Double Cone Blender: The Ultimate Guide

So, your search for a good double cone blender has not been very successful.

Do you know why?

I believe that maybe the information you have about the double corn blender is not sufficient.

Well, that should not cause you sleepless nights anymore.

Why?

In this guide, you will learn about every detail you need to know about the double cone blender.

Would you like to find out more?

Let’s begin with the definition.

What is a Double Cone Blender?

A double cone blender is a type of mixer that you can use to produce a homogenous solid mixture.

Mixing is a complex process step in manufacturing products for different industries.

These industries include food, healthcare, chemicals, detergents, cosmetics, plastics, and fertilizers.

Double Cone Blender

Some of the materials that you can mix using a double cone mixer include semolina flour and pharmaceutical granules.

Most manufacturers use stainless steel as the material for making the double cone blender.

Apart from that, a double cone blender does not use all the available capacity.

Implying

The most effective volume for maximum homogeneity ranges between 35% and 70% of the whole volume.

Also, the slanting double cone design of the machine assists in eliminating dead spots.

Furthermore, the design features fixed shell blenders where the double cone has a permanent attachment to support plinths.

Besides, the effective volume of the double cone blender ranges between 35% and 70% of the total volume.

You will find out more about the examples, design and the application section later on in this guide.

For better understanding, let’s have a look at the functions of the double cone blender.

Functions of Double Cone Blender

A double cone blender can perform quite a number of functions

Blending Compounds

The main functions of the double cone blender include:

i. You can use the double cone blender to homogenously mix dry granules and powders. This is the main function of the double cone blender.

ii. Again, you can also use it to mix other forms of solid substances that are not necessarily dry.

This will depend on the type of double cone blender that you are using.

Some of them have injectors that will add in liquids during the blending process.

iii. De-agglomeration of different solid particles into smaller and finer particles for the proper and uniform mixture.

iv. You can also use it to dry the wet components.

As much as you will be adding liquids, the machine can ensure proper drying of the wet components.

v. You can also use it for the purpose of wet massing to make granules.

As much as it can de-agglomerate, the machine can also granulate through wet massing.

Well, let us proceed with the advantages and disadvantages of the double cone blender.

Advantages of Pharmaceutical Double Cone Blender Equipment

The benefits of using a pharmaceutical blenderequipment include:

FBench Top Blender

i. Has an attractive structure that is easy to clean and operate.

ii. The working stability is high and less noisy.

iii. Has very high uniformity for blending of almost all materials.

iv. You can vacuum feed the blender and discharge the mixture by the butterfly valve.

This will help in reducing the amount of dust that the machine emits.

v. It has overloading protection that will protect the motor.

It also has a tachometer that will control the location of discharging materials.

vi. Comes with a force agitator as an option in case materials lack fluidity.

vii. Also available are spray devices that inject small-scale liquids whenever necessary.

viii. There is a jacket that assists in heating, cooling, and drying materials.

ix. It also has flameproof electrical as an option for you to choose from.

x. The cone shape on both ends enables easy mixing and uniform discharge.

Despite the advantages of the double cone blender, it has its demerits.

Let us look at some of them.

Disadvantages of Double Cone Blender Equipment

Double Cone Blender Equipment

i. Operating double blender equipment can be a daunting task.

You will need to have professional guidance to assist you in the operations.

ii. As much as it has a greater capacity, you will not use the whole capacity.

It limits you to a certain level thus rendering the other part of the barrel useless.

iii. It is bulky and therefore limits the ability to move it from one place to another freely.

iv. You need to have enough space to place the double cone blender.

This is because of the big size that will occupy a lot of space.

v. As much as it is safe, you need to ensure that you protect yourself.

It is prone to mechanical failure just like any other machine.

vi. Do not dwell so much on the disadvantages as they are never a big deal.

You can avoid most of them by being careful and planning in advance.

Let’s have a look at some of the designs and construction of a double cone blender.

Design and Construction of Double Cone Blender

The double cone blender is available in different designs, models, and capacities.

Double Cone Blender Design

You can find a blender that is specifically for sensitive mixtures with the risk of breaking.

The breakage will assist in minimizing the generation of dust.

The time a blender takes in mixing ingredients will depend on the nature of ingredients and the mixture you desire.

Looking at the interior, you will see a cone on a pivot axis on the two sides of the blender.

This design assists in gravity discharge and the elimination of dead space.

The design specifications have to meet the quality standards set by different organizations such as AISI 316 and AISI 304.

