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In many industrial sectors such as chemicals, coatings, pharmaceuticals, and food, mixing is a crucial part of the production process. In environments that are flammable, explosive, humid, or corrosive, industrial-grade pneumatic mixers are undoubtedly the ideal choice for ensuring safety and efficiency. With a wide variety of products on the market, how can you accurately select the best mixer for your working conditions? This guide offers comprehensive guidance to help you select the most suitable equipment.
In the field of industrial mixing, pneumatic mixers hold an important position due to their unique advantages:
Safe and Reliable, Naturally Explosion-Proof: It uses compressed air as its power source, producing no electrical sparks during operation. This makes it a safe choice for environments with flammable, explosive gases or dust, such as in petroleum, chemical, coating, and pharmaceutical industries.
Powerful with Overload Protection: The gearbox reduces speed and increases torque, enabling high torque output to easily handle high-viscosity materials. In case of jamming, the mixer stops without burning out the motor, ensuring safety for both equipment and operators.
Stepless Speed Control, Easy Operation: Simply adjust the air intake valve to achieve stepless speed regulation, precisely meeting the mixing needs of different process stages.
Strong Environmental Adaptability: Resistant to moisture, dust, and corrosion, these mixers have a sturdy structure, simple maintenance, and long service life. They perform reliably even in harsh conditions.
Points to consider: They require a stable compressed air source. Long-term operational air consumption costs should be factored in, and they tend to be relatively noisy.
Choosing a pneumatic mixer requires a comprehensive evaluation of multiple factors. Here are the key points:
Working Conditions & Environment (Prerequisites)
Safety Certification: Does your work area require explosion-proof equipment? Identify the need and look for corresponding international or industry explosion-proof certification marks.
Environmental Traits: Is there acidic/alkaline corrosion? Is waterproofing needed? Confirm the equipment’s material and protection level (IP rating).
Power Performance (Core Metrics)
Torque (N.m): This is the key parameter measuring the output force. Higher material viscosity requires higher torque. Insufficient torque will prevent proper operation.
Speed (RPM): Choose based on process requirements. Low speed suits high-viscosity pastes and gels; high speed suits mixing and emulsifying low-viscosity liquids.
Air Consumption: Represents energy consumption. It determines if your air compression system can meet the demand and is key to evaluating operational costs.
Material Characteristics (Deciding Factors)
Viscosity: A crucial factor for selection. Performance requirements vary greatly from low to high viscosity materials.
Specific Gravity & Mixing Purpose: Higher-density materials require more torque. Different purposes like mixing, dissolving, dispersing, or suspending also require different speeds and impeller designs.
Equipment Structure & Configuration
Transmission Method:
Gear Drive: Preferred for industrial applications. Uses gear reduction to increase output torque, offering high power and stable operation. Ideal for pneumatic drum mixer and air powered drum mixer applications.
Direct Drive: Simple structure, high speed, relatively lower torque. Suitable for low-viscosity liquids.
Installation Method:
Flange-mounted: Fixed on tank tops, stable and reliable, suitable for continuous production.
Portable: Flexible and easy to move, suitable for small batches, multiple stations, or R&D use. Can be used as a pneumatic paint mixer.
Material:
Housing: Common materials are aluminum alloy (lightweight) and stainless steel (corrosion-resistant, for food/pharmaceutical grade).
Main Shaft & Seals: Stainless steel shaft. For tanks requiring seals, the seal material must be compatible with the material characteristics.
Supplier & After-Sales Service
Choosing a reputable supplier means more reliable product quality, better technical support, and timely spare parts supply, ensuring your long-term stable production.
Needs Analysis: Define your material properties, container size, safety requirements, and budget.
Preliminary Screening: Based on the needs, determine the required torque range, speed range, and equipment material.
Model Selection: Review product technical data or consult suppliers to find models with matching technical parameters (e.g., paint shaker machine, automotive paint mixers).
Air Source Verification: Confirm your factory’s air compression system can provide the required air pressure and flow for the target equipment. This is essential for proper operation.
Accessory Configuration: Essential “Air Preparation Unit” – includes Filter, Regulator, and Lubricator (FRL). It provides clean, stable, and lubricated air, key to long equipment life. Also, choose the appropriate mixing impeller.
Radial Piston Air Motor: Offers lower speed than vane motors but excellent starting and speed control performance, especially suitable for radial heavy-load, low-speed conditions. Piston motors generally operate horizontally.
Reversible/Non-Reversible Motor: In the same model type, non-reversible motors typically have higher speed, torque, and power than reversible ones.
Working Air Pressure: Performance charts are usually based on a specific pressure (e.g., 90 psig / 620 kPa). Motors are optimally designed for this pressure. Adjusting inlet/exhaust pressure changes speed, torque, and power. Performance may be unstable below 40 psig. Operating above 100 psig increases wear. A selection principle: use 70% of your minimum available pressure as a base for selection, allowing enough power for start-up impact and potential overload.
Maximum Motor Power: For non-limited speed motors, max power is reached at 50% of free speed (no-load speed). For limited speed motors , max power is reached at 80% of free speed.
Working Speed: Limited speed motors do not run unloaded. The working speed can be found in its performance curve; the nameplate speed is for identification only.
Impeller: Ensures material mixing, consumes less power, low cost, easy operation, and simple maintenance.
Mixing Container: Determine the shape and size of the container based on production scale, mixing purpose, and material properties. Typically, vertical cylindrical vessels are used if no special needs exist, with a suitable height-to-diameter ratio.
Mixer Shaft: Must have sufficient torsional and bending strength. Usually, the shaft needs adequate rigidity.
Shaft Seal: Choose packing seals if more liquid leakage is allowable and kettle pressure is low. Choose mechanical seals for minimal leakage, high kettle pressure/vacuum, and low friction power consumption between shaft and sleeve.
Gearbox/Transmission: Must meet the power and speed requirements of the chemical mixer. It should be reliable, easy to maintain, with high mechanical efficiency and low noise.
Frame: The mixing shaft must have sufficient support distance to limit deflection and ensure alignment between the transmission output shaft, mixing shaft, and seal equipments.
Internal Components: Decide if baffles or internal cooling coils are needed based on the mixer type and material handling characteristics.
About SIGHTEC: SIGHTEC has focused on pneumatic machinery for 15 years. Since its establishment, the company has adhered to the international ISO9001 quality management system for scientific and standardized management. With advanced production equipment, testing methods, and a rigorous quality management system, SIGHTEC delivers stable products. Our sales engineers provide free selection guidance. We offer a complete range of products, including pneumatic paint mixer, pneumatic drum mixer, air powered drum mixer, pneumatic mixing equipment, pneumatic paint shaker, paint shaker, paint shaker machine, and solutions comparing electric paint shaker vs. pneumatic options like paint can shaking machine, automotive paint mixers, electric paint shakers, and auto shaker requirements, backed by comprehensive after-sales service guarantees!
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