Ability Fabricators Inc. (Canada) - In today’s diverse market, there are plenty of options when it comes to buying industrial or commercial blenders and mixers. Therefore, it is important to select the right equipment for the application and industry in which it will be used. In this article, Ability Fabricators will review the 7 most important factors to consider when choosing an industrial stainless steel blender for your company.

The different types of blenders and mixers:

In most manufacturing processes, the mixing of materials is a common step and requires the use of industrial blenders or mixers. These materials may be in any state (liquid, solid, viscous) and have different consistencies (coarse powder, abrasive, granules, sticky). These materials should be blended as required to advance the product onto the next stage.
At Ability Fabricators Inc., we produce various types of industrial blenders: V-blenders, Double Cone Blenders, IBC Bin Blenders, and Ribbon Blenders. So, what factors should you consider when buying an industrial stainless steel blender?

The 7 Most Important Factors to Consider When Choosing A Stainless Steel Blender:

1. Precision of Blending:

In most industries, the blending homogeneity is of high importance for the quality of the product. Certain products require heavy blending, whereas others need a gentle blend to maintain its quality.

2. Effortless Charging and Discharging of Materials:

The safety and easiness of charging and discharging are important to reduce the risk of spills and contamination. The risk of material segregation while discharging should also be considered.

3. Batch Size:

Do you need to blend a variety of products with different recipes and various ingredients? Or do you manufacture one recipe in a large volume with very few changes?

4. Ingredients Characteristics:

Will you mix free-flowing powders with similar ingredient particle sizes or cohesive, sticky powders with different particle sizes?

5. Easy to Clean:

The cleaning of the blender can lead to a few hours of downtime. So, choosing the right mixer for your need can maximize your operation time.

6. Little Maintenance and Repair:

The rule of thumb is the fewer moving parts, the less maintenance and repair downtime.

7. Minimal Chances of Contamination:

Look for a blender that is easy to charge, discharge, disassemble, and clean. It decreases the risk of contamination and saves you time.

Selecting the Right Stainless Steel Blender:

The V-Blender is used to create a homogeneous mixture between solid granules and powders. It is suitable for use with fragile materials but less suitable for mixing particles of different densities and sizes. The blender’s conical shape enables it to produce a uniform mixture that can easily be discharged through the butterfly valve. It is also easy to clean.

The Double Cone Blender also ensures an efficient homogeneous mix of granules and powders. It blends efficiently with no material accumulation. The shape of the blender offers easy discharge. It is very popular within the pharmaceutical and chemical industries.

The IBC Bin Blender has a fast blend time and does not require lengthy clean-up due to the fact that the product does not come into contact with the blender. Cross-contamination is also eliminated. This makes it cost and time effective for companies manufacturing multiple product lines.

The Ribbon Blender is very efficient at mixing so you can reach a good consistency in your final product. It is often less expensive than a double-cone blender of comparable capacity. But it requires more time for cleaning so is not a good solution for working with sticky or tacky mixtures. It is commonly used in the food industry.