Midwest Food Processors Association Directory

The Midwest Food Processors Association, Inc. is a trade association that advocates on behalf of food processing companies and affiliated industries in Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.  Established in 1905 as the Wisconsin Canners Association, today the association represents a more diverse group of food processors on a variety of food issues.

Sharpe Mixers has been building mixers for the food and beverage industry for over 30 years.  From simple beverage syrup and juice concentrate blending to brew mash kettles and high viscosity products, successfully mixing a wide spectrum of food products has built a solid foundation of experience.

Share Mixers is proud to be a prominent listing in the MFPA's 2014-2015 directory.  For more information on our sanitary mixers, be sure and visit our website.

Sharpe Hyflo Impellers

A line of hydrofoil impellers that incorporate a split-hub design which is stronger, more adjustable, and easier to install and remove than conventional one-piece or bolted-blade impellers is available from Sharpe Mixers,

Inc. of Seattle, Washington.

Sharpe HYFLO Impellers feature four blades with a narrow, low-pitch section at the tip where the speed is fastest and a wider, higher-pitch section near the hub where it is slower for maximum efficiency. In 24” dia. and larger sizes, the blades are welded directly to a split-hub that can be attached anywhere on a shaft without a keyway, and is easy to adjust or remove.

Available in industrial and sanitary versions, the split-hub eliminates the need to cut and weaken a shaft with a keyway. For high torque applications,

Sharpe HYFLO Impellers’ fail-safe operation is achieved by welding torque pins to the shaft which fit into matching holes on the split-hub’s bore.

Suitable for new equipment and retrofit on existing agitators, impellers can be made from 316SS to titanium and other alloys in 3” to 210” dia. sizes.

 

Sharpe HYFLO Impellers with split-hubs are priced according to material, size, and quantity. Pricing is available upon request. One-piece impellers are also offered.

 

Submitted by,

Fred DeCicco

Understanding Motor Overloads Caused by Low Voltage

Motor overloads are a common industrial problem when motors are not protected adequately.  This can include incorrectly sized circuit breakers or no circuit panel at all.  It can also be due to an undervoltage situation.

The definition of undervoltage is the condition when the applied voltage drops to 90% less than the motor's rated voltage for at least 1 minute.  Low-voltage situations occur when the voltage demand exceeds what the line can deliver.  This can be caused by a number of reasons; a transformer can act as a choke, restricting the amount of total power that gets through when demand is high.  Maybe the demand from newly installed equipment sharing the same line exceeds what the line can deliver.  In some cases, a motor with a long cable run can drop the voltage on a circuit, resulting in low voltage to that motor.  Brief low-voltage conditions can occur when a large load is started up unexpectedly, or when power is shorted to ground or another line.  Even loose cable connections can be the culprit.

To understand how low-voltage effects electric motors, one must understand the applied voltage to motor torque ratio.  Torque changes as the square to the voltage applied.  So a 10% increase in voltage will result in a 21% increase in torque.  Conversely, a reduction to 90% of the rated voltage will result in a 19% reduction in torque.  A more severe undervoltage condition - say 20% below the rated value, will reduce the motor's torque to 64% of its rating, resulting in 156% motor overload condition and catastrophic failure.

When does overload come into play in a low-voltage situation?  When the motor torque decreases below the torque required by the load, the motor will stall.  This is a bad situation if not caught immediately, as the motor now simply becomes a generator of heat.  Increased heat can damage the motors windings and insulation if the low-voltage event is long enough in duration.  This damage is permanent, and will result in a shorter life span or even a catastrophic failure.  In a prolonged low-voltage event, the only motor that is safe is one that is turned off.

Quick response techniques and computer monitoring and control equipment can reduce or even eliminate the damage of low-voltage events.  Thermal protectors or condition-monitoring devices can detect abnormally high winding temperatures and automatically shut down the motor. 

Being proactive is key in avoiding serious problems.  And thanks to computers, most everything can be monitored and controlled more accurately now.  This includes the electric motors that you rely and depend on.

