BETHLEHEM, PA — Flexicon has completed construction of an all-new test laboratory for FLEXI-DISC^® tubular cable conveyors and integrated bulk handling equipment, it was announced by David Gill, president.

The laboratory is centered around separate 4 and 6 inch (10 and 15 cm) Tubular Cable Conveyor circuits with drive systems and tensioners which can be demonstrated as stand-alone systems. Both circuits are also configured with metered and non-metered inlet adapters, and valved and full-flow discharges that allow for rapid connection to a variety of full size upstream and downstream bulk handling equipment also produced by the company.

"The diversity of interchangeable equipment enables Flexicon to simulate customer installations and verify system performance using the customer's actual material which, together with Flexicon's Lifetime Performance Guarantee, takes the risk and guesswork out of ordering these systems," says Gill.

Full size equipment that can be integrated with the conveyors includes inlet hoppers, bag dump stations, bulk bag dischargers, bulk bag fillers, drum/box/container dumpers, weigh batching/blending systems, screeners, filling machines and storage vessels manufactured by Flexicon and others.

Using customer supplied bulk materials, engineers and laboratory technicians verify system performance prior to final equipment design and fabrication, and demonstrate newly constructed equipment for visiting customers prior to shipment. In addition, Flexicon engineers utilize the laboratory to study the performance of new designs.

The Tubular Cable Conveyor uses high-strength polymer discs affixed to a stainless steel cable to slide fragile bulk foods and non-foods within smooth stainless steel tubing routed at any angle, gently, quietly and dust-free, over short or long distances.

Gentle handling offered by the conveyor makes it suitable for food products that are prone to breakage or degradation including: cereals, coffees, teas, dried fruits, frozen vegetables, grains, nuts, peas, pet foods, seeds, snack foods and spices. Typical non-food applications include bulk chemicals, minerals, chopped fiberglass, microspheres, regrind, pellets, tobacco and other friable materials.

The company also maintains comparable test laboratories for its line of Flexible Screw Conveyors and PNEUMATI-CON^® pneumatic conveying systems, allowing the relative merits of each to be compared in terms of conveying over short and long distances, moving problematic materials, preventing the separation of blends, and meeting other application-specific requirements.