of units in place
that continue to work reliably for them.
Give Monitor Technologies a call and let us put
our creative solutions to work for you!
The
SafePoint rotary paddle level switch with a self-validating design
detects material presence plus continuously monitors its own ability
to function. The analysis includes sensor health and system power
failure, which makes the SafePoint truly “fail-safe”.
The SafePoint incorporates patented use of Hall-Effect technology,
dual outputs to indicate both material presence and unit health,
and microcontroller technology to continuously protect bulk solids
processing and storage from the consequences of unknown sensor
failure by providing immediate indication of a sensor failure
and confirmation of proper operation.
Other practical features of the SafePoint include rugged construction,
motor shut-off when paddle becomes impeded to maximize motor life, twist On/Off
cover for bolt free removal, and local status indicating light (except hazardous
location models)
A practical application for the SafePoint would be to use this "true"
fail-safe product if undetected sensor failure could result in a
catastrophic process problem.
PROBLEM:
