Involved in all field of belt conveying technology for 25 years
For 25 years now, VHV Anlagenbau, the medium-sized company based in Hörstel, has been involved in all fields of belt conveying technology and is one of the international market leaders, in particular, in the segment of steep incline conveyor systems with smooth belts. Exact, modular and flexible system components are the basis for a wide variety of conveyor systems. Whereas previously manufacturers of precast concrete elements, concrete blocks and slabs, who are using many raw materials, had relied on VHV double belt conveyor systems, now the sandwich systems are of great benefit for all concrete producers.
Material purity is the key word here, and space-saving, low-maintenance, efficient solutions are preferred. Hence, the variety of rack versions for different support distances at belt width from 200 to 5,200 mm as well as an optimum use of space thanks to compact overall heights and lengths demonstrate the practice-oriented approach of the manufacturer within a wide range of options – in short: all system components are available in reasonable dimensions, so that even particularly demanding requirements can be fulfilled. The simple way of modifications and expansions, the ease of maintenance and installation, and the compatibility with standard component parts are to be regarded in this context as well. Not least for these reasons, continuous conveying solutions of VHV are frequently found in the raw materials and building materials industries.
Within a currently implemented project, the feeding system of the new mixing plant at the Stadthagen concrete factory of Heinrich Niemeier GmbH & Co. KG was realized according to the latest standards. To keep the risk of production downtime as low as possible, the replacement of the silo facility and the tower mixing plant along with the steelwork, multi-compartment silo and binder silos, which took place as far as possible during ongoing production, was planned at a new position on the factory premises. The core tasks assigned to VHV in this process were: Material handling including silo feeding of the new concrete mixing plant. What is quite easy to read in a sentence, comprises the feeding of the new mixing plant including the multi-compartment silo with eight compartments installed above. An existing bucket conveyor and a smaller silo should be replaced in this connection. In close cooperation with two other well-known specialists, VHV was commissioned with the initial storage of the delivered aggregates as well as the dosing conveyor and steep incline conveying technology – Thorwesten supplied the complete tower silo including steelwork and Eirich supplied the mixing and weighing technology.
Passion makes tricky things easy
A strong request of the client was to use of the basement of the existing bucket conveyor for the steep incline conveyor and the underground bunker with elevator so as to avoid any unnecessary additional construction costs. If there was little hope in the beginning –as the project planners of the other manufacturers again opted for the version with a bucket conveyor, with requiring additional constructional measures – but the VHV project planning team could respond to this request in a positive way: The diagonally installed feeding area of a double belt conveyor and likewise diagonal bunker discharge allowed for an optimum use of the existing space as requested. VHV double belt conveyors, after all, are developed on the basis a technology that is patent protected in order to ensure a space-saving solution for the conveying of materials even under difficult installation conditions. The double belt conveyor was designed and supplied S-shaped with stair tower. The conveying speed is 1.31 m/s at a center-to-center distance of 41,750 mm and a belt width of 1,000 mm. The S-shaped routing used in this case has an inclination of 12° over a length of 3.4 m, then rising for 30 m to 90° and finally, climbing again by 14° over 8.35 m.
Apart from this special highlight, the project partner assumed responsibility for the truck-mounted hopper including steelwork along with layer thickness slider and raising the bunker height on three sides which was inserted in the basement on site. The bunker that is provided with a lining of HB400 wear-resistant steel and partly accessible grizzly feeder as well as a cover has a capacity of 18.4 m³ of aggregates, without the bunker attachment. What is still needed in a factory like this are belt conveyors. They were supplied by VHV as dosing belt conveyors including material feeding unit with a center-to-center distance of 1,400 mm and a belt width of 800 mm, allowing for a continuous transport of 150 tons per hour of gravel and sand with a grain size of 0/32 mm. In addition, a belt conveyor designed as a swiveling rotary distributor was installed for feeding the various silo inlets at the top of the tower. A center-to-center distance of 3,200 mm was chosen here.
