Editor's Choice


Thor’s hammer of pneumatic knockers

November 2023 Editor's Choice Pneumatics & Hydraulics

Neu Matics specialises in the design and installation of pneumatic control systems and the manufacture of cylinders and control panels. The company offers services ranging from pneumatic logic system and PLC design, to technical advice on all aspects of pneumatics, including bus electronics. It also acts as sole distributor for a range of internationally recognised brands, and one of these is the pneumatic knocker from singold, a specialist in material flow solutions with over 50 years experience in bulk material technology.


Pneumatic knockers are a type of cylinder that delivers a knock or impact at variable intervals in order to make bulk materials flow better. They are used on containers and silos with material flow problems such as residue buildup, where high-speed vibrators or shakers with soft sinusoidal oscillations are not effective. They reliably remove product residues, caking, and shaft and bridge buildups in a wide variety of manufacturing applications. They are effective, reliable and inexpensive.

What are the advantages of pneumatic knockers?

Have you ever walked through your plant and seen impact marks on cyclones, bins or silos? In all those cases where the flow of material was restarted with a hammer blow, a pneumatic knocker could have been used more efficiently and with less impact on the material. Unlike shakers, vibrators, and even interval knockers, a pneumatic magnetic system knocker can knock on demand, whenever it is needed.

This provides the following advantages:

• For some products, constant knocking tends to condense the material flow rather than promote it. A single, targeted blow is much more effective here than a vibrator.

• Well-directed knocking contributes to noise protection in the factory.

• The impact from the singold knocker only generates a vibration with a large amplitude and does not go through any self-resonance. In contrast to vibrators, this protects the container and the knocker in the best possible way.

• Compressed air consumption is reduced.

• There is no imbalance as with vibrators.

The knocker generates a shock that causes the container wall to vibrate in a decaying manner. The number of vibrations is lower than when using shakers and vibrators, and therefore the risk of vibration cracks is also lower.

To achieve this, there is a magnet inside the knocker. When the pressure of the supplied compressed air overcomes the holding force of the magnet, the knocker is triggered, accelerated very strongly by the compressed air. It strikes the impact pin with great force, which transfers the impact to the container wall. It is operated with a three/two-way valve so that the pressure chamber of the pneumatic magnetic system knocker can be vented. A spring pushes the impact piston back to its original position, and the knocker is then ready for the next application.

The singold pneumatic knocker is low wear, durable and easy to maintain. It also consumes considerably less energy than an interval knocker. Weighing systems for metering operations are also less stressed with a pneumatic knocker than with a vibrator. This reduces the risk of wear-related damage.

What makes singold’s pneumatic knocker so special?

In no performance class is there a more efficient or more powerful pneumatic knocker than the singold pneumatic knocker. Thanks to its ingenious design, the singold pneumatic magnetic knocker produces the greatest possible impact with the lowest possible dead weight.


Credit(s)



Share this article:
Share via emailShare via LinkedInPrint this page

Further reading:

Enhancing cybersecurity for connected serial devices
RJ Connect Editor's Choice
Industrial network security is not a luxury option, it is a necessity. Moxa’s secure serial device servers and protocol gateways have helped our customers ramp up their connectivity security in a variety of industrial applications.

Read more...
STEMulator – a gift to the youth of the nation
Editor's Choice News
STEMulator is a groundbreaking virtual platform designed to ignite the spark of curiosity in young minds and stimulate their interest in STEM subjects.

Read more...
Innovate, accelerate, dominate
Festo South Africa Editor's Choice Pneumatics & Hydraulics
Festo’s latest innovations, revealed through the Ramp Up Campaign, offer a blueprint for performance excellence, using the anatomy of a race car as an analogy to simplify and powerfully communicate how their technologies address industry challenges.

Read more...
Loop signature 29: Averaging or surge level control
Editor's Choice Flow Measurement & Control
There are many processes where it is undesirable for the load to suddenly change quickly, for example in the paper industry. Examples of level control have involved reasonably fast tuning. An example of a level loop tuned this way and responding to a step change in setpoint is given.

Read more...
Advanced telemetry solutions
Editor's Choice Industrial Wireless
Namibia is one of the driest countries in sub-Saharan Africa, with an average annual rainfall below 250 mm. To address this challenge, the Namibia Water Corporation has employed one of southern Africa’s most powerful and well-proven telemetry solutions, designed and manufactured by SSE/Interlynx-SA.

Read more...
Navigating the future of intralogistics
LAPP Southern Africa Editor's Choice
In the rapidly evolving landscape of global markets, the demand for agility, efficiency and scalability in intralogistics has never been more critical. At LAPP Southern Africa, we stand at the forefront of this transformation, offering cutting-edge connection solutions tailored to the dynamic needs of intralogistics.

Read more...
Cutting-edge robotics and smart manufacturing solutions
Yaskawa Southern Africa Editor's Choice
Yaskawa Southern Africa made a compelling impact at this year’s Africa Automation and Technology Fair.

Read more...
A cure for measurement headaches in contract manufacturing
VEGA Controls SA Editor's Choice
A contract manufacturing organisation provides support to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in the manufacturing of medications, formulations and substances. VEGA’s measurement solutions offer accuracy and reliability for monitoring levels and pressures during the manufacturing process.

Read more...
PC-based control for a food capsule and pod packaging machine
Beckhoff Automation Editor's Choice
For TME, a machine builder specialising in the packaging of powdered foods, Beckhoff’s PC-based control technology offers unlimited opportunities when it comes to performance and innovative capacity in terms of flexibility, scalability and openness.

Read more...
Simple and efficient level measurement in the mining, minerals and metals industries
Endress+Hauser South Africa Editor's Choice Level Measurement & Control
Measuring devices in the mining, minerals and metals industries face the challenge of varying material states and long distances in measurement height. Endress+Hauser’s answer to these challenges is the new Micropilot family.

Read more...









While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained herein, the publisher and its agents cannot be held responsible for any errors contained, or any loss incurred as a result. Articles published do not necessarily reflect the views of the publishers. The editor reserves the right to alter or cut copy. Articles submitted are deemed to have been cleared for publication. Advertisements and company contact details are published as provided by the advertiser. Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd cannot be held responsible for the accuracy or veracity of supplied material.




© Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd | All Rights Reserved