A FULLY AUTOMATED SYSTEM WITH PNEUMATIC CONVEYING, BULK BAG FILLING AND 50 LB. VALVE BAG PACKAGING SYSTEMS

Plant Location: Micaville, NC

Contact: Chris Gentry, Engineering Manager

Material Handled: Feldspar

"Here's what TQC had to say about working with Magnum Systems."

About The Quartz Corp

The Quartz Corp is a premier supplier of high-purity quartz, feldspar and mica. Their mission is to provide the industries of tomorrow an ultra-pure raw material, directly supporting the creation of renewable energy and innovative technologies. 

High purity quartz mined and processed by The Quartz Corp is one of the purest on earth due in part to the unique geology of the town of Spruce Pine, North Carolina. Spruce Pine pegmatites formed through mountain building over 350 million years ago. When ancient North America and Africa slammed into each other, the ensuing collision eventually created Pangea, with the Appalachian Mountains at the heart of the continent. It is thanks to this mountain range that The Quartz Corp begins its process with prized minerals. Coupled with their world class purification techniques, they provide a product that helps power solar, semiconductor, lighting, and fibre optic industries. With few natural grain bound impurities, their raw material can be refined to purity levels of 99.999% SiO2.

Milled feldspar is a naturally occurring mineral with properties that make it an exceptional functional filler and extender in a wide range of ceramic and industrial applications. Minspar, the Quartz Corp’s high purity feldspar products, are widely used in paints, coatings, adhesives, caulks, sealants, plastics, elastomers, engineered stone, ceramics, glass, abrasives and polishes. The company operates in a niche industry that demands an unconventional approach. Their innovative approach to mining has become a main driver of their success, and not just because they want to push the limits of their purification process. Every production step requires a level of customization that can’t be copied or bought. 

Material recovery is crucial to The Quartz Corp’s process, equally as important is their accountability to their communities and the environment. Meticulous quality control mechanisms allow them to set bold targets to achieve ever greater levels of purity, while letting as little product as possible go to waste. Developing a new automated system was one key strategy to eliminate waste during feldspar production resulting in a project with Magnum Systems. 

Increasing Feldspar Production Would Involve:

• A fully automated system with pneumatic conveying, bulk bag filling and 50 lb. valve bag packaging systems.
• The system equipment capable of standing up to abrasive materials.
• The ability to pneumatically transfer 10 different materials for loading into bulk bags of 2000 lbs. and 50 lbs. and for 10 different bulk densities and particle sizes using only two dense phase systems; one for each silo.
• The capability to transfer to either the bulk bag station or the 50 lb. bag station without allowing either station to be short of product.

The Quartz Corp Partners with Magnum Systems for a Total Solution

Magnum Systems’ design and project management teams worked closely with The Quartz Corp’s team to deliver a PD truck-to-pallet solution ahead of schedule and under budget.

Our teams fine-tuned the valve air packer and bulk bag station to fill at the rate The Quartz Corp team desired, which can exceed their goal rate.

The IBC3000 bulk bag fills up to 3,000 lbs. at a rate of up to 30 BPH, while using a robot palletizer, the 50 lb. valve bag line results in 12+ bags per minute, and material is also able to be transferred to both valve bag and bulk bag stations. At The Quartz Corp team’s request, we implemented automation for processes ranging from empty valve bag placement to robot palletizing.

Equipment Summary:

Dry Bulk Storage

• Two storage silos for receiving materials via PD Truck, each complete with bin vents for air filtration, level indication and bin activators to aid in material discharge from the silos.

Pneumatic Conveying

• In each of the silo skirts, a pressure dense phase pneumatic conveying system transfers the materials to one of the two surge hoppers in the bag filling area. Dense phase was selected as the preferred convey method to reduce system wear and tear due to the abrasiveness of the product.

Packaging Systems

Valve Bag Filling

• A Surge Hopper, complete with level indication, bin discharger and rotary airlock for feed control.
• Three Model A Valve Bag Fillers with Robotic Bag Placing for packing of 50 lb. bags.
• The conveyor system includes Small Bag Conveyors, a Bag Labeler, a Check-weigh Conveyor, an Empty Pallet Dispenser, Robotic Palletizer and a Stretch Wrapper.

Bulk Bag Filling (IBC3000)

• A Surge Hopper, complete with level indication, bin discharger and rotary airlock for feed control.
• An IBC3000 Bulk Bag Filler for weighing up to 3,000 lb. bulk bags.
• The conveying system includes an Empty Pallet Dispenser, Slip Sheet Dispenser, Full Pallet Chain Conveyors, Check-weigh Conveyor, Metal Detection Conveyor and a Robotic Palletizer.

View Josh Condry, TQC, comment on working with Magnum Systems.

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