Process Expo in Chicago

Sharpe Mixers' President/CEO Jay Dinnison working Process Expo in Chicago.

Introducing Viton Shaft Seals for Improved Mixer Performance and Durability

New Food Grade Viton shaft seal

The Sharpe Mixers portable and F-Series mixer line has been refined and improved over the years to insure that every component has significant advantages over any other mixers on the market.

Well, we are at it again.  Sharpe Mixers has introduced a Food Grade Viton shaft seal as a standard on all portable and F-Series mixers.

Viton seals offer several advantages over the commercial rubber seals other mixer manufacturers provide.  Most notably, they can withstand higher operating temperatures while simultaneously retaining good mechanical properties, and show resistance to degradation by a greater variety of fluids and chemicals. This all adds up to a longer life expectancy of your mixer seal, resulting in less maintenance costs.  Seems like a no-brainer to us!

Visit our website to learn more about our portable and F-Series mixer line and see how they can work for you.  Also, feel free to contact us to help select the right mixer for your mixing needs.

New Company Brochure in Spanish

Un nuevo folleto de la compañía global que ofrece una visión general de los productos y la tecnología de mezcla, que se refieren a diferentes aplicaciones de fluidos, está siendo ofrecido por Mixers Sharpe, Inc. de Seattle, Washington.

Los mezcladores Compañía aplicaciones destaca Folleto Sharpe y la tecnología de mezcla asociados con requisitos de mezcla líquido-líquido, sólido-líquido y gas-líquido y proporciona una amplia descripción de las industrias de servicios que, lo que ilustra la amplitud de la experiencia. Se describen las descripciones específicas del producto, características de construcción, impulsor alternativas, accesorios y opciones, y el equipo de especialidad.

El a todo color, 16 páginas Sharpe Mixers Folleto Company describe su M5 portátil y la línea de mezclador de F-Series, todo acero abrazadera y mezcladores de montaje fijo, gusano y engranaje helicoidal y V-belt mezcladores de accionamiento de 1/6 a 300 HP. Configuraciones de entrada superior, inferior y laterales están ilustrados. Una sección del impulsor en profundidad se describen varios diseños especializados impulsor, su construcción y las aplicaciones recomendadas, las asambleas y las opciones de cubo, sellos de ejes, ejes de transmisión, rodamientos, etc.

Sharpe Mixers Folleto Company está disponible gratuitamente en Mixers Sharpe, Inc., visite www.sharpemixers.com.

 

A comprehensive new company brochure that provides an overview of their mixing products and technology, as they relate to different fluid applications, is being offered by Sharpe Mixers, Inc. of Seattle, Washington.

The Sharpe Mixers Company Brochure highlights  applications and mixing technology associated with liquid-liquid, solid-liquid and gas-liquid mixing requirements and provides a broad description of the industries they service, which illustrates their breadth of experience.  Specific product descriptions, construction features, impeller alternatives, accessories and options, and specialty equipment are described.

The full-color, 16-page Sharpe Mixers Company Brochure describes their M5 Portable and F-Series mixer line, all-stainless clamp & fixed mount mixers, worm- and helical gear drive and V-belt drive mixers from 1/6 to 300 HP. Top, bottom and side entry configurations are illustrated. An in-depth impeller section describes several specialized impeller designs, their construction and recommended applications, assemblies and hub options, shaft seals, shafting, bearings, and more.

Sharpe Mixers Company Brochure is available free from Sharpe Mixers, Inc. by visiting www.sharpemixers.com .

 

Submitted by Fred DeCicco

Mixing School - Tank Baffles

chapter 1: vertical cylindrical tanks, waterlike products                                                

To guarantee satisfactory mixing performance, careful consideration must be given to tank baffles and their design. Mixing low viscosity products in an unbaffled, or underbaffled tank will result in the product swirling round and round the tank with relatively little top to bottom motion, resulting in vortexing and ineffective mixing. The vortexing also creates greater unbalanced fluid forces that act upon the mixer. A larger mixer may be required to overcome these increased forces. If solids are present, they will tend to remain on the tank bottom unsuspended. Overbaffling or otherwise improperly designed baffles on a tank will also reduce mixing efficiency and may create dead zones behind the baffles. 

 

UNBAFFLED TANK, OFF-CENTER MOUNTING, WATERLIKE PRODUCTS

Many customers do not want baffles on their tank due to cleaning problems or other considerations.  Although not as efficient as baffles, there are options to provide adequate mixing for many applications in an unbaffled tank by mounting the mixer off center to minimize swirling.

1.  Off-Center Mounting of a vertical mixer, usually 1/6 the tank diameter, creates an eccentric flow pattern in the tank that reduces some swirling.  This design works satisfactorily for gentle mixing, but as the agitation intensity grows the swirling will increase.  The swirling action in the tank can also create a significant side load on the impeller and deflection of the mixer shaft.  This must be taken into account when designing the mixer, and may result in a larger mixer drive and shaft to accommodate these loads.  The mechanical load can be as much as 250% as high as in a fully baffled tank.  This system will often end up being more expensive and less effective than a properly baffled or angle mounted design.

2.  Angled Off-Center Mounting of the mixer positions the mixer at a 10 – 15 degree angle from vertical.  The mixer drive is mounted off-center, pointing the shaft into the opposite quadrant of the tank.  This creates an asymmetrical flow pattern and the discharge from the impeller pumps against the natural rotation of the fluid, reducing swirling. The fluid will swirl in the same rotation as the mixer, so it is important to match the position of the mixer with the rotational direction of the mixer. This concept is most often seen in the mounting of typical clamp-mounted portable mixers.  The weight and subsequent bending moment of the impeller and shaft mounted at an angle must be included in the design of the mixer.

 

BAFFLED ON-CENTER MOUNTING, WATERLIKE PRODUCTS

On vertical cylindrical tanks, baffles should be used for mixing waterlike products when the mixer is mounted on the tank centerline, unless the power level is extremely low (i.e., less than 0.1 hp/1000 gal.).  Baffles create flow patterns that assure the entire batch will pass through the impeller where there is the highest level of mixing intensity. Other benefits of a baffled tank include:

                       

§    Prevention of excessive swirling, vortexing and air induction into the batch.

§    Stabilization of mixer horsepower draw.

§    Reduction of unbalanced fluid forces acting upon the mixer.

§   Improvement of mass transfer for heating or cooling the product with tank jackets or cooling coils within the tank.

 

Extensive testing has proven that for mixing waterlike products in vertical cylindrical tanks, the optimum baffle design uses (4) baffles, mounted radially at 90 degree spacing.  Baffle widths are 1/12 of the tank diameter, mounted off the tank wall by 1/6 of the baffle width.

 

            …next: rectangular tanks and horizontal cylindrical tanks

Submitted by Jay Dinnison

 

Introducing Andrew Creighton!

Andrew Creighton

We are excited to introduce the newest member to our Sharpe Mixers team, Andrew Creighton!

Andrew comes to us from Montana with an impressive educational résumé.   After receiving his high school International Baccalaureate Diploma from Flathead High School in Kalispell, Montana, he went to Engineering School at Montana State University.  He received his Bachelor's Degree in Chemical Engineering from MSU in 2010.

Why is Andrew excited about Sharpe Mixers?  "I wanted a place where I could fit in and get solid engineering experience.  This position offered a unique combination of Chemical Engineering work directly with an experienced engineer along with working with customers to provide the best solutions," he explained.

Sharpe Mixers certainly stands to benefit from Andrew's prior experience and the vision he brings.  "In my previous work experience, I was responsible for the 24 hour operation of a plant unit.  I grew accustomed to waking up to emergency calls at three in the morning and I know what it's like to need a solution fast." 

Andrew also has his own set of goals here at Sharpe. "I feel that I will be able to connect with our customers on that basis.  Often, when people call us, they aren't looking for a solution in six months.  They're looking for help now.  We can set ourselves apart by offering a customized experience for each customer.  There is also a lot of business understanding that I have brought with me from my previous experience.  I plan to use and expand this experience here, and I think Sharpe Mixers stands to benefit a lot from this attitude."

What does Andrew enjoy in his spare time?  Scuba diving and snowboarding top the list.  An outdoor enthusiast in the Pacific Northwest?  Looks like Andrew is going to fit right in!

Welcome aboard, Andrew.  We are excited to have you!

Sharpe Mixers in the Community

Steve Drury and Andy Creighton explaining the process.

 Sharpe Mixers has always enjoyed participating in community events, especially those involving kids and learning.

Recently, we supported a STEM (Science, technology, engineering and math) night at a local middle school, where a couple of our application engineers taught the kids how to make PVA slime!

Engineers Steve Drury and Andy Creighton were in attendance, and looked to have a blast!

Andy Creighton supervising a student at work.

"It must have been a success as it was reported a number of teachers were slimed the next day," Drury shared.

 This was a great way to welcome Andy Creighton aboard, our newest applications engineer and member of the Sharpe Mixers family!

We would like to give a special shout out to Totem Middle School.  Thanks for having us!

Andy Creighton explains the process to a group of young ladies.

 

The Advantage of Worm Drive Mixers

Sharpe E-Series Mixer Drive.

Worm gear drive mixers utilize a hardened and ground steel high speed worm shaft threading through a bronze slow speed worm gear.  The design allows the softer bronze worm gear to wear into the hardened shaft during the first few months of operation, providing a nearly silent operating gearbox.

Besides from the quiet operation, there are a number of other advantages associated with worm gears.  Shock loading that would break teeth on a helical or spiral-bevel gearbox merely deforms the bronze gear on a worm gearbox.  Once the overload passes, the hardened worm shaft wears back into the bronze gear and the reducer will continue to operate.  In fact, worm gears are known to withstand momentary peak overloading of 300% without failure.

The timing of required maintenance is better predicted with worm gears since it is easy to check the wear on the bronze gear by periodically measuring the backlash (turning the worm shaft back and forth to check the free play).

Worm gearboxes are also able to achieve higher ratios within a single reduction, up to 100:1 as compared to ~6:1 with conventional single stage helical gear reducers.  A helical or spiral-bevel gear reducer would require double or triple reduction to reach the required mixer speed, and therefore would have multiple sets of bearings and gears subject to wear and failure.  A comparable worm gearbox would have only one gear set and intermediate gears or bearings, and would be simpler to maintain and rebuild if the need should arise.

Worm gear reducers are right-angle gearboxes which results in a low profile agitator drive, an advantage when there is restricted headroom on a particular installation.

Worm gears are not as efficient as helical or spiral-bevel gear reducers, although low ratios like 5:1 or 7.5:1 are still above 90% efficiency.  As the ratio increases, the efficiency decreases.

More information can be found in our E-Series brochure.  Is a worm drive mixer right for you?  Contact us today and let us help you decide!