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09/07/2004
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In process manufacturing, the contained transfer of powder products has required the use of rigid containers fitted with high value containment valves assembled from precision-made stainless steel components.
 Problem: While rising costs have led more manufacturers to consider supplying these powders in flexible transport containers such as sacks, Big Bags and FIBCs, existing contained docking systems are typically not suitable for these flexible containers and so containment cannot be guaranteed.
Solution: German company Buck Valve has solved this problem by developing a self-locking coupling, HiCoFlex SL, that enables highly sensitive or toxic powders and granules to be transferred safely from flexible sacks into the manufacturing process or vice versa.
Operating on the principle of a snap ring, rather like a spectacle case, the coupling achieves total containment during all stages of the decanting process by using a split coupling principle, similar to the company's own Buck Valve technology. Two complementary half couplings are docked to each other, forming a combined coupling, which then opens and closes together for the contained decanting and undocking process. It is inexpensive, operates automatically and is designed to operate in areas that require up to OEB4 Dust Emission Class containment. The coupling can be fitted to a flexible bag and kept or disposed of after use with the bag itself. Recognising the need for a similar closure mechanism for large flexible containers, Buck Valve has also developed a manual closing version, the HiCoFlex ML.
Applications: Although the HiCoFlex SL was developed primarily for the pharmaceuticals industry, the company is confident that its new technology "will make contained materials handling a practical and economic proposition in the chemical, foodstuffs, dairy and raw material industries." DP
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Author
Tom Shelley
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