AISI 316 is for every part that is in contact with the products you are blending.

AISI 304 is the quality standard for the support and the other parts of the equipment.

The external and internal parts have a bright and shining quality finish.

Due to the absence of edges and corners, and the polished surface, it becomes easy to clean the unit.

You can either clean it manually or automatically using the CIP system.

The design usually incorporates electrical safety with the help of a guard rail which is in accordance with EC safety standards.

There are however a few options that you may desire in a double cone blender.

These include:

i. The design might have a liquid spray system that will introduce the liquids during the blending process.

ii. Some of the modern double cone blenders have automatic stop positions.

These positions include loading, sampling, and discharging where the blender performs a cycle to slow down the mixture.

 It will reach the stopping position with the highest precision and remain at a halt.

iii.  You can also opt for a unit with an automatic loading system for introducing granules and powders.

It loads the machine by the means of a vacuum unit that has self-cleaning hoses preventing the creation of dust.

iv. It might also include a monoblock vacuum with a liquid ring pump.

v. You can also opt to install an automatic discharge system.

The system includes a receiving hopper with automatic self-cleaning filters.

The design and construction are not complete without knowing the parts of the double cone blender.

In the next section, you will learn about the parts of a double cone blender.

Let us go through some of them.

Parts of Double Core Blender

The double cone blender consists of different parts.

Below is a diagram that gives you an overview of the parts of a double cone blender.

Have a look at this.

Parts of Double Cone Blender

· Feeding Port

The feeding port is an opening on top of the double cone blender barrel.

It serves as the main inlet for the double cone blender.

It has a lid that you have to close during the blending operations.

· Barrel

It is a huge container with a conical shape that houses the twin cones.

It also receives the solid ingredients that you will be blending.

Apart from that, it protects and secures the solid ingredients from falling off the machine.

The main material is stainless steel with a completely smooth and shiny surface.

· Helical Blades

The helical blades are usually inside the barrel.

The blades are responsible for cutting the solid ingredients into very small pieces.

Besides that, the stainless steel blades help in blending the ingredients to form a uniform mixture.

· Actuating Unit

The actuating unit assists in controlling and moving a system or mechanism of the double cone blender.

Basically, it controls the opening and the closing of the valve that discharges the mixture from the blender.

· Machine Structure

The structure of the machine is the whole unit that stands on the ground.

It provides enough support for the barrel and all the other parts of the double cone blender.

It is strong enough to hold the whole system in place during normal operations.

· Injection System

The injection system allows you to add small amounts of liquids into the barrel during the blending process.

It may be in a form of the spray gun to splash the liquid into the mixing barrel.

It is one of the optional parts that you can request.

· Covering

The covering is the lid that you will use to cover the barrel.

It has a safety pin that will ensure that the cover is in place.

It protects the ingredients from falling off during the blending process.

· Injection Tip

The injection tip allows you to inject more ingredients into the blending process.

It is a small nozzle inside the barrel that injects liquids during the blending process.

It is also an optional part that you can request from the manufacturer.

· Operating System

The Operating system is the digital control unit that allows you to operate the whole system.

Most of the machines are automatic so the operating system will control all the operations.

You can comfortably control all the variables from the operating system apart from loading the ingredients.

· Flanged Hole

It is a connection of pipes, pumps, valves, and other parts of the double cone blender.

It gives you the allowance for easy access to cleaning, modification, and inspection of the double cone blender.

You can make a flange hole by bolting, welding, and screwing different pipes.

· Hinged Cover

It is a type of a cover with a hinge connection to the barrel.

The hinge makes it easy to open and close the cover of the barrel.

Apart from that, it holds the cover in place from falling off in case the cover pops out.

· Slide/Butterfly Valve

This is the part of the double cone blender that will assist you in discharging the mixture from the barrel.

It uniformly discharges the mixture from the barrel after a successful mix.

It has a smooth and shiny surface of stainless steel to allow the mixture to slide off.

· Intensifier Bars

The intensifier bars make the double cone blenders more adaptable to more applications.

Also, the bar runs through trunnions and into the barrel of the double cone blender.

The connection is in sync with the spray pipes for the addition of liquids.

Double Cone Blender Parts – Photo Courtesy: IND MKT

· Fully Integrated motors and controls

The motors and controls help in monitoring the movement of ingredients and other parts of the double cone blender.

The machine depends on the motors and controls to determine the slanting angle among other key movement issue.