ISPE Boston Chapter Product Show

Sharpe Mixers exhibited at the ISPE Boston Chapter Product show on October 1, 2014.

The International Society of Pharmaceutical Engineers encourages local chapters to produce these one-day exhibits.

They take place all around the country.  Sharpe Mixers participates in several of them, including Boston, Philadelphia and San Francisco.

This is one of the biggest chapter product shows in the country, attracted several hundred vendors to Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots.

This year’s show was the biggest ever.  Attendees kept up a constant flow through the two clubhouse exhibit areas.

Quite a few of our customers in the New England area stopped by to say hello and see what’s new at Sharpe Mixers.

Many of our customers also exhibit at this show, including vessel fabricators, systems integrators, consulting engineers and contractors.

These table top shows offer a lot of bang for the buck.

 

Look into ISPE Chapter exhibits, as well as other engineering and production societies like ASME, Mid-West Food Processors and others for opportunities.


Submitted by
Fred DeCicco
North American Sales Manager

Design of Blend Chest Agitators; Guidelines, Data Required and Agitator Sixing

Steven F. Drury, Director of Applications at Sharpe Mixers.

Sharpe Mixers Director of Applications Engineering Steve Drury, PE presented a paper Design of Blend Chest Agitators; Guidelines, Data Required and Agitator Sixing at the recent TAPPI sponsored PEERS conference in Tacoma Washington.

Steve’s paper covered what a mixer vendor needs to know from the user to be able to design a cost effective agitator for any dilute stock application:

Mixing and blending are critical to a successful pulp/paper mill operation. The mass concentration of the pulp suspensions (aka consistency) in chests must be uniform at all locations. This is typically done with open face high efficiency impellers (hydrofoils). Along with a properly sized agitator the proper chest design and feed/pump suction locations are also critical to uniform consistency. One method used to provide uniformity is the momentum method which this presentation is based on. The mathematical model for the momentum method will be presented along with guidelines for chest designs and agitator locations.

A successful agitator design relies on good data and information from the mill engineer such as geometry of the chest and the process information outlining what is expected of the agitator.

This presentation will describe what an agitator supplier must know to design the equipment and describe the “why” so the plant engineer can understand not only the importance of chest geometry, feed and pump suction locations, but the process information as well: stock characterization, throughput and temperature.  A good understanding of the relative importance of these design factors will help the plant engineer in making decisions for optimization, retrofits and upgrades.

A typical blend chest design will be used to illustrate the design steps.

Mixing of dilute stock (up to 6.0% OD consistency) is a very important unit operation in the pulp and paper industry; however very little published information is available for the plant engineer’s use to size a mixer. Standard mixer design books such as Handbook of Industrial Mixing (1) and Fluid Mixing Technology (2) have sections on pulp mixing but detailed procedures or design data is not included. To the best of this speaker’s knowledge the only detailed book on pulp and paper agitation is TAPPI’s Pulp and Paper Agitation (3) The procedures outlined in this book are based on the concept of momentum flux (4) also known as QV (Q for flow and V for velocity). Using this concept along with mixer power and flow equations a relationship of mixer impeller diameter and rotational speed can be developed.

In order to size a mixer (power, speed and geometry) knowledge of the application (process specification) is critical. Knowledge of the mechanical requirements (mechanical specification) will allow for geometric and strength design.

Once the process parameters and chest geometry are set the mixer can be sized for power, speed and impeller geometry. A sample problem will illustrate this procedure.

As chest geometry will have a significant effect on mixer sizing. A series of figures showing recommended geometries will be presented. 

Attention to mechanical design is important. Reliability, seal selection, bearing life, maintainece access etc. all contribute to capital and operational cost. A short description of critical speed, shaft design, service life and bearing life will be presented in order to understand the impact of these features for cost and reliability.

