Granulate conveying
METRO G

All material loaders are fully modular and can be matched to different throughputs and requirements depending on the application. Not only are there different material loader volumes but also different material inlet and outlet sizes which can be accurately adapted to suit throughputs and conveying distances.

The mesh filter is automatically cleaned by implosion after each loading. This guarantees constant and reliable material conveying and reduces maintenance costs for the loader. Because the material loader is air-tight, the conveying performance remains stable and there is no dust around the unit.

The cast design with extra strong air cylinder makes this vacuum valve perfect for demanding conveying applications where high material throughputs and high vacuum are required.

A membrane vacuum valve operates without the need for compressed air. Instead, it gets its energy from the conveying system, using vacuum to open and close the valve. This makes it ideal for clean room applications.

The vacuum module can be rotated by 360 °. This allows for a professional neat installation without unnecessary bends or hoses.

When equipped with a standard implosion vacuum valve, the material loader lid is free from any attachments such as hoses and valves. This allows you to safely and easily gain access to the unit, which saves time when cleaning the loader.

The material loader inlet flaps are easily removable and can be exchanged depending on your application. As well as different inlet diameters there are angled and glass plated versions for abrasive materials.

The material loader inlet flaps make sure that multiple loaders can work together properly in a system. They limit the amount of vacuum required for a group of loaders connected to a coupling station. Thus, no check valves need to be installed in the material flow at the coupling station which would result in a reduction of conveying capacity and increased material abrasion.
An additional benefit of the inlet flap is that it acts as a deflector plate at the material inlet and so protects the loader mesh filter and body from wear. A special glass plated version is available for extremely abrasive materials.

The electro-polished stainless steel METROMIX proportioning valve can be connected to the METRO G material loaders. You can easily adjust the percentage and number of material layers per conveying cycle. A large transparent access panel gives you easy access for cleaning.

A spring loaded damper on the discharge flap prevents the flap from completely closing when not under vacuum. During pneumatic conveying, any granules left lying on the discharge flap which might get trapped are first sucked away. With increasing vacuum, the flap is then pressed against the spring and will close completely.

Because the large material outlet has a discharge flap which is made of stainless steel, it is abrasion resistant and meets all requirements for medical or food packaging applications. The angled design increases the outlet area and helps with materials which may bridge.

The counterweight of the discharge flap is mounted on the outside of the loader discharge module. This means that the actual status of the loading cycle is visible at all times. Service work can be easily and quickly carried out, because of easy accessability.

When conveying hygroscopic materials with small throughputs or where space is limited a machine loader version is available. The discharge module of the loader has no discharge flap and the unit must be mounted directly on the feed throat of the processing machine.
Your benefit is that no machine supply hopper is required and very little material is stored at the machine. This is especially important for dried materials as the holding time of the material is kept to an absolute minimum.

All material loaders are modular and are constructed from electro-polished stainless steel, guaranteeing you contamination-free operation and easy clean down due to the high quality surface finish.

The glass body option allows you to visually check the status of the loader at a glance and see which material is being conveyed. This is very useful when changing materials with different bulk densities. Overfilling of the loader (which can lead to the mesh filter becoming blocked) can easily be detected and the conveyed quantity adjusted.

If the materials that you need to convey have a small granule size, are very dusty, or contain angel-hair, then the METRO G loaders can be supplied with a tangential material inlet. During conveying this produces a cyclone effect which is perfect for separating different types of materials. With the “trumpet” air outlet, the exhaust air speed is well below the levitation speed so that no granules or particles can be carried back to the central dust filter.

The de-dusting module removes dust from high performance engineering plastics directly at the hopper loader, sending them to the central dust filter via the air flow. These expensive materials, now dust-free, can be processed without further delay.

Three different control box options are available.
P box: a simple plug connection with all other functions accessible at the central control
S box: status indication and an on/off switch are at the loader
C box: the most advanced control box with alarm and status indication, on/off and other functions located directly at the loader.

Several different levels of automation are available for controlling the METRO G loaders.

SELVAC 2: market-proven microprocessor-based control.

METROnet S: a soft PLC conveying control for standard conveying systems.

METROnet AE and AN: the ultimate networkable system toolkit for complex conveying systems with either a soft PLC or Siemens S7 PLC with WEBpanel and decentralised CAN Bus nodes for the connection of peripheral equipment.

All METROnet controls are totally integrated in the CONTROLnet platform and can be linked to other controls via Ethernet.