ROSS Mixer Articles
Mix it Up! The right mixers and blenders are key to a successful processing business
Blenders and mixers are critical to meeting bulk material processing requirements at most food processing plants, with their ability to mix or blend dry, wet, and viscous food ingredients for transformation into high‐quality products. Therefore, choosing the right equipment is essential for process optimisation and product consistency, a subject that Erin Dillon, media and marketing coordinator at ROSS, a manufacturer of mixing equipment, knows a lot about.
Understanding Modern Storage Tank Design & Fabrication
Ever wonder how industries manage to store massive amounts of liquids, gases, and even powders? The answer lies in some pretty impressive storage tanks and pressure vessels. In the expansive world of powder and bulk solids handling these storage systems are sophisticated, well-engineered solutions that are integral to maintaining product integrity, ensuring efficient material flow and worker safety. Custom-fabricated storage tanks, reactors, and pressure vessels are widely utilized across chemical, pharmaceutical, food processing, and energy production sectors.
Improved Mixing Performance Drives Innovation in Battery Development
Effective slurry mixing for electrode material has a significant effect on the performance of a lithium-ion battery fabricated downstream. A collaboration improved the slurry-mixing ability and improved the quality of the electrode materials.
The Artistry of Making THC Powders
Le Herbe has spent nine years mastering the art and science of nanoemulsions to create ready-to-mix cannabis powders. Help with scaling has come from specialized spray drying and mixing equipment.
Optimizing 3D Printing: High-Quality Feedstock and Advanced Mixing Solutions
The 3D printing industry has revolutionized the way we design and manufacture a wide range of products, redefining the landscape of product design and manufacturing across the process industries. From the precision required for aerospace components to the intricacies of dental devices, and even innovations in battery manufacturing and housing structures, 3D printing has proven to be a versatile and dynamic force.
In the mix
As F&B manufacturers adapt to changing market demands, mixing and blending technologies are continuously advancing to meet evolving challenges. FoodBev speaks to Erin Dillon, media and marketing coordinator at ROSS Mixers, to explore the key role these processing techniques play in beverage production.
Gearing Up for Personal Care Production Success: Dynamics and Equipment
As most product developers know, cosmetics manufacturing is largely dependent on mixing. Virtually every product, regardless of formula type, requires the perfect blending of ingredients to achieve the desired appearance, texture, performance and shelf life. Whether developing a creamy lotion, a hydrating lipstick, an anti- aging face mask, a setting powder or a gel serum, getting the right mix at all stages of production is critical.
Optimizing mixing efficiency: 5 strategies for industrial manufacturers
Efficient mixing is critical for reducing energy consumption, improving product quality, and minimizing operational costs.
Generations in the Mixing
Over the last few years, smaller family owned, U.S.-based processing companies have experienced a jolt of growth brought on by the pandemic and global supply chain disruptions. Spending on consumer goods surged against a backdrop of trade restrictions, rising freight rates, and persistent logistics challenges. Local production lines and manufacturing plants have to effectively keep pace with the widening demand. Companies with the ability to be agile and adjust to these rising needs nd themselves in the market for bigger, better equipment and more manufacturing space. Such is the case for Chem-Pak, a mid-sized contract packager of aerosol and liquid products as well as a producer of specialty coatings, consumer, and industrial chemical products.
How to Get the Best Blend: Powder Induction Techniques
Following the pandemic's supply chain disruptions and increased raw material pricing, manufacturers will prioritize cost savings and efficiency in 2023. One key issue that customers repeatedly ask is how can they quickly and effectively introduce powdered ingredients into liquid. The difficulties of combining dry and wet components impose several constraints.
Efficiency in bulk solids mixing: Ribbon versus tumble blenders
The current manufacturing landscape is rife with supply chain issues that generally fall out of a manufacturer’s control. To ease the strain on production lines, it is key to have processing equipment that is efficient and able to support growing demand. Choosing the right equipment can be daunting, but due diligence up front can pay great dividends in the long run. For bulk solids mixing processes, several factors must be taken into consideration, such as plant size, budget and batch size, as well as the bulk density and friability of the materials being mixed.