Evaluating competing designs can be challenging, as each vendor will more than likely have different selections for power and impeller speed. Some guidelines for comparison of operating costs vs. capital costs are shown along with process results (power, torque and QV)

Information on mixer design, evaluation, standards and science can be hard to find. A few published resources are presented for reference.

PEERS, an acronym for Pulping, Engineering, Environmental, Recycling, Sustainability, PEERS represents the most dynamic, forward leaning topics in the forest products arena today.  PEERS offers an expert-led program that has been proven to provide real-world results in each of these critical areas of the mill.  Planned and led by working professions, every session has been designed to address real challenges attendees face on the job.

Presenters and attendees are pulp and paper experts/equipment vendors/operators/consulting engineers and plant engineers directly involved with mill operations.  These are the people who "make it work".

Sharpe Mixers at TAPPI PEERS and Bioenergy Exhibit in Tacoma, WA.

David Bowlin of Engineered Products & Services.

Sharpe Mixers will be exhibiting at the TAPPI PEERS and Bioenergy Exhibit in Tacoma, September 14th thru 17th.

What is PEERS?  As an acronym for Pulping, Engineering, Environmental, Recycling, Sustainability, PEERS represents the most dynamic, forward-leaning topics in the forest products arena today. PEERS offers an expert-led program that has been proven to provide real-world results in each of these critical areas of the mill.

Throughout the program, leading-edge technical knowledge is presented alongside opportunities for face-to-face access with industry experts, peers and colleagues. Attendees are active participants and contributors to Q&A sessions, “Ask the Experts” discussions, Roundtable forums, “What’s New” exhibits, topic-specific panels, and informal networking opportunities. And, like all TAPPI events, the PEERS conference provides all of this in a relaxed, professional environment. 

Sharpe Mixers and our sales representative, Engineered Products & Services, are proud to be able to lend our expertise and be part of this valuable interactive event.

Sharpe Mixers at the 2014 Expo Pack Mexico!

Sharpe Mixers exhibits at Expo Pack Mexico, the largest industrial exhibit in Mexico, with our sales Representatives from Inventec.

 

 

 

 

Comparing Pumps and Agitators for Tank Mixing

Pumps are defined as a device that moves fluids by mechanical action.  They operate by some mechanism, typically rotary or reciprocating, and consume energy to perform mechanical work.

Industrial mixers are used to mix a wide range of materials.  They are mainly used to mix different materials to make a good quality homogenous mixture.

Recently, Gregory T. Benz of Technology International wrote an excellent paper comparing the two mechanical methods for Biofuels Digest that is definitely worth a read.  In it, he compares capital and operating costs, as well as relative performance, of both systems, based on real-world installations.

Sharpe Mixers has been manufacturing industrial mixers since 1970, and is recognized as a world-wide leader in the mixing industry.  Visit  our web site to learn more.

Sharpe Mixers at Interphex 2014

Interphex in New York has always been a successful show for Sharpe Mixers, and Interphex 2014 was no exception!  We hope you got a chance to come out and see us and learn about some of our exciting new products and solutions for sanitary mixing applications.

"Interest was very high for our line of all stainless steel mixers and lift stands," Fred DeCicco reported.

Sharpe Mixers Featured in Chemical Engineering

Check out Joy LePree's article on mixing efficiency in Chemical Engineering magazine.  It features the Sharpe Mixers folding HYF-218 hydrofoil style impeller.  This impeller features a four-blade design that folds for easy installation through small openings, eliminating the need for personnel to enter the tank.  The blades open with centrifugal force and lock in place when fully open.

Our Hyflo impellers are among the most energy efficient in the industry, and when combined with premium efficient motors and higher efficiency gearboxes, can offer a sizeable cost savings - often saving thousands of dollars in operation costs and improving the payback period of the new capital equipment.

Contact us today to learn more, and see how we can save you money!

Need a Large Mixer Fast? Let Us Help!

