AIP Conference Proceedings 2233, 020010 (2020); https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0001380 2233, 020010
© 2020 Author(s).
Design and implementation of a kaolin feeding system for a tire mixer machine
Cite as: AIP Conference Proceedings 2233, 020010 (2020); https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0001380 Published Online: 05 May 2020
Dyg Farah Aidha Binti Awg Idrus, Douglas Tong Kum Tien, and Md Suhaimi Md Yusof
Design and Implementation of a Kaolin Feeding System for a Tire Mixer Machine
Dyg Farah Aidha Binti Awg Idrus
1, Douglas Tong Kum Tien
1, a), Md Suhaimi Md Yusof
21School of Engineering, Faculty of Innovation and Technology, Taylor’s University Lakeside Campus, 47500 Subang Jaya, Malaysia.
2Engineering, Preventive Maintenance, Mix & Prep, Continental Tyre PJ Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. 4, Jalan Tandang, 46050 Petaling Jaya, Malaysia.
a) corresponding author: [email protected]
Abstract. The article presents a research project for tire manufacturing company which is to design an automated kaolin feeding system to disperse 20 grams or less of kaolin powders that can be synchronized to a tire mixer machine. The Conceive-Design-Implement-Operate (CDIO) approach was used in the design process which two designs was made from to compare the feasibility of the machine and reduce man-power. Conceive process consists of the Capture customers’
service requirements (CRs) approach were obtain by interviewing the Head of Preventive Maintenance of Mixing and Preparation of tires and the production team in a tire manufacturing in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. There are two designs made in the design process and the second design was chosen because of how well the concept satisfied the objective requirement.
This system consists of three different components; the storage of the kaolin powders, the weighing scale that provides the amount of kaolin powders required and the dispensing application to dispense the powders homogeneously to the mixer door. A pneumatic system is also added to disperse the kaolin powders from the machine to the mixer, flowing through a pipe. The implementation process is when all the components are tested and assemble. The results are made by testing the system for three times in a day during a working day and it can be concluded that automated kaolin feeding system performs better than manually pouring it every application. Every application of kaolin was abled to control within 20 grams as tabulated in the results. The application of kaolin powders as a non-stick coating for the feeding door was performed over 200 times daily, manually by the user.
INTRODUCTION
Kaolin (China Clay) is a mineral filler with propitious potential for use in a rubber reinforcement. Even though kaolin is primarily used to reinforce hardness, tensile strength and tear resistance to the properties of rubbers, it is also used as a non-stick layer or coating to surface affected which rubbers are invariably adherent. In tire manufacturing, the first step to making a tire is the mixing of the raw materials, that consists of natural rubber, synthetic rubber and carbon black [1]. Tire manufacturing company have been using kaolin powders by pouring or sprinkling it onto the mixer feeding door to prevent the raw materials from sticking to it, just before the mixing process, shown in Figure 1.
This process application is performed to prevent wastage of raw materials and may also cause blockage when the raw material adheres at the door of the mixer.
FIGURE 1. The current Kaolin powder application
However, this application of pouring the kaolin powders manually by the user was proven to be unreliable and ineffective. This is because the kaolin powders are not part of the recipe of tire manufacturing and overloading the kaolin powders into the mixture will affect the properties of the end-product negatively. From the interviews made with the tire production team, at present, the kaolin powders are stored in a bucket with a scooper at the side of the mixer. As shown in Figure 2, this manual application of kaolin powders to the mixer door is undoubtedly contaminating the mixer area which is unhealthy for the users as prolonged and or massive inhalation of kaolin powder may cause severe health issues such as lung fibrosis due to the crystalline silica properties in kaolin [2]. After various tests and discussions, the company has resolved to limit the application of kaolin powders as a barrier for the rubber with the mixer door to only use 20 grams or less per batch without disrupting the recipe of the mixture.
The aim of this preliminary study is to design and implement a Kaolin Feeding System that is automated which synchronize competently with the mixer machine, providing promising potential to dispense 20 grams of kaolin powders effectively. The Kaolin Feeding System must be designed to be ergonomically friendly for the users and is able to store great quantity of kaolin powders to decrease the frequency of the users of getting in contact with the powders and without contaminating the area.
(a) Kaolin Powders Storage in a Bucket (b) Bucket Placement Beside the Mixer FIGURE 2. The current Kaolin powder storage
THE DESIGN PROCESS
Designing an automated kaolin feeding system, which have not previously existed can be challenging because it has nothing to compare to, in terms of effectiveness and reliability. This research project focuses on the application of the Conceive- Design-Implement-Operate (CDIO) approach which directly serves the tire manufacturing production team. CDIO address the requirements like interdisciplinary skills, learning ability, adapting ability, communication skill, proposal and target definition skill, and assessment skills [3, 4]. Conceive consists of defining users or customers needs, along with the technology that suits the regulations. This process is when concepts and ideas are built by using the thinking techniques. Design process is when designs are created by drawings, to plan how the product will look like. Implement is the transformation of the designs made into the product and tested with validation and lastly operate whereas the product is evaluated.