Mixing it up
In the food and beverage industry, high-quality mixing and blending equipment can improve the versatility of a product. FoodBev spoke to Erin Dillon, media and marketing coordinator at mixing, blending and dispersion equipment company, ROSS, about this important sector.
Baking and Snack: Featured Technical Expert Q&A
Christine Banaszek, of Charles Ross & Son Company, provides critical insight on mixing and blending equipment for the baking industry by answering a few common industry questions.
Enabling Versatile Adhesive Solutions for the Automotive Industry
For the Parker LORD team, it was critical that their future manufacturing footprint remained flexible around a host of chemistries so they could continue to respond quickly to customer needs. As part of this facility expansion and upgrade, the plant increased capabilities for precision manufacturing, automated batch management, and data fingerprinting. This was made possible with ROSS mixers, blenders, and dispersers across the sealant, adhesive, and emulsions manufacturing lines.
Paddle Blenders Mix Powders on a Bulk Scale
In these unprecedented times, the growing need for companies in the manufacturing space to have the ability to produce products in the US and have greater control of the supply chain has never been more important. When Intermountain Blending & Filling (IBF), a full-service contract manufacturer based in Idaho’s Treasure Valley, was looking for new processing equipment to compound a complex product, they turned to NY-based Charles Ross and Son Co., a leader in mixing and blending technology.
The Art and Science of Cannabis Powder
ROSS Mixers has teamed up with cannabis industry pioneer Le Herbe in "The Art and Science of Cannabis Powder," a new white paper that covers best practices and equipment for producing cannabis-infused products and functional ingredients. The paper provides an overview of emerging technologies that are revolutionizing delivery of bioactive compounds like cannabinoids, terpenoids and flavonoids. Liquid nanoemulsions are the typical delivery systems for food and beverage formulations infused with THC or CBD, but converting the emulsions to cannabis powder offers numerous advantages including versatility, lighter weight and longer shelf life, according to Le Herbe. Cannabis powder can be used in coffee, tea, juice, chocolate, pastries, baked goods, soups, cosmetics, and much more.
Dietary Supplement Manufacturer Strengthens Blending Capacity
Stratum Nutrition sticks with a winning formulation when increasing the blending capacity at its Missouri manufacturing plant.
A Mixer Makes a Better Sunscreen
For this zinc oxide supplier to the cosmetics and sunscreen industry, changing from a conventional mixer to an ultra-high-shear mixer led to improved dispersions, increased production capacities, and reduced electricity and labor costs. Featured in Chemical Engineering.
Why & How to Buy Reconditioned Equipment
Limitations in capital spending, especially in the present environment, do not necessarily have to result in a development freeze. From a processing point of view, companies have a number of creative options available for ensuring that methods and product quality are continually being made better.
Vacuum Mixing Techniques
By convention, any closed system with internal pressure significantly lower than atmospheric pressure is considered a vacuum. And though its true concept is unattainable, vacuum serves as an indispensable tool to modern processes and technologies.
Vacuum Blending and Drying Technology - A Second Look
Although often presupposed nowadays, one of the most important underlying processing variables in a mixing operation is vacuum. Vacuum technologywithin the context of mixing, as well as drying, has been a game-changer since it was originally pioneered in the 1970s. Blending and drying under vacuum pervades a wide range of solids processing. Here we review four fundamental blending and drying systems and the benefits they offer in conjunction with vacuum.
By switching blenders, a Florida supplement maker found the right balance for fast growth.
Total Nutrition Technology’s custom-blended supplements enable retailers to supercharge their smoothie recipes, offer a wide variety of menu choices, and keep up with changing market trends. Learn how the company's ROSS Ribbon Blender accelerated their blending, discharge and changeover times. Featured in Nutritional Outlook.