One of the downsides of custom build equipment can be the lead time.  Traditionally, the equipment has to be sized specifically for the application, engineering has to be completed and reviewed, raw materials and components have to be procured, and then, finally, production can begin.  It can be a daunting schedule when you are in a hurry to be up and running.

That's about to change.

Introducing the Sharpe Mixers Quick N program.  We now stock parts on the shelf for 2 hp or 3 hp N-Series plate mounted mixers!  These include 2.38" dia. x 20' long shafts, which can be cut to length, and both 40" and 46" split-hub HYF-218 impellers.

These mixers can work in 5,000 and up to 20,000 gallon mixer applications (process dependent).

Best of all?  These mixers can be shipped from our facility in as little as 2-3 weeks.

Contact us for details.  Let's get your project up and running!

Sharpe Mixers Offers Custom Mixing Equipment

Sharpe Mixers designs and manufactures liquid agitation equipment.  Many of the designs for the equipment are based on a customer’s specific requirements.  A product that is designed to solve one customer’s problem can develop into a complete product line.  The PB-Series of mixers offered by Sharpe Mixers is an excellent example.  This mixer is manufactured using current ASME-BPE standards for materials and finishes.  White Epoxy and Stainless Steel drives are standard offerings.  Wetted parts are SS316L or higher alloys and can be polished and electro-polished with surface finishes 0f 20, 15 or even 10 Ra.  BPE compliant single dry-running mechanical shaft seals are standard and are rated for 200 psig and 350 degrees F.

A customer in the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry has applications for mixing liquids in vessels ranging from 25 L to 250 L.  These small vessels are portable, meant for easy handling and mobility.  The only top entry industrial quality agitators available are much too large and heavy for installation on these small portable vessels.  They create a top-heavy assembly that is unstable and difficult to handle.  The equipment weight makes them difficult to remove and service.  The customer’s answer was to use laboratory scale mixers, since they were lightweight and compact.  The problem with laboratory scale equipment in a manufacturing environment is durability and maintenance.  The “lab stirrer” is easily damaged ad not repairable.  They can only be replaced when they experience wear or failure.

The frustrated customer comes to Sharpe Mixers.  “I need a lightweight compact top entry mixer that can hold up to the rigors of a manufacturing environment, be easy to install and remove and be serviceable.”

Sharpe Mixers finds the components that are compact and lightweight, like right angle drives that reduce instability and improve mobility and IEC frame motors that are 80% lighter than NEMA motors.

Some of these small portable vessels have hinged covers for accessing the vessel interior.  The agitator is usually mounted on the hinged cover making it very difficult to open due to the agitator shaft-impeller assembly extended down into the vessel impinging on the vessel side wall.  Sharpe Mixers has worked with customers that have vessels of this type and developed a retractable shaft that can be raised up through the top of the drive so the in-tank shaft-impeller assembly does not impinge on the side wall and preventing the hinged cover from being fully opened.  This design incorporates a mechanical seal shaft sleeve to prevent galling and scratching with the mixer shaft when sliding and a hollow quill gear reducer shaft that allows shaft retraction from outside the vessel.   Now, the hinged cover can be fully opened allowing full vessel access.  The shaft sleeve is fabricated from a specially engineered plastic, like PEEK (Arlon™).  The Sliding Shaft PB-Series Mixer price range is $10,000 - $12,000.

 

Washington Wine Grape Grower's Association Trade Show

David Bowlin of Engineered Products and Services.

Sharpe Mixers will be represented by Engineered Products & Services once again at this year's 2014 Washington Wine Grape Grower's Association trade show in Kennewick, WA.  The event takes place in the Toyota Center on February 5th thru the 7th.

The Washington Association of Wine Grape Growers cultivates a positive business environment to grow the Washington wine industry. The vision of the Association is that by 2020 the Washington State wine industry triples its economic impact through improved profitability and sustainability for growers and wineries in the production of world-class wines.

Sponsors includes Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, The Hogue Cellars, Port of Kennewick, The Washington State Wine Commission, and more.  If you are in the area, come check out our booth!