Along with the obvious advantage of seeing first-hand how well your product transfers, an additional benefit to conducting product testing is the opportunity it gives both you and the equipment manufacturer to develop new technical solutions to solve any potential problems that may present themselves during the testing phase. Overcoming hurdles you encounter early on will give you the assurance you need when making your ultimate decision to purchase the equipment.
Every application is unique in some way, so the ability to modify a process to create a customized solution can play a key role in your decision-making if in fact any customization is required to provide a solution to your process requirements.
At De Dietrich Process Systems, we provide Powder Pump rental units for testing at your site, as well as in-house testing (on or off-site testing depends on your product physiognomies, among other factors).
In-house testing at our Charlotte, NC facility is conducted using QVF glass Powder Pump units. Testing with a glass unit gives you a unique perspective on what is going on inside the Powder Pump and allows us to observe the powder behavior and see how quickly the unit fills. The added visibility this provides helps us optimize your transfer settings and accurately determine:
- How fast and far the powder will move
- If there is a serious risk of plugging the transfer hose
- Where to set the initial cycle times
- Does the material blind the filter element quickly
- Does the filter media capture the particles efficiently
- How much gas pressure does it take to discharge the material
- Does the material discharge easily or bridge across the outlet valve
- Can the transfer hose be cleaned out easily
When we test at the customer’s site with our rental equipment (usually because the material is too toxic to easily transport and test at our facility), the customer learns about:
- All of the above (but not as easily as with the glass units, due to limited visibility)
- How the equipment is installed and operated
- Buy-in from operators who might benefit most from reduced PPE requirements or ergonomic improvements
- Improved safety and house-keeping by keeping material contained during transfer