Mixing System speeds up flavor emulsion manufacturing
Technology Flavor & Fragrances (TFF) uses a variety of gums to produce its flavor emulsions. The gums are broken down and dispersed in a water-based solution, which enables them to encapsulate the flavor droplets and stabilize the emulsion.
Understanding Surfactants and New Methods of Dispersing
Surfactants act as foaming agents, emulsifiers, and dispersants, suspending gases, immiscible liquids, or solids, respectively, in water or some otherliquid.
Specialty Equipment and Techniques for Dispersing Ceramic Powders
The dispersion of ceramic powders into some form of fluid vehicle is a near-universal procedure in the manufacture of ceramics and composites. Through this operation, different ceramic systems are blended together, brought to intimate contact with additives, and transformed into a material that can easily be shaped into complex geometries or applied as a coating. The dispersion step is critical because any inconsistencies or agglomerates usually cannot be corrected in downstream processing and directly affect finished product quality.
Simplify Your Mixing Operation
A well-developed mixing strategy is essential to production efficiency. Ideally, mixing equipment and procedures are evaluated periodically, as production needs change or when new formulations come through the pipeline. However, mixing is often overlooked in terms of upgrades, at least until it becomes a source of drastic losses whether because of low yield, recurring contamination, inconsistent product quality or excessive labor hours.
Steer For the Fast Track
Even for those operating in already lucrative markets, assessing the details of an operation and overall production methods can reveal more cost-effective methods that translate to clear market gains. Learn how a contract manufacturer of natural and organic personal care products including body washes, shampoos, soaps and lotions, increased both capacity and product quality by adopting high-speed injection technology to solubilize and disperse ingredients.
Selecting the Right Blade for your Viscous Mixing Needs
The key to solving tough blending problems and meeting ambitious goals for throughput and product quality is often unconventional thinking. Learn how ROSS Double Planetary Mixers function as vacuum driers and granulators at Vista Metals, Inc., a manufacturer of tungsten carbide preforms.
Going All In
One company's choice to bring manufacturing in house...and the equipment-buying decisions involved
Ribbon Blender Helps Granola Maker Quadruple Production
New equipment installation provides faster mixing and repeatable results while enhancing overall plant efficiency.
Mixing Sustainability and Innovation
As continued research and development races to meet the growing appetite for sustainable adhesives, manufacturers must also push innovations in processing that reduce both waste and energy consumption.
Reliable ribbon blenders help to spice up batch processing
Whether for a secret family recipe, a BBQ competition or a meat processor, St. Louis-based McCarthy Spice and Blends Company processes batches from 5 to 2,500 lbs. with its mixers and ribbon blenders.
Reduce Labor Costs in Your Mixing Operation: Five essential considerations for optimization
When done efficiently, mixing normally constitutes only a minor percentage of the total manufacturing cost. Inefficient mixing, on the other hand, can be an expensive operation that can hurt the bottom line. Poor mixing can cause lost value due to low yield, product contamination, corrections, reworks, prolonged cycle times and intensive cleanup. On the balance sheets, these negative consequences of poor mixing translate to increased use of raw materials and energy but perhaps more significantly, they lead to higher labor costs. In reviewing your current or future mixing process, here are five essential points to consider.
How well do you know your Ribbon Blender?
The batch ribbon blender's functionality and affordability all contribute to its widespread use within the world of baking and snack foods. It is commonly used for dry blends such as bread, cake and muffin mixes, flavorings, spices and trail mixes as well as for wet applications such as extruded cereals and snack foods.
New directions in high speed solid-liquid mixing
Instead of adding powders from the top of an agitated batch, why not introduce them sub-surface?
Choosing the Right Blender for manufacturing Natural Foods
Based on the notion that natural foods are essential for a healthy and happy lifestyle, beekeeper-turned-CEO Richard Turanski soon incorporated GloryBee Foods and began manufacturing and distributing a large number of honey-related products. Seeking even more product diversity, in 1983, he added the Aunt Patty's line of non-honey-related sweeteners, natural oils, herbs, and spices.
