Flat Metal Through-Hole Sieves for Plansifter Throughput
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing machines for fractionating ground cereal products, such as plansifters and grain purifying machines, face inefficiencies in sieving processes due to limitations in sieve design, particularly in maintaining stability and optimizing the ratio of open sieve area to total sieve area, which hinders the throughput and effectiveness of sieving.
Innovation Solution
The use of flat metal sieves with through-holes, manufactured through etching or additive methods, provides a more efficient sieving process by optimizing the ratio of open sieve area and minimizing particle sticking, with features like pronounced edges and hexagonal hole arrangements, allowing for improved throughput and reduced clogging.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional woven fabric sieves are used, then the sieve structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the ratio of open sieve area to total sieve area is limited and particle sticking occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The sieve is segmented into a flat body with multiple through-holes arranged in a pattern, replacing the continuous woven fabric structure. This segmentation increases the open sieve area ratio while maintaining structural integrity through the distributed hole arrangement.
Solution Approach 2:
The flat body sieve creates a porous structure with controlled through-holes that optimize the open area ratio. The porous design allows better particle passage and reduces sticking compared to woven fabrics, while the flat body material provides structural stability.
2Reliability
If woven fabric sieves are used, then manufacturing is simple, but particle sticking and clogging occur during sieving
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using a continuous fabric that particles can stick to, the invention inverts the approach by using a flat body with through-holes. This inversion creates smooth edges and open areas that prevent particle adhesion and reduce clogging, while the manufacturing process (etching or additive methods) achieves this complex geometry.
Solution Approach 2:
The flat body sieve structure serves multiple functions: it provides structural stability like traditional sieves, prevents particle sticking through its geometry, and optimizes throughput through the through-hole pattern. This multi-functional design replaces the need for woven fabrics while achieving superior performance.
3Productivity
If the open sieve area ratio is increased to improve throughput, then sieving efficiency increases, but sieve stability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The through-holes are arranged in an asymmetric pattern on the flat body, optimizing the distribution of open areas while maintaining structural stability. The asymmetric arrangement allows maximum open area ratio while the flat body geometry provides inherent stability during oscillation.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the fundamental parameter of sieve structure from woven fabric to flat body with through-holes. This parameter change enables higher open area ratios while maintaining stability through the rigid flat body construction and optimized hole distribution pattern.
Data Source
AI summary
The plansifter or the grain purifying machine includes at least one sieve compartment with an arrangement of several sieve elements with sieves. The sieve compartments can be brought into oscillations in the form of circling movements. At least one of the sieves is designed as a flat body. The sieve holes are present as though-holes. The sieve can be present as a metal sieve with etched through-holes or the metal sieve can be manufactured by way of an additive method. The flat body sieve with through-holes significantly improves the efficiency of the fractionating process.