Vibratory System Project

Wizards,

I have a project that fell on its face last week and cost us some money.
I was asked to find out what happened and prevent it from happening again, as well as making the project work with components we have on hand.

Project:

Take the old vibratory system and attach it to the regrind hopper so that the regrind doesn't bridge.

Issues: The controller for the vibratory system does not work and parts are unavailable.

Notes: The "vibrators" themselves work and have a 120 plug. When they are plugged into a 120 power source, they vibrate like crazy.

The proof of concept tested out great, we did not want the vibrators to be on 100% of the time as packing will become an issue.

An icecube relay was installed to trigger the system when the regrind vacuum pulls.
At some point in time, the relay failed (this is what I was told) and back fed 120v through the 24v system and popped the $1800 HMI.
Upon inspection of the ice-cube, internal arcing had occurred and blew off one of the posts. I presume this floating post is what bridged the 24 to the 120.

No fuses were installed on the 24 signal, and I believe this would have prevented the HMI from popping.

I don't know how much current these vibrators pull when they kick on, but I would presume they pull pretty hard.

Would a contactor be more appropriate for this addition?

I am going to dig up some fuses and install them, but I am reluctant to replace the ice-cube relay, as I do not want to pop anything else.

Any advice from those of you who have way more knowledge than me would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Gad

I would have the ice-cube relay control 24V to a contactor that controls the 120V.
This would isolate the 120V from the 24V completely.

Also, if the vibrators vibrate so rigorously at 120V can the voltage be lowered with something like a drill-press motor control for enough vibration, but not excessive?

Thanks for the advice,

One of the maint guys brought in something that they used to reduce to amplitude of the vibrators, they found the system works best at full blast, just a bit loud on a half empty tank. The noise is the only reason they want it to fire when the system pulls product.
I will isolate the 120 from the 24v with the ice-cube and dig up a contactor to drive the vibrators.

Probably install a fuse as well..... I think an 1800$ HMI is worth a .50C fuse.
Fuse everything!!! Always!

contact these people
https://www.eriez.com/NA/EN/eriez.htm

they have what you need I have used them many times

+1 for use a contactor.

A fuse may not be enough to protect the HMI. That the HMI got frizzed is probably because of voltage spikes rather than high current.
The contactor will probably mean you will not see this particular problem again, but still I think you should consider isolating the AC power side and the DC control side.
This is typically done by having a control transformer, or alternatively a DC PSU with a good isolation rating (the kind that can be used to provide safe low voltage for bathrooms, showers etc.). Such a PSU is not expensive.

Thinking about it, the ice-cube relay was probably intended to control a 24V water valve so it might not have had any insulation or isolation built into it.

Thank you everyone for your continued support.
I have completed the project and it works out great.

I dug around in the bone yard for some parts and pieces and found an old elevator system.

They had an ice-cube relay that would enable the control circuit for the contactor that drove the elevator.

I took note of the set up they had in there, and duplicated it in my current project.

They did not have any fuses in their set up, or they had been robbed long ago.
I fused just about everything that I could think of that would feed back, and let the system run for a couple hours.
So far so good.

Thank you for the great ideas.

All the vibratory hoppers we purchase come with a potentiometer or some sore of adjustment knob, that limit the vibration. But these are also for small parts like seals or bearings something small like less than 2" OD.

Gadelric said:

Thank you everyone for your continued support.
I have completed the project and it works out great.

I dug around in the bone yard for some parts and pieces and found an old elevator system.

They had an ice-cube relay that would enable the control circuit for the contactor that drove the elevator.

I took note of the set up they had in there, and duplicated it in my current project.

They did not have any fuses in their set up, or they had been robbed long ago.
I fused just about everything that I could think of that would feed back, and let the system run for a couple hours.
So far so good.

Thank you for the great ideas.

Click to expand...

Typically, bin activators (the technical name for what you describe) are only operated at the time the outlet valve of the bin is not closed (i.e opening, open, or closing). And, even then, they operate on a time cycle...like 10 seconds on, 20 seconds off). That's what I have witnessed on cement, dust, and various food powder/grains. If you do not have access to the programmable output, you could fit a duty-cycle timer to do the same thing...generally with an 'ON' adjustment, and an 'OFF' adjustment knobs.