You will use the controls in conjunction with the operating system.

With the arrangement of the parts at your fingertips.

Let us proceed to learn how the double cone blender works.

Working Mechanism of Double Cone Blender

From the definition, you know that you can use this machine for a dry blending of different solids.

Note that the solids you are blending vary in terms of density, bulk, and percentage of the overall mixture.

In this section, you will go through a step-by-step process of how the double cone blender works.

Step One: Preparation of the Machine and Necessary Ingredients

You need to do a thorough inspection of the machine and ensure that it is in good working condition.

As you do that, you should gather all the relevant tools and solids to mix or blend.

Remember that safety is paramount and you need to protect yourself.

Ensure that you check the line clearance.

Make sure that you had autoclaved the double cone blender.

With the help of the moving wheel adjust the angle of the blender for the convenience of loading.

Load in the right amounts of ingredients through the loading aperture.

Cover the top of the barrel and move to the control panel.

Remember to put the safety pin in position and make sure it fits well within the grooves.

Lock the wheel of the blender by moving it in a clockwise direction.

You should also be put on the safety guard before commencing your operations.

Step Two: Programming the Machine

In this stage, you need to switch on the machine and always note the starting time.

Key in the right requirements at the control panel.

The machine is automatic and you will have very little to do.

After programming the machine, allow it to proceed with the process of blending.

Step Three: Blending Process

The double cone will rotate as the materials inside it intermix.

One cycle will average to about 10 minutes of blending which can reduce depending on how difficult the blending is.

Powder to Blend

The blending takes place axially and this will depend on the type of double cone blender you are using.

Axial blending is as a result of the powder that moves through diverse sections of the machine.

The blending process is thorough and also depends on the speed of rotation of the cylinders.

Step Four: Discharge of the Mixture

At this stage, you will discharge the mixture after a thorough blend of the ingredients.

Since the machine is automatic, you will see a signal to notify you that the mixture is ready.

Put off the machine and remove the safety guard.

Adjust the angle of the blender so that it suits the unloading of the material.

You will discharge the mixture through a valve that usually closes hermetically.

Depending on the machine, you can either choose to operate the valve automatically or manually.

The whole unit has a guard rail with an electrical safety guard.

It will prevent you from accessing the machine while it is in operation.

For safety reasons, in case you gain access to the machines, all the operations will stop immediately.

The process continues through all the steps until you complete the blending process.

Since we are talking about the working principles of a double cone blender.

It is important to note that there are different blenders with different working principles.

In the next chapter, we will compare between a double cone blender and a V Blender.

Double Cone Blender vs. V Blender – Ultimate Comparison

Making a choice on the type of industrial machine to use may seem to be an easy task.

In reality, there are many important factors that you need to look at.

The V blender and the double cone blender have the same working principles as the tumble blender.

However, making the wrong choice between the two types of machines might render your applications obsolete.

Looking closely at the mixing mechanisms among the two, you will discover similarities and differences between blending and mixing action.

For clarification:

Double Cone Blender vs V Blender

Mixing can be defined as a process where you will combine two or more different substances.

With the help of a machine, you will generate a homogenous mixture.

Bending, on the other hand, is a much simpler and gentler process.

Both the double cone blender and V blender aretumble blenders.

Any time you invert the vessels, the contents will split and you can adjust the speed of rotation.

The contents will, therefore, slide to the lower parts of the vessel as it rotates.

You can use both the double cone blender and V blender in the chemical, pharmaceutical, and nutraceutical industries.

Despite the similarities, there are distinctive differences between the two.

The double cone blender requires less headroom than the V Blender as it is a low-profile blender.

The cone shape of the blender also has one access cover that fastens the inspection and cleaning processes.

It depends on the principle of free flow for blending free-flowing powders and granules.

It is, therefore, the most suitable equipment for mixing 2 to 5 ingredients.

V blenders, on the other hand, assume a V shape, offer shorter blending periods, and are highly efficient.

The blending process depends on two cylinders that divide constantly.

As they divide, they intermesh movement of particles capable of achieving blend variations of 1 to 2%.

All the cylindrical legs have separate access covers for, cleaning, loading materials, and inspection.

You can use the V blender to mix 2 to 10 ingredients.

You can use the V blender in the pharmaceuticals, food, nutraceuticals, and cosmetic industries.

With that in mind, let’s move on to factors that you need to consider when purchasing a double cone blender.

