A DIT® high-performance drum discharging station featuring a tilting chamber.
When designing a customized drum discharging station, CSV Containment always puts safety first, ensuring high standards of containment, ergonomics and operator protection. But how can these objectives be achieved when handling particularly heavy drums, without compromising operator safety or product containment?
High Productivity and Containment in One Solution.
To meet this challenge, CSV Containment has engineered a high-performance drum discharging station, capable of emptying 12 drums in approximately 40 minutes, each weighing around 70 kg.
The solution combines an automated drum handling system, patented DIT® – Drum Iris Technology, and an innovative containment chamber tilting mechanism, specifically developed to facilitate the discharge of highly compacted, poorly flowing powders.
The result is a station that combines productivity, process reliability and operator protection, even in particularly demanding industrial applications.
A Tilting Chamber for Optimized Powder Discharge.
One of the station’s most innovative features is its 15° containment chamber tilting system.
Handling heavy drums and discharging highly compacted powders can present significant challenges, especially when short processing times are essential. To overcome these difficulties, CSV Containment has developed a solution that allows the entire containment chamber to be tilted during drum emptying operations.
Once the drum has been lifted, rotated and introduced into the chamber through the DIT® interface, the operator can activate the tilting mechanism using a foot pedal.
Tilting the chamber improves discharge performance, even with poorly flowing products, reducing the need for manual intervention and helping maintain high productivity levels. The foot-operated control allows the operator to adjust the chamber’s position while keeping both hands free for operations inside the glove box.
Additionally, the integrated Vacuum Breaker system facilitates the removal of the secondary liner from the drum, preventing contamination of the drum itself.
Drum Discharging Station: a continuous Drum Feeding.
The station features a non-motorized inlet roller conveyor, designed to accommodate a batch of 12 drums with diameters ranging from 530 to 580 mm and weights of 70 kg or more. Thanks to the slight incline of the rollers, drums move towards the loading position, minimizing manual handling and ensuring a continuous supply of drums to the station.
The combination of the roller conveyor, lifting system and automated transfer mechanism reduces physical strain on operators and optimizes the time between consecutive emptying cycle
s. At the heart of the transfer system is CSV Containment’s patented DIT® – Drum Iris Technology. The DIT® interface allows drums to be introduced into the containment chamber through a controlled opening and closing sequence of two iris diaphragms.
Once the drum is securely docked, the operator can access the inner liner using the gloves integrated into the glove box and discharge the powder under contained conditions. The station is designed for OEB 4 applications.
The system also incorporates safety devices, protective barriers and interlocks to manage moving components, with particular attention to the risks associated with powder handling in potentially explosive atmospheres.
A Solution Engineered Around Process Requirements.
Another key feature is the lump breaker installed at the bottom of the containment chamber. During emptying, powders are directed towards the hopper at the base of the glove box, where the lump breaker reduces the size of any agglomerates. Integrating the lump breaker helps ensure a more consistent powder flow towards the downstream pneumatic conveying system, minimizing the risk of blockages and supporting continuous operation. Every component of this station, from the inlet roller conveyor to the tilting chamber, has been designed to work together in an efficient operating sequence, minimizing manual handling and improving operator ergonomics.
The ability to tilt the chamber together with its integrated lump breaker demonstrates how containment technology can go beyond simply protecting operators, becoming a practical solution for improving production efficiency.
This project reflects CSV Containment’s engineering approach: developing customized solutions that combine safety, innovation and process performance, tailored to the specific requirements of each industrial application.
CSV Containment provides tailor-made solutions for pharmaceutical and fine chemical sectors in terms of containment. For more info: containment@csv-ls.com
