How Suspension Magnets Integrate with Metal Detectors and Separators

 

In bulk material handling industries such as mining, ceramics, food processing, and chemicals, the removal of ferrous impurities is essential to ensure product purity, equipment integrity, and regulatory compliance. The combination of suspension magnet units with metal detectors and magnetic separators, and in particular with drum separator systems, constitutes a strong contamination control system that is very effective in removing ferrous metal from a wide range of particle sizes and materials.

Function of Suspension Magnets in Contamination Removal

A suspension magnet is hung above conveyor belts to pick up tramp ferrous metal from the material flow. They are either electromagnets or permanent magnets and never come into contact with the product. They are ideal for the removal of larger ferrous items like bolts, nuts, rods, and tools that have mistakenly made their way into the material stream. The magnet continuously operates, giving non-intrusive separation without decreasing material flow.

Electromagnetic suspension units have very high performance in heavy-duty operation with deeper burden depths and increased material throughputs. They are demand operated and de-energised and are supplied complete with a control panel and lifting provisions. Magnet pull strength and depth of field provide for safe recovery of ferrous fragments to prevent downstream plant damage, including crushers, grinders, or fine grinding mills.

Integration with Metal Detectors

Suspension magnet systems are highly effective in eradicating ferrous impurities that are medium to large. However, they cannot find non-ferrous or stainless steel particles. Metal detectors step in where suspension magnet systems fall short. Positioning themselves downstream of the suspension magnet, metal detectors scan for metallic particles that may still exist—ferrous or non-ferrous—in the conveyed material.

Where a metal detector finds metal that is not removed by an overhead magnet, it requires diversion or halting of the product, based on the configuration of the system. This dual-layer arrangement provides complete purity without reducing the chances of contamination in batches reaching final packaging or the downstream process.

The combination of magnetic separation and metal detection is crucial when dealing with such products as food powders, lots of ceramics, or fine minerals in which minute impurities can ruin product integrity or create equipment wear.

Enhancing Efficiency with Drum Separators

In addition to assisting the process of separation, an upstream or downstream drum separator can be installed, depending on the application. A drum separator allows continuous ferrous fine impurities removal from bulk material. The device works on the principle of drawing fine iron particles as product flows over a rotating magnetic drum.

These separators are most beneficial to utilise in fine powder, granular product, or abrasion material applications. The drum will continue to rotate while the magnetic field pulls iron particles out of the stream and spills them into another discharge chute. This process can be used in conjunction with a suspension magnet and metal detector in order to eliminate product contamination to nearly zero.

Chemical manufacturing, cement plants, and ceramics usually utilise drum separator systems to purify fine materials, where even microscopic ferrous contamination can cause defects or safety hazards.

Optimised Layered Separation Systems

An effective contaminant removal system requires a layered system:

• Suspension magnet over conveyor removes large ferrous contaminants.

• The metal detector senses any remaining metallic contamination.

• Drum separator handles fine particle separation to purify the final product stream.

This design not only improves operating efficiency but also lowers machinery wear and tear by far cutting down maintenance and downtime. 

Flexibility of Application and Maintenance

Suspension magnet and drum separator units are available in sizes and types to suit different throughput capacity requirements and installation setups. They can be tailored concerning belt width, particle size, and loading characteristics. Electromagnetic suspension systems are simply cleaned by manual or self-cleaning configurations. Likewise, drum separator units are configured for ease of access and low maintenance, in most instances only requiring periodic checks and minimal maintenance to function at full capacity.

They are built for heavy-duty applications and connect with bulk conveyors, hopper discharges, or free-flowing material chutes. They are built with resilient designs that can resist constant use even in dusty or abrasive operating conditions.

Conclusion

The integration of suspension magnet units with metal detectors and drum separator systems offers a robust contaminant control system for bulk material handling. The combination allows efficient removal of all sizes of ferrous contaminants, yielding cleaner end products and more secure and uniform industrial operations.