High Speed Powder Induction
Every process engineer who has worked with powders such as fumed silica, CMC, guar, xanthan,carageenan, alginates and other thickeners has come face to face with one of the toughest challenges in mixing.Many of the powders that are most often used in the process industries are hard to wet out and mix
What's new in high shear mixers
New advances in rotor/stator mixing technologies can help improve your manufacturing process, optimize operating costs, and boost production
The Art of Mixing using High Speed Dispersers
The High-Speed Disperser (HSD) is the basic tool used by all paint, ink, chemical, plastic and adhesive manufacturers. Although a very simple device, the HSD is often misused or misapplied.
Four Ways to Optimize your Blenders efficiency
The batch ribbon blender's versatility for mixing solids " and for combining mixing with heating,cooling, coating, and other processes " makes it a real workhorse in bulk solids processing applications.
Novel Approach to Offshore Manufacturing Pays Off
Rust Bullet and its manufacturing and equipment partners successfully transferred a demanding moisture-cured-urethane manufacturing process overseas without the slightest loss in product quality. The high-performance anti-corrosion urethane coating is performing successfully worldwide for users such as the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Hapag-Lloyd container shipping line and many others.
Mission Impossible? Not at all.
Today's mixing systems empower process engineers to solve immediate mixing challenges while also addressing the needs of the overall business.
More Efficient Pigment Dispersions - The New ROSS PreMax
High shear mixing enhance the premix stage before media milling...saving time and dollars.
Mixing Thickeners 101
When making any gel-type product, proper mixing of rheology modifiers or thickening agents is a crucial step in the production process.
Mixing Strategies for High-Solids Applications
When solids are dispersed or dissolved into liquid, the relative amounts of each phase are necessarily key factors in mixer selection. In reality, viscosity is an even more important parameter. For the purpose of our discussion in this article, let's define percent solids as the ratio of solid mass present in a formulation, with "solids" pertaining to the non-volatile materials or the inorganic components of the mixture.
Hot sauce maker says no sweat to mixing challenge
At this Seattle-based provider of dressings, sauces and dips, a ROSS Mixer provides the intense shear needed to puree solid ingredients quickly.
Mixing Dilatant Materials
Heavy-duty, high-torque double planetary mixers operated under comparatively low speeds are ideal for processing shear-thickening products.
Mix Small, Think Big: Practical Tips for Mixing Scale-Up
Successful scale-up of specialty industrial mixing equipment relies less on straightforward formulas and more on empirical data and experience.
Fine Mixing, Faster Processing
Processing of pigments can be optimized by choosing an efficient pre-mixer and tracking particle size even before the milling stage.
Lessons in Feedstock Change
When Columbia Forest Products, the largest manufacturer of hardwood plywood and veneer in North America, switched from an adhesive based on urea formaldehyde (UF) to a new adhesive technology based on soy protein, the transition represented a paradigm shift, both technologically and culturally. It was a high-stakes business decision, since the company was betting its future on the success of the changeover. Learn how they partnered with ROSS to overcome mixing challenges and rollout hurdles.
Is it Time to Upgrade Your Mixer
Manufacturers of high-quality process equipment will claim that their machines are engineered to run troublefree for decades"”and this statement is not always an exaggeration. Normal wear and tear is expected, but with regular maintenance and parts replacement, it is reasonable to assume that certain equipment will hum along smoothly under optimal and constant conditions.
Shear Business for Biodiesel
As demand for renewable fuels increase, inline high shear and static mixers get the nod.
