This article will give detailed information about dumpers.
By reading this article, one should better understand:
A dumper is a type of machine designed with a tilting or hinged rear section to facilitate unloading. This article explores various dumper models and their applications across different sectors.
This chapter will examine the various types of dumpers and their uses across different industries.
A tote dumper is a device that lifts and tips huge containers to safely and precisely empty bulk goods. Some producers refer to them as bin dumpers. Some refer to them as cart dumpers. However, they are also called tote dumpers if they can lift and empty containers used in bulk material handling applications.
To appreciate the ergonomic advantages of a tote dumper in a hygienic environment, consider a food processing facility where 50-pound grain bags are transferred into a hopper at the beginning of the process. Despite employing two-person lift techniques, workers who repeatedly lift and empty these bags during a shift are at risk of developing musculoskeletal disorders and other injuries.
Lifting and emptying containers, even with relatively light loads, significantly raises the risk of injury. OSHA typically recommends limiting single-person lifts to 50 pounds or less. Additionally, handling grain often requires moving weight across the body and involves twisting motions, which can lead to muscular injuries such as rips, sprains, or strains.
Comparing the use of a tote dumper with manual lifting or conventional material handling tools highlights clear advantages. This is true not only in scenarios involving grain but also in other tasks where sanitation is critical.
Using a tote dumper simplifies and speeds up the process of filling and unloading compared to manual methods or even using forklifts. While OSHA limits manual lifting to 50 pounds per person, tote dumpers can handle loads ranging from 1,000 to 5,000 pounds safely. Moreover, a single operator can manage a tote dumper more safely than multiple workers handling large loads manually.
Unlike forklifts or manual methods, tote dumpers provide a consistent, efficient, and safer way to empty bins.
Hydraulic dumping equipment is versatile and can be seamlessly integrated into production lines, offering flexibility. Mobile bin dumpers, which have high capacities and compact designs, can empty totes at various points along the line.
Stainless steel, with its smooth, easy-to-clean surface, is ideal for maintaining hygiene. Tote dumpers made of stainless steel minimize direct human contact during waste filling and unloading, making them compliant with FDA regulations for direct food contact.
Stainless steel bin dumpers meet most cleanliness standards, including the 2017 FDA Food Code.
Container dumpers are used to unload contents onto various types of receivers. These receivers can include conveyor lines for packages, parcels, and mail, as well as trash cans that are then directed to sorting lines, larger transport containers, or compacting machinery. Additionally, grains, powders, and liquids are poured into large vats or furnaces. This diversity of applications has led to the development of numerous customization options to meet specific requirements.
There are three distinct categories of dumpers available.
The "standard" dumper series is designed for minimal space usage. Ideal for medium-duty applications (up to six cycles per hour), these hydraulic dumpers offer an excellent solution when space is limited. They feature front-mounted cylinders and compact power units to optimize space efficiency.
"Heavy duty" container dumpers are engineered with cylinders positioned at angles that enhance mechanical advantage, resulting in a more robust design. These machines are equipped with larger power units to support higher cycle rates. While they occupy more space, they provide increased durability and performance for demanding applications.
"High reach" dumpers use a dumping carriage that is elevated to the required height before dumping occurs. These units are built with the same robust construction as heavy-duty dumper designs, ensuring durability and strength.
Often called "self-dumping dumpsters" or "forklift dumpsters," self-dumping hoppers serve a similar purpose to traditional dumpsters by collecting waste and scrap. However, their design and functionality are highly efficient, making them distinct from regular dumpsters in terms of effectiveness and application.
As the name suggests, self-dumping hoppers are designed for ease of dumping. They are engineered so that forklifts and other machinery with fork