Posted to News on 3rd Dec 2019, 10:10
Peristaltic pump ends reliability problems at papermill
North Ridge Pumps' AMP range of peristaltic pumps are versatile for machine builders and users across a wide range of industries. The company recently helped a papermill that was struggling with their current installed pump on an inking machine. Transferring the water-based ink is a critical part of their manufacturing process and any downtime can lead to significant costs.
The papermill's current pump was failing regularly, and this was causing high spare parts costs, high labour costs and high costs to due downtime. They contacted North Ridge Pumps in the hope of finding a more reliable pump and, ultimately, to save on expenditure. They needed the pump to produce a very small and precise flow rate while also having the ability to control the flow rate from an external inverter.
North Ridge Pumps knew the AMP 16 peristaltic pump would be the right option for this application, as they have supplied this pump to various machine builders and operators in the past for ink and far thicker and more complicated fluids, such as glue, latex and oils. The customer was transferring a water-based ink and, therefore, it was thin and neutral; consequently the pump was fitted with a natural rubber hose.
North Ridge Pumps specified the AMP 16 pump with a 0.37kW motor, making it capable of producing a flow rate range of 16 to 381L/hr at around 0.5bar discharge pressure. It was fitted with an inverter-rated motor, PTC sensors and a forced air-cooling system to enable the motor to run at low speeds without the risk of overheating.
The customer advised that the pump is often unmanned, and it can be a long time before it is checked by an engineer. Thus, a leakage sensor was installed on the pump head; this is connected to an external control panel and warns the operator if the internal rubber hose bursts; they can then perform quick maintenance and have the machine up and running with little downtime.
The pump previously used by the customer was failing regularly and spare parts costs were high. A peristaltic pump is useful in this situation as the only part that is wearing and encounters the fluid is the internal elastomeric hose. It is a completely seal-less pump and can therefore run dry indefinitely without fear of damage like other mechanically sealed pumps. As there is only one main wearing part, maintenance is low cost and simple. The customer now ensures that at least one spare hose and lubricating grease is always kept in stock to make the maintenance process run smoothly. In addition to running dry, there are other added benefits of this pump type: it can self-prime from dry up to 9m vertically, it has a gentle pumping action for shear sensitive products, it can handle viscous fluids, it can handle solids as large as the internal diameter of the hose without clogging, and it is fully reversible.
North Ridge Pumps solved all this customer's problems, and also recommend the peristaltic range for other applications - for example, chemical dosing, additive dosing, latex dosing, glue dosing, water-based paint transfer, transfer of abrasive products, food products and sampling.
The supplied pump is detailed below:
- Model: AMP 16
- Materials: NR (Natural Rubber) hose
- Flow rate: 16-381 L/hr
- Pressure: 0.5 Bar
- Motor: 0.37kW, 3-69rpm, 3-75Hz. VFD rated motor with PTC sensors and forced air cooling
Follow the link for more information about the AMP 16 peristaltic pump.