How to Select a Ribbon Blender
When it comes to powders and bulk solids, there are very few that a ribbon blender can't blend. This versatile and highly scalable mixing device "“ available from half a cu ft to over 1000 cu ft "“ is used extensively across many industries for blending dry powders, granules, pellets, flakes, and other solid forms. From spice blends, drink mixes, and multivitamins to cosmetic powders, polymer blends, chemical additives, fertilizers, and ceramic powders, just to name a few, the range of products that can be batched in a ribbon blender is wide and varied.
Nalco Stays Cool Against the Heat of Biofouling
At Nalco's Ellwood City, PA plant, the company's bioreactive dye solution is being made with the use of ROSS' Inline SLIM powder injection technology. Fine, lightweight dye powder is drawn by the mixer directly from its container and into the recirculating liquid stream in a virtually dust-free process. For a typical batch in their 1,000-gal vessel, it takes just about eight minutes for the mixer to induct all the dye powder.
The Art of High Viscosity Mixing
The process industry's move from low- to high-viscosity formulations is hardly a new trend and several mixer designs have more or less become the staple equipment for applications greater than 50,000 cps. Yet, many manufacturers still stand to gain a better perspective of how to best accomplish high-viscosity mixing. For purposes of discussion, let us define 50,000 cps and above as "high viscosity."
High Shear Mixer brings a taste of Greece to the table
Keeping oil & vinegar together provides for consistent, on-specification batches .
Getting into the Thick of Things
Mixer specification should always begin by matching an agitator design to a desired mixing function and result, such as particle/droplet size reduction, dispersion or emulsification.
High Speed Mixing Considerations
New Design in Mixing/Dispersion Equipment Allows More Efficient Development and Scale-Up.
FROM BASKET TO GASKET (Adhesives and Sealants Industry).
We have supplied double planetary mixers to China's largest dry cell battery producer,VersaMix multi-shaft vacuum mixers to large Chinese cosmetics manufacturers, and planetary dispersers to some of the largest multinational electronic thick film paste producers in China.
Mixers: Four Innovations Worth a Closer Look
Many factors can impact the success of mixing in chemical process operations. The design breakthroughs profiled here address some of the most commonly encountered issues. (as seen in <a href="http://www.chemengonline.com/mixers-four-innovations-worth-closer-look/" target="_blank">Chemical Engineering</a>)
Specifying a Control System
The process control system must balance your need for accuracy, consistency, flexibility and reliability against your need to control costs. This is why the control is now much more than the interface between the operator and the machine; it's a direct interface between your process system and your bottom line.
Five Common Mixing Mistakes to Avoid or Resolve
Lost value due to poor mixing is worth billions of dollars annually across the process industries. This includes wasted income due to low yield, corrections and reworks, prolonged cycle times, unrevealed full functionality of mixture components, product contamination and even worker safety issues.
Mixing Fine Emulsions
By their very nature, emulsions are thermodynamically unstable and the two phases eventually separate. An emulsion that is considered to be "stable" will not change its aspect for an acceptable amount of time. Storage stability period can range from a matter of months or years, depending on the product end use. In the cosmetics
Ribbon blender improves consistency in foodservice products
Heinz innovation team finds novel use for a familiar mixing technology.
Design Options - Laboratory Multi Shaft Mixers
Eagle Beverage Products Scales Production to Launch Private Label Brands
According to conventional brand strategy, the main reason to launch a private label brand is to offer a product that is less costly than a national brand but delivers comparable quality, sell it at a lower price, and take more profit to the bank. This company is different!
Advanced Planetary Mixer Options
The rapid development of technical ceramics and ceramic-based composites is pushing manufacturers to seek new and improved methods of production.
The Right Mix for Blended Cheese
High-powered mixer boosts production of gourmet Tortas five-fold; cuts processing time in half.
The double planetary mixer, now for ultra-high viscosity materials.
As international markets open and competition intensifies in all of the process industries, plant and process engineers must take special care to avoid making critical business decisions based on experience and presumptions that are no longer relevant.
Disperse Difficult Solids
Recent advances in mixing technolgy offer increased efficiency in dispersing powdered additives into liquids for both low and high viscosity applications.
