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Olsson’s Salt Block Power Unit

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Application

In 2012, CFP was contracted a manufacturing company to service a salt block press.

The product is quite unique in the sense that the salt block is a feedstock for animals and includes other ingredients such as oils, minerals, and nutrients. The blocks are made in different sizes and used by farmers in the field. The main requirement for manufacturing the block is to be consistent and very hard because they are designed to be liked by the animals. If the blocks are crumbling, the animals could get too much of the nutrients.  The other main aspect of the process is to achieve a high pressure for the hydraulic press. It is also required to have a very rapid cycle of operation.

Solution

CFP has successfully modified a press by installing a custom hydraulic circuit. Following this success, the customer has designed two new presses of increased capacity from 400T to 700T. Drawing from the previous experience and understanding the operational cycle we have designed a compact system using SUN logic elements and valves to optimise the flow rates in a compact ductile iron manifold. One of the main aspects of our design was modularity, ease of service, and of course cost. Using SUN cartridge valves we have reduced the cost of maintenance by more than 70% compared to a standard CETOP industrial valve. There are also important energy savings reducing the cycle time to produce a block.

Currently, there are two complete systems in production installed in 2016 and 2018. The two presses produce about 1 million blocks per year and therefore each valve will actuate about 4 million times per year. To date, only a few hydraulic components have been replaced. The “secret” is in the implementation of hydraulic soft shift control and controlled de-pressurisation that reduces hydraulic shocks significantly and contributes to the longevity of every hydraulic component.

Key Features

  • Custom hydraulic unit
  • SUN cartridge valves allow for ease of maintenance