Conceive
This research and finalized design are aimed to better and safer work experience for the users of the mixer machines.
In order to capture the specific requirements of this system towards the users, a Capture Customer’s service requirement (SRs) approach is equally as important as analyzing the functional requirement to design a good product.
The service requirements can be apprehended through users’ feedbacks, questionnaires etc. The service requirements are either directly or indirectly stated as of the operational requirements, performance expectations for installation/commissioning and economic constraints [5]. Hence, it is important to interview the relevant staff to understand the overall view of the mixing process, how is it done initially and how many people are involved when using the mixer and applying the kaolin powder on the users experience with considering technology and regulation of the company.
Making observations are as important, and evidence and data should be recorded such as taking pictures of the initial environment and area that was affected and process. For one mixer, the application of kaolin powders as a non- stick coating for the feeding door was performed over 200 times daily, manually by the user. Hence, comparison and analyzes can be done of the manual and automated application of the kaolin powders to the mixer door. Several studies [6] shows that the muscle fatigue can evolve during highly repetitive low-load tasks. From the hundreds of kaolin application by a single user, this may lead to the development of disorders in wrists and hand due to the highly repetitive hand-arm work [6]. Almost all repetitive tasks involve a combination of both rhythmic and static muscle activity. The postural stabilization of the arms and hands are important for carrying out all the most unnatural movements [7]. Hence, the new system is designed to act as a storage that is able to store an abundant of kaolin powder at a time and the machine will be able to dispense the kaolin powders automatically as and when it is needed which removes the pouring the kaolin powders manually completely and reduce overall time of the mixing process.
From the information gathered from the interviews and observations, brainstorming was done generate the concept of the system. The system is divided into three main elements which are the following:
1. A storage to preserve an abundant of kaolin powders to avoid users and water from being in contact with the powders regularly.
2. A component to provide 20 grams of kaolin powders.
3. A automated system to dispense and spray the 20 grams of kaolin powders to the mixing door.
Design
There were two designs made during the designing process. Figure 3 shows the first design of the kaolin feeding system. The shape of the hopper was a made like a cone-like shape to store the kaolin and the stirrer to control the amount of kaolin needed. This concept involves motors and some programming to operate this design. The limitation of this concept is that it would not be able to store much kaolin. It is essential for this feeding system to be able to store a great amount of kaolin because one of the objectives of this project is to make sure that the kaolin is well-kept. The greater the amount of kaolin that can be stored in the machine, the better it will be for the users, to decrease the exposure of kaolin powders to the users. Increasing the size of this cone-like machine will create another challenge as it will disrupt the stability of this machine as it is already top-heavy. Although this machine is easy to build and
(a) Overall concept (b) Stirrer
FIGURE 3. The concept of the first design and the stirrer
The second design was form as an improved version of the first design which is shown in Figure 4. It is design bigger and designed to be a lot more stable, compared to the first design. It consists of a hopper, with a vibrating conveyor to transport the kaolin powder from the hopper to the weighing scale and a control panel. The kaolin will be stored at the hopper with a flat baffle and the bottom part of the hopper and vibrating conveyor gradually carries the controlled amount of kaolin powders to the weighing scale. A control panel is added to the second design to ease the user when using this feeding machine where the users can easily control and adjust the amount of the kaolin powders.
A pneumatic box that is filled with pneumatic equipment such as pneumatic solenoid valve and filer regulator is placed at the bottom of the design to dispense the 20 grams of kaolin powders to mixing door, shown in Figure 4.
In numerous fields of industry, vibratory conveyors are used to transport poisonous, hot, chemical aggressive bulk materials and represent the chase hanged and supported to the fixed section [8]. It is also used to transport bulk materials over short to medium distances and is capable of conveying various range of material types. Vibrating conveyor are generally one of the most efficient ways to move bulk materials because of its flow-promoting properties of vibrations motions that is integrated with the ability of moving removing even distribution of material from a hopper opening [9].
The most suitable design on designing and implementation of a kaolin powder feeding system would have to be the second design. This is mainly because of the two different concepts on both designs of providing the 20grams of kaolin powder for every application. The first design relies heavily on the funnel shaped hopper and the stirrer to prepare the 20 grams, where else second design has a simple flat baffle to control the flow of the kaolin powders before it flows to the vibrating conveyor to the weighing scale. The second design will not have a problem with powder compaction compared to the first design. According to [10], it is proven that powder compaction can be avoided by adding a certain amount of concentration of glidant into the kaolin powders which could work for the first design.
However, the company does not approve on adding other components into the powders to avoid it disrupting the recipe of the tire mixing and the extra work of adding the glidant every application.
FIGURE 4. The sketch of the second design
The kaolin powders will be placed and stored at the hopper and the flowability of the kaolin powders will be controlled by the baffle. The kaolin powders will fall onto the vibrating conveyor that is underneath the hopper as shown in Figure 5. The vibrating conveyor gradually carry the controlled amount of kaolin powders and drops it into the chute. A weighing mechanism will be placed right before the chute to weigh the 20grams of powders and then release to the pipe that is connected to the pneumatic box to dispense and spray the kaolin powders to the mixer door.
