Rotary Magnet Catches Ferrous Material from Food and Dairy Powders

GEA has recently launched its new demountable rotary magnet for use in powdered food and dairy applications such as milk powders, infant formula, nutritional powders, sugar, cocoa powder, beverage powders and food ingredients. The magnets are designed to remove fragments of ferrous metals and work hardened stainless steel contaminants that would otherwise contaminate the product.

The new 12-bar design, featuring many improvements over the previous 8-bar version, has been developed in close cooperation with one of the world’s leading manufacturers of powdered infant formula and in association with the Auckland University of Technology. It uses the highest quality rare earth Neodymium magnets N52 to provide a direct product strength in excess of 10,500 gauss. This removes ferrous material more effectively without any increase in cost. The units can be demounted by hand and are much easier to clean than previous models.
The magnets remove unwanted ferrous material while ensuring uninterrupted running with no bridging or clogging. “Having such a close cooperation from one of our customers has enabled us to deliver the right level of features at an attractive price,” said Shay Xie – Product Manager for GEA Nu-Con. “We have worked hard to eliminate perceived weaknesses in the product while adding features that will significantly increase the benefits to our customers.”
New features include: tool-free disassembly for inspection; hand demountable design for easy cleaning; low profile design; built-in ASU (Air Service Unit); a magnetically coded cut-out switch; and a high polished surface finish (0.76µm Ra. Min.) GEA rotary magnets are designed and manufactured to meet the strict dairy guidelines of USDA and EHEDG standard (European Hygienic & Design Group); and conform with ATEX Class 2 Category 3 Zone 22 Electrics requirements.
Typical applications include detection of ferrous material in the early stage of powder handling, (i.e. at the tipping phase) and also at the final stage of powder handling, before finished product packing (i.e. under gassing hopper). The rotating action of the magnets also breaks up lumps and cohesive materials to ensure an even flow through the system.
Installations currently using the older 8-bar design can be upgraded to the new 12-bar magnets easily and economically.