Maximizing Comax's Sweetness
At Comax, the company's close attention to strategic equipment selectionis especially clear in the blenders and mixers it uses. At each stage in the company's growth, it acquired equipment that served distinct production goals as well as higher-level business goals.
Removable Agitator Ribbon Blender
Chemtura Corp. manufactures preblended polymer additives that are widely used in the plastics industry in PVCs, polyolefins, and rubber compounds. These additives prevent plastic degradation caused by high heat or UV radiation exposure, protecting such end products as plastics bags, floor coverings, vinyl siding, automobile dashboards, and disposable diapers.
Chemical Industry Mixing Challenges: Considerations For Choosing The Right Equipment
Efficiency, consistency, and repeatability. These are qualities the chemical industry strives for in its mixing operations. However, finding the right mixing equipment, and the right mixer manufacturer, for your unique products and operations can be challenging. This article will guide you through what to consider when choosing the chemical mixing equipment and mixer manufacturer for your facility.
Triple Shaft Mixer incorporates High Shear Mixer
Many filtration and purification technologies are available today, but virtually all of them suffer from a familiar set of disadvantages. Most require energy and mechanical parts to force liquid through a filter "” and energy is often in short supply during a crisis.
Mixing Nanomaterials - Ceramic Industry Feature Article November 2010
Various mixing technologies are available for theefficient processing of products containing nanoceramics and other nanomaterials.
The Unexpected Rewards of Testing a Mixer
For custom mixers and blenders, verification is only one benefit. Testing can open the door to further improvement
Rotor Stator Mixing Scale Up
The high-shear rotor/stator mixer (HSM), once relegated to a relatively narrow nicheof mixing applications, has become a mainstay in many applications in the chemical process industries (CPI).
New high-speed mixing technology is helping one leading manufacturer meet soaring demand for joint health products
We are seeing a mass shift in public interest, says Carl Sell, president and CEO of Botanical Laboratories. "Dietary supplements like glucosamine are taking off among mainstream Americans, and the impact in sales will be exponential."
Better Milling Starts with Better Pre-Mixing
Manufacturers in the coatings industry are responding to growing competitive pressure by re-examining every step in their process, searching for opportunities for improvement. In mature businesses, where coating processes are well-understood and process lines have been in place for many years, the gains are likely to be small. But even small, incremental gains can add up quickly. Especially in a high-volume manufacturing environment, a sustained improvement program can eventually pay off with a big competitive advantage.
For Bactolac Pharmaceutical, planning ahead for fast growth means strategic equipment purchasing.
Since the day contract manufacturer Bactolac Pharmaceutical opened for business in 1996, the company has run on a fast track. Double-digit annual growth has propelled Bactolac from three employees to more than 400.
Appreciate the Art of High Viscosity Mixing
MANY PROCESSING operations require mixing of highviscosity materials. Unfortunately, there're no "cookbook" answers for reliably matching an application to an appropriate mixer. You can't simply go to a chart, select an application or a viscosity and find the appropriate mixer design. High viscosity mixing is an art, not a science. Mixer specification isn't straightforward and predictable; many variables affect the specification process.
All About High Speed Dispersers
The classic High Speed Disperser is a common mixing tool used throughout the process industries. This white paper discusses different designs, features, custom configurations and sample applications to serve as a helpful guide in equipment selection.
A Closer Look at Multi Shaft Mixers
Multi-shaft mixers comprise two or more independently driven agitators working in tandem. A low-speed anchor complements one or two high-shear devices.
A Closer Look at Planetary Mixers
Double planetary mixers are standard workhorses that continue to evolve with the changing needs of the adhesives and sealants industry.
A Best Practice Guide for Ribbon Blenders
This article aims to provide a better understanding of the operating principles, important features, and limitations of ribbon blenders while also highlighting some basic best practices for efficient processing in a ribbon blender.