FIGURE 5. The orthographic drawings of the second design
Implement
The different components of the second design was made and tested. The vibrating conveyor will have a forced vibration which occurs when the motor and load cell, which is the external force is apply to the system. One of the tests that was carried out was to analyze the reaction of the kaolin powder consistency with different kinds of metals.
Kaolin has a flour-like consistency and milled to be ultra-fine. As a result, the kaolin tends to leave excess residue on the surface that tends to stick on the surface of a stainless steel. Hence, the same test was carried out by pouring the kaolin powder on a chrome plating material as a chrome layer is known to be used as protection against corrosion, wear and ease clean procedures. The results came out positive as the kaolin powders just slide down smoothly it is poured down on the chrome plating surface compared to a stainless-steel material without the chrome plating.
From Figure 6, it is shown that the vibrating conveyor is assembled and consists of various components such as motor, frame to keep the kaolin powders in place and springs.
(a) Top view (b) Side view
FIGURE 6. The implementation of the vibrating conveyor
A load cell that is suitable for this kaolin feeding system would be the micro load cell (CLZ635) due to its weight and specifications. The weight of the micros load cell must be as light as from 0-5kg. A load cell is recognized as a force sensing module which consist of tiny elements known as strain gauge, placed fixedly at a suitable locations f the structure. It is used to measure the given force while neglecting the other forces that is being applied to it. This strain gauge load cell uses a housing material of aluminum alloy with a capacity of 5kg and a dimension of 55.25 x 12.7 x 12.7 mm. The precision of the load cell is at 0.05% with a rated output of 1.0±0.15 mv/V [11].
The pneumatic box will be place at the bottom of the system as shown in Figure 7. The pneumatic equipment are as follow.
1. Fitting 10mm X 3/3 straight.
2. Tubing 10mm Polyurethane.
3. Pneumatic solenoid valve 2pos/3way, 24Vdc, 0.15 to 0.8MPa 4. Fitter and regulator.
5. Stop Valve.
(a) Pneumatic configuration (b) Side view of the machine
FIGURE 7. The pneumatic placement
RESULTS
In order to determine if the design system is suitable and effective to dispense kaolin powder to the mixer, it is important to ensure the results match the aim of this project. One of the main objectives is to automate a system that is able to dispense 20 grams of kaolin powders per application. Table 1 shows the results taken in a day for every three hours in nine hours working day. This is to ensure that the machine is dispensing 20 grams of kaolin powders or less consistently. It is shown that the amount of kaolin powders disperse is consistently 20 grams and below every time.
TABLE 1: Dispersal of Kaolin every three hours in a day
Another objective of this project is to design a system that is able to store kaolin powders which is why from the design process, the hopper of this system is designed to be big. A big hopper is crucial, so it is able to store more kaolin powders, which decreases the amount of time the users need to get in contact with the powders and keeping the area of the mixers clean, as pouring the kaolin manually application is remove completely. By having one machine to store and dispense the kaolin powders each application will not only reduces the exposure of the users with the kaolin powders daily, it also reduces the man power work which may made the mixing process of the tire manufacturing faster and efficient with the exact measurement required. The finalized machine is shown in Figure 8.
Period, T (mins) Amount of Dispersal of Kaolin (g)
0 19.6
180 20
360 19.8
540 19.8
(a) Overall machine (b) Machine attached with the pipe to the mixer
FIGURE 8. The finalized machine
CONCLUSIONS
In conclusion, a background study is conducted regarding the development of an automated kaolin feeding system for the tire mixer of a tire manufacturing plant. This involved visiting the plant and interviewing the relevant personnel in order to understand the current challenges. The proposed design of the automated kaolin feeding system intended to dispense 20 grams of kaolin powder to the mixer door without contaminating the area and reduced work load of users.
This will allow accomplishing continuous dispensing the exact amount of kaolin powders per application which is synchronize to the boiler and the mixer.
From the two designs made, the latest design was chosen as it is more durable due to its shape and the flowability of the powders. The shape and size of the second design will decrease and could possibly avoid powder compaction at the narrow part of the hopper. Moreover, by adding a vibrating conveyor in the system, the flow of the powders is controllable as the needed amount per application is only 20 grams. By keeping all the components which are, the vibrating conveyor, the weighing scale in one place before the powders are sprayed to the mixing door, contamination will decrease. The idea of innovating a kaolin feeding system originated from the experience acquired by the users and realization to improve the working environment. The results have shown the amount of kaolin powders used are constantly around 20 grams every application due to the big storage of the hopper, the mixer area is remained clean.
The feeding system could also be applied in other industrial process that includes any dispensing powders or any granular materials such as food, civil engineering materials or pharmaceutical [12]. As a recommendation, Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) should be implemented for the automated powder dispensing system so that it can be operated at minimum cost and achieve maximum operating life [13].
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