Mixing is possibly the oldest and most widely used of all technical processes. It is carried out in virtually every industry handling or processing powders with other ingredients and there are very few products used in everyday life that don’t have a mixing process as part of their manufacture. Mixing can therefore be considered as one of the essential technological processes. To avoid problems of poorly or unmixed material, with the associated quality issues and unnecessary operating costs, there are a few factors that should be considered before the purchase of a new mixer.
So which powder mixer? First, and most important, is the material and recipe formulation to be mixed. The mechanical properties of the ingredient parts of the mix, together with their particle size, shape and flow characteristics all have a bearing on the mixer selection process and will help to determine the most appropriate type of machine for the application. The production requirement is also an important fact to consider as this will affect the machine size and type, either batch or continuous. The working capacity of the mixer selected will take account of the total required production capacity together with the desired level of automation and time and labor available for operating the machine.
It has been said that anything can be mixed in a bucket with a wooden spoon, but this simple expedient may be considered impractical for more than a bucket full of product. There are several different types of mixing machinery on the market and it is quite possible that more than one type of machine will be capable of handling a given application.
The challenge is to find the machine that is best suited to you, your process and your budget.
Although the dictionary definitions of mixers like the ribbon mixer and blenders are one and the same, as one which mixes by virtue of a moving mixing element (agitator) within a static vessel and a blender as one that mixes (or blends) by virtue of a tumbling action of the vessel itself the tradition established among the majority of mixer manufacturers is to define a mixer.