Fertigung Funktionskontrolle

IFE vibrating feeders ensure constant hopper discharge

   

for over 60 years

IFE built the first vibrating feeders with an electro-magnetic drive back in the late 1950s / early 1960s. And we have been working on the associated hopper design for just as long. Many of the delivered machines have been equipped with a custom hopper solution from IFE!

Back then, hand drawings were produced with ink, comments written with a typewriter and installation suggestions made on paper. This forms the basis for our today's wealth of experience, which we have been able to develop continously over many decades. 

Vibrationsförderrinne Maschinenaufnahme

Fig. 1: This original black-and-white image from the early years shwos a vibrating feeder, which feeds 60 tons of blast furnace slag per hour to a roll crusher.

Abbildung Vibrationsförderrinne

Fig. 2: In comparison, Fig. 2 shows an IFE assembly drawing from the present. It depicts a 5 m³ hopper for shredded automobile batteries.

Vibrationsförderrinne Maschinenaufnahme

Fig.3 illustrates a 1 m³ hopper including support structures for a feeder – designed and produced according to customer requirements!

Abbildung Vibrationsförderrinne

Fig. 4: A project drawing with a 10 m³ hopper for stone material can be seen in Fig. 4.
 

Arrow Left
Arrow Right

An extensive wealth of experience

In material dosing, the advantages of vibrating feeders with electromagnetic drives have been unbeaten for more than 60 years. Constant conveying capacity, stepless adjustability from 0 – 100 % – this is enabled by the IFE Thyristor Control Unit or Thyristor Regulating Unit.

They have also proven themselves numerous times in the transportation of bulk materials.

Technical background for the integration of hopper discharge feeders

The IFE project recommendations for the installation of hopper discharge feeders are subject to a rough categorization into easy, normal and difficult-to-convey material.

Drawing Chute
Fig. 5:
schematic dimensions for hopper outlet

Various factors must be considered that influence the material flow from the hopper into the conveying equipment, such as:

  • External influences: e.g. (intermediate) storage times, temperature conditions
  • Conveyed material: e.g. grain size, bulk density, material properties
  • Hopper: e.g. material pressure, hopper wall inclinations, opening ratios
  • Gap size between hopper and conveyor unit
  • Conveying equipment, e.g. conveyor belt lining, amplitude (damping), frequency

An inadequate hopper design and/or installation can make even optimally designed IFE feeders ineffective. Benefit from the extensive expertise we have developed over many years! We ensure precise planning, design engineering and production of your tailor-made hopper unit!

LOOK AHEAD - Part 2:

In the 1980s, the first vibrating feeders with unbalanced motors were produced. Learn more about these hopper feeder type in the second part of the series, appearing in the next IFE newsletter!

 

go back