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:

Iritron and Schneider Electric expand strategic mining partnership
Iritron Editor's Choice News
Iritron and Schneider Electric are rapidly expanding their Mining, Minerals & Metals partnership across key mining regions in Africa.

Read more...
The role of analogue gauges in a digital world
SA Gauge Editor's Choice Pneumatics & Hydraulics
With so much focus on digital systems, remote monitoring and automation, it’s easy to assume that traditional analogue gauges have become outdated. Yet if you step into almost any plant, mine or processing facility, you’ll still find them in daily use, quietly doing their job without fuss.

Read more...
Case History 200: The final case history – desuperheater control problem.
Michael Brown Control Engineering Editor's Choice Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
For this final article I have chosen to relate a problem that existed in a desuperheater temperature control on a boiler in a petrochemical refinery.

Read more...
PC-based control technology in additive manufacturing
Beckhoff Automation Editor's Choice Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
As an open control platform, PC-based control supports different engineering approaches, including low-code programming. The machine builder, Additive Industries uses this to create the code for the TwinCAT runtime of its 3D printers.

Read more...
SEW-EURODRIVE drives innovation at automotive plant
SEW-EURODRIVE Editor's Choice Motion Control & Drives
[Sponsored] A major automotive manufacturer in Gauteng has boosted its operational efficiency, safety and energy savings with the installation of SEW-EURODRIVE’s advanced MOVIGEAR mechatronic drive system in its newly expanded buffering zone.

Read more...
Time-sensitive networking
RJ Connect Editor's Choice Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
In this article, we will explore what is driving the rise of time-sensitive networking, how it is reshaping industrial efficiency, the challenges when deploying this technology, and ways to tackle these challenges.

Read more...
Loop Signature 30: Nonlinearity in control loops (Part 1)
Michael Brown Control Engineering Editor's Choice Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
If nonlinearity occurs it means that if one is to carry on controlling with the same response to changes in load or setpoint, then the tuning of the controller will also need to be adjusted to meet the new conditions.

Read more...
Precision in paper processing
VEGA Controls SA Editor's Choice Level Measurement & Control
Paper manufacturing is a demanding process that relies on consistency, precision and control at every stage. The VEGABAR 82 pressure transmitter is well-suited to these harsh environments.

Read more...
Ensuring clean and safe water
Endress+Hauser South Africa Editor's Choice Analytical Instrumentation & Environmental Monitoring
Endress+Hauser’s comprehensive range of disinfection sensors is designed to monitor and control disinfectant levels in water treatment processes.

Read more...
A South African legacy in telemetry
Interlynx-SA Editor's Choice Industrial Wireless
Telemetry is becoming a vital component of industrial strategy, allowing companies to harness real-time data to optimise processes and reduce waste. One company leading this technological shift is Interlynx.

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