FAQs

Powder handling guides and FAQs in one place

These powder handling guides bring together practical advice from the Klausen Process Machinery team in Kings Park, Sydney. Each one answers the questions manufacturers most often ask us before buying or upgrading equipment: how a technology works, which option suits a particular powder, what to check before you order and how to avoid common mistakes. Use this page as a hub to find the right guide quickly, then read the FAQs below for short answers to frequent questions.

The guides are written for production managers, engineers, maintenance staff and business owners in Australia and New Zealand. You do not need a technical background to follow them, but they go into enough detail to help you prepare a better specification and have a more productive conversation with any equipment supplier.

9 guides grouped by process step

Powder processing usually follows a sequence: material arrives, is emptied and conveyed, is fed and blended, may be milled or screened, and is finally packed. We have arranged our guides in the same order so you can jump straight to the stage that matters for your project.

Conveying and transfer guides

• Vacuum or pressure? Choosing a pneumatic conveying system compares the two main conveying approaches and explains how dilute and dense phase differ, so you can match the system to distance, rate and product fragility.

Feeding and dosing guides

• Auger feeders that don’t bridge explains why cohesive powders stop flowing in hoppers and how a flexible-hopper screw feeder with external massaging keeps them moving.
• Lump breakers: fixing caked and lumpy powders shows where a lump breaker fits in a line and how to size it so lumps do not block feeders, valves or sifters.

Mixing and blending guides

• Which powder mixer do you need? walks through the main mixer designs and their mixing actions so you can shortlist the right type for your batch size and product.
• Ribbon blenders: choosing size, steel and condition covers working volume, stainless steel grades and the trade-offs between new and used blenders.
• Planning a powder blending room looks beyond the mixer to platforms, bag lifters, dust control and discharge, which often decide whether a blending project succeeds.

Size reduction guides

• How to choose an industrial mill links the target particle size to suitable mill types, from coarse grinding to fine milling with integrated air classification.

Filling and packing guides

• Auger fillers for accurate powder filling describes how auger fillers dose powders by volume or weight into many container types and what affects fill accuracy.

Buying and planning guides

• Buying used process equipment is a checklist for inspecting second-hand mixers, mills, feeders and fillers before you commit.

How to get the most from these guides

Start with the guides that match your biggest problem rather than reading them all at once. If dust and heavy lifting are the issue, the blending room guide is a good first step. If dosing is inconsistent, read the feeder and lump breaker guides. If you are not sure which mixer or mill you need, the selection guides will help you narrow the field.

• Note your material’s bulk density, particle size, moisture and flow behaviour as you read. Most guides explain why these properties matter.
• Write down the rate or batch size you need. Our guides use these figures to explain how equipment is sized.
• Check your site constraints, such as ceiling height, floor space and access, against the layout advice in the guides.
• List any safety or hygiene requirements that apply to your plant, so you can test options against them.

Safety is a theme across many of our guides. If your powders are combustible, review AS/NZS 4745 Code of practice for handling combustible dusts. For bag lifting and tipping, Safe Work Australia’s model code for hazardous manual tasks is a useful reference alongside our guides.

Common powder handling terms explained

Equipment suppliers often use terms that are not obvious to people outside the industry. This short glossary explains the words that come up most often in our articles and in quotations.

• Bulk density. The mass of powder in a given volume, including the air between particles. It affects hopper, mixer and conveyor sizing.
• Bridging. When powder forms a stable arch over a hopper outlet and stops flowing.
• Rat-holing. When only a narrow channel above the outlet flows, leaving stagnant material around it.
• Segregation. The separation of a mixed blend into its components, often by particle size or density, during handling or transfer.
• Dilute phase and dense phase. Two ways of pneumatic conveying: high-velocity suspension, or slower movement of material in plugs or slugs.
• Loss-in-weight feeding. Dosing by continuously weighing a feeder and its hopper, so the actual rate is measured and controlled.
• Volumetric feeding. Dosing by volume, usually by controlling screw speed, which is simpler but sensitive to changes in bulk density.
• Air classifying. Separating fine particles from coarse ones in an airstream, often combined with milling to control particle size.
• IBC. An intermediate bulk container, such as a Dura-Bin, used to store and move powder between process stages.

Questions to ask before buying any powder equipment

Whatever machine you are considering, a few questions apply almost every time. Asking them early helps avoid costly changes later.

1. Has the equipment been selected using real data about my material, or only its name?
2. How will the machine be cleaned, how long does it take and who will do it?
3. What happens upstream and downstream: will the new machine starve or flood the next step?
4. How is dust contained at every open point, including during bag changes and maintenance?
5. Which wear parts will need replacing, and can they be sourced locally?

If the answers are unclear, it is worth pausing to get them before placing an order. A short trial with your material or a site visit can often settle the matter quickly.

It also pays to involve the people who will run and maintain the equipment. Operators know where powder spills, which tasks are hardest on the body and which steps slow production down. Maintenance staff know which parts wear quickly and how much access is needed around a machine. Their input, combined with a clear picture of the material, usually leads to a design that works well from the first day and stays reliable for years.

Why we publish free guides

Better-informed buyers make better equipment decisions. When customers understand the basic options before they contact us, discussions move faster and projects are more likely to deliver what was expected. Our guides draw on the problems we see every day in powder plants, such as bridging feeders, segregating blends, dusty bag tipping and undersized mixers, and explain how they are usually solved.

We add new guides and update existing ones as questions come up from customers. If there is a topic you would like covered, let us know. Suggestions from readers are one of the best ways for us to decide what to write about next.

Guides FAQs

Which of your guides should I read first?

Start with the guide that matches your most pressing problem. For a new blending line, read the powder mixer guide and the blending room guide first.

How do I stop powder bridging in a hopper?

Bridging is usually caused by cohesive powder, steep or narrow hoppers and compaction. Our auger feeder guide explains how flexible-hopper feeders help.

Should I choose vacuum or pressure conveying?

Vacuum suits multiple pick-up points and short to medium distances, while pressure suits longer runs and multiple destinations. The conveying guide explains the details.

Is buying a used machine a good idea?

It can be, if the machine suits your duty and is inspected carefully. Our used equipment checklist shows what to look for, and you can browse used machinery for sale.

Can KPM help after I have read the guides?

Yes. The guides are a starting point. Our team can review your material, visit your site and recommend equipment, from single machines to complete systems.

Equipment featured in our guides

Powder mixersLoss-in-weight feedersAuger fillersLump breakers