When working many types of industries such as manufacturing, construction or warehousing, one key to building an effective process is moving, storing and disposing materials efficiently. The right tools, including customized self dumping hoppers, can be designed to minimize the time needed to handle resources, save labor time and prevent injuries. There are several ways to customize self-dumping hoppers to improve process management.
Trash and Recycling
Self-dumping hoppers can be designed as stationary or movable trash and recycling stations. Team members can clean throughout the process without physically moving the waste materials. It may also simplify efforts to keep materials from inadvertently falling between machines or under workbenches when cleaning is done immediately. A trash hopper can be set up to separate garbage from different types of recycling to make disposal quicker and potentially less expensive. Lids can keep water or pests out of the materials and help control odors.
Making it easier to keep a workplace clean can create a better work environment for employees, may improve safety records and can bolster the image of efficiency and productivity when in the public eye.
Concrete And Heavy Materials
A concrete hopper can be used for situations that require extra heavy material handling applications upt to 10,000 lbs.
Scrap Collection
When scrap materials are produced as part of the manufacturing processes, specially-designed hoppers can be used to collect and store the fragments. If usable in a different part of the process, scraps can be moved and loaded into the next process without a previous transfer out of the bin.
Special Dimensions
Hoppers can be built in non-standard dimensions to take advantage of spaces within a warehouse or shop that are not used by other equipment. Spaces that would otherwise be wasted can be utilized to make the process more efficient. The length, width, or height of the bin can be modified as needed depending on the function for the bin.
Internal Basket Usage
A self-dumping hopper’s internal basket can be modified for special purposes, including filtration of chemicals or separating organic or inorganic materials from water or other liquids. Designs can use natural gravity to aid in the filtration and minimize maintenance. The container may also be fabricated to dump into appropriate waste containers.
Specialty Uses
Uses in food production have shown to add efficiencies, including transporting empty packaging or dishware to waste or cleaning stations, or handling food ingredients when mixing large quantities for industrial purposes. Using hoppers can also help to keep food preparation areas cleaner when waste is controlled using bins at multiple points in the process. Additionally, self-dumping hoppers can be lined or constructed with materials to handle extreme temperatures.
Dumping Angles
Hoppers handling toxic or risky materials can be built to dump at a 90-degree angle to ensure that all materials exit the bin before it returns to its normal use position. By ensuring that labor is not needed to clean out the bin, labor dollars can be reduced while safety is increased minimizing the handling of dangerous materials.
Specialized dumping winches or spouts can be added when self-dumping hoppers are used to add bulk materials into mixers or other production equipment. Mass flow dumping using either wedge or cone-shaped spouts can be used for certain types of substances, while a funneled flow may be used for dry or granular materials that do not clump.
Materials Movement
While bins are often moved physically using casters, tracks may be built throughout a manufacturing plant or warehouse on which carts bearing self-dumping hoppers can move product or materials. Raw materials may be moved to specific manufacturing stations, with dumping handled automatically or manually. Waste materials may be moved throughout the facility to their final, separated disposal sites. Bins can also be designed to store and move different sizes and weights of materials, including oversized or odd-shaped.
Improved Efficiency
Because self-dumping hoppers can be customized, they can be integrated into many different types of processes to improve efficiency. Hazardous materials can be handled safely without risk of injury. Waste and recycling can be contained at the point of creation and moved to final disposal site. Organic or inorganic raw materials can be stored and mixed with other ingredients without additional handling.
Bin sizes can be customized depending on space constraints and uses. Work facilities may be less cluttered, and employees may be able to work more safely and efficiently, when self-dumping hoppers are used strategically throughout the workplace.