Considerations when Buying Double Cone Blender

Just as difficult as it may be to choose between the different types of machines for specific functions.

It is also very difficult to choose the type of double cone blender.

However, that should be the least of your worries.

Why?

In this section, you will learn about the factors to consider before purchasing a double cone blender.

 Double Cone Blender System

· Conical blender capacity

The capacity of the conical blender varies according to the size of your application.

You will choose a conical blender with a capacity that will suit your application.

The higher the capacity, the costlier the double cone blender will be.

· PLC system

PLC is an initial for a programmable logic controller.

It allows you to program the machine and allow it to automatically operate.

You should go for a machine with a modern PLC system that you can easily manage and control.

· Touch screen HMI

Modern equipment comes with a control unit and an operating system that you can control from a touch screen.

The screen allows you to program the machine by putting in the right dimensions of the mixture.

For purchasing considerations, you can opt for a machine with a good touch screen.

· Capacity

This is the maximum capacity of ingredients that a double cone blender can take.

No matter the size of the barrel, the machine can only process a certain amount at a time.

You should go for a conical blender that has the capacity of your production needs.

· Power consumption

Power saving is a key consideration in the processing industry.

This begins with using a machine that consumes less power and produces more.

You should consider buying a machine that consumes very little power but can produce within record time.

· cGMP compliant

The machine that you decide to purchase must adhere to the manufacturing quality standards.

Also, the most important quality compliance you need to check is the current good manufacturing practices.

Such a machine has very high quality and will serve you for a long time.

· Construction material

The main construction material is stainless steel.

The quality of stainless steel, however, varies according to the part.

Also, the interior has high quality since it gets in contact with the products.

You have to look at those specifications whenever you are purchasing a double cone blender.

· Model

Different manufacturers produce different models of double cone blender.

The variation comes in terms of quality and level of technology.

You should choose a machine model of very high quality and the highest level of technology.

· Quiet operation

A quiet machine creates a peaceful working environment.

In the pursuit of a good double con blender, test the machine and consider the noise level.

A good machine should be as silent as possible to enhance the working environment.

· Minimize dust

Many of the machines in the modern world have a vacuum system that will minimize the emission of dust.

Apart from that, the automatic machine has a control system that will reduce the emission of dust.

Consider going for a machine that emits very little or no dust at all.

· Material charging and discharging mechanism

The mechanism of charging and discharging the ingredients and the mixture varies.

It can either be manual or automatic discharge from the system.

The automatic system is the best and safest mode of discharge.

You will, however, have to pay a lot more for the automatic system.

Let’s look at some of the applications of the double cone blender.

Double Cone Blender Applications

You can use the double cone blender in quite a number of applications.

The type of double cone blender will, however, vary in terms of the application.

In this section, you will learn about some of the applications of the double cone blender.

Lab

· Pharmaceutical

To come up with a suitable dose of a drug, you will have to mix several ingredients.

To have a homogenous mixture, you use the double cone blender.

The result will be perfect and it will be difficult to tell the original ingredients in any tablet.

· Food

Food such as whole meals is often a combination of different types of food.

You can make a whole meal by blending different types of dry food in a double cone blender.

Many industries depend on the double cone blend to achieve a uniform mixture of food for your consumption.

· Chemical

The chemical industry uses different ingredients to make a particular form of chemical.

In that case, to get a uniform blend, you need to use a double cone blender.

It ensures that you get a uniform mixture of chemicals.

· Cosmetics

Cosmetics come a long way to the point where they can enhance beauty.

Among the processes is the mixing of different materials that will ensure the final product is flawless.

A double cone blender assists in blending the products for a uniform outcome.

· Detergents

Most of the detergents have a combination of different products that can wash and give your clothes a fresh smell.

The double cone blender mixes these components to ensure that there are consistency and uniformity of the detergent.

· Fertilizers

Plant growth enhancers such as nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium are blended together to form fertilizer.

It begins with adding the components separately in a double cone blender.

In the end, you will get a fine mixture of the ingredients you can use to boost plant growth.

· Plastics

You can achieve different blends of plastic by using a double cone blender.

Many plastic companies depend on machine to make uniform blends of plastic.

The uniform blend has varying quality in terms of strength.

Conclusion

I guess your search for a good double cone blender will be a lot of fun.

With this information, you can take your time and make the right choice of a double cone blender.

Besides that, the terms that you can use to discuss a custom double cone blender are at your fingertips.

You can now go ahead and purchase your double cone blender with confidence.