Shearing Mixing Tool with Opening for Gentle Mass Processing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing mixing and shearing tools often fail to effectively combine material restructuring with optimal mixing performance, leading to issues like product wedging, excessive friction, and localized overheating, especially in chocolate and filling masses.
Innovation Solution
A shearing/mixing tool with a curved, crescent-shaped or plate-shaped shearing/throwing blade and a straight, canted arm, featuring at least one opening between the arm and the blade, which allows for intensified processing and gentle treatment of the material by guiding it through the opening during rotation, thereby enhancing mixing and shearing effects.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the mixing tool is arranged close to the inner surface of the drum to achieve effective mixing, then mixing performance is improved, but product wedging and excessive friction occur leading to localized overheating
Solution Approach 1:
The mixing tool is divided into multiple blades arranged at different radial distances from the drum inner surface. Some blades are positioned closer to create high-shear mixing zones, while others are positioned farther away to reduce friction and prevent overheating. This segmentation allows different portions of the tool to perform different functions simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
Different blades of the mixing tool have different distances to the drum inner surface, creating localized zones with different shear rates and friction characteristics. This allows the tool to provide intensive mixing where needed while avoiding excessive friction and overheating in other areas.
2Ease of manufacture
If the mixing tool is arranged to scrape the inner wall of the drum for cleaning function, then wall cleaning is improved, but the shearing gap is reduced affecting material restructuring
Solution Approach 1:
The tool combines multiple blade types with different functions: some blades are positioned to scrape the drum wall for cleaning, while others are positioned at optimal distances to create shearing gaps for material restructuring. This functional segmentation resolves the conflict between cleaning and mixing effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The mixing tool is designed to perform multiple functions simultaneously: wall scraping for cleaning, shearing for material restructuring, and mixing. The multi-functional design eliminates the need for separate cleaning devices while maintaining effective material processing.
3Ease of operation
If throwing blades are used to push material forward without shearing, then material handling is improved, but no shearing gap is formed reducing material restructuring
Solution Approach 1:
The tool combines throwing blades for material handling with additional blades positioned to create shearing gaps. This segmentation allows the tool to simultaneously push material forward while also creating zones for intensive shearing and restructuring.
Solution Approach 2:
The mixing tool merges the functions of throwing blades (for material handling) with shearing blades (for material restructuring) into a single integrated device. This combination allows both material transport and intensive mixing to occur simultaneously during one rotation cycle.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The tool achieves efficient material restructuring with reduced risk of overheating and grinding effects, ensuring optimal mixing performance and gentle treatment of the product, even as its rheology changes over time.
Implementation Method 1
the shearing/throwing blade, viewed in the direction of rotation of the shearing/throwing blade, is spaced further from the inner surface of the trough in the front area than in the rear area
Implementation Method 2
the portion of the mass to be processed that does not get between the shearing/throwing blade and the inner wall of the trough during the rotation of the tool
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
A shearing/mixing tool (20) is one of several tools that is preferably mounted on a shaft (2). On both sides, the shaft (2) is rotatably mounted on the end walls of a horizontal drum. The tool (20) has at least one opening (25). Preferably, the shearing/mixing tools (1) are shearing/throwing blades (23) which are formed in a sickle-shaped manner at the end of stirring arms and rotate in the drum at an angle from the transverse axis of the shaft axis in such a way that the tip of the sickle or the spoon-shaped end of the blade (23) is the leading part. The shearing/throwing blade is arranged on an arm (22) made from a web plate that is bent in a Y-shaped manner.