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!

Specialty Equipment

Sharpe Mixers is an engineering firm which manufactures mixers, and many customers return to us because we offer custom-made solutions to their mixing problems. 

Although we utilize mass production wherever possible for our standard model lines, many agitation systems require a more individual specialized approach.  If the requirement is exotic alloys or coatings, special polishing or unique equipment designs, our team will draw on extensive experience to put together quality equipment meeting those needs.

Sharpe Mixers' strength originates from the teamwork and energy of our people - experienced and innovative employees dedicated to providing exactly what our customers demand:  superior equipment, excellent service and timely delivery at a competitive price.

Satisfying customer specifications (i.e., special testing, packaging, painting and data requirements) is foremost in our job description.  Some of our specialties include:

1. All exotic alloys including Titanium, Hastelloy, Inconel, Nickel, Ferralium, etc.
2. Polishing for food, pharmaceutical, easy clean properties or show.
3. USDA/FDA approved mixers, all stainless mixers.
4. Coatings:  Halar, Kynar, Teflon, etc.
5. Coverings:  rubber, FRP, PVC, etc.
6. Variable Speed:  electric, air, hydraulic, mechanical.

What are your needs?  How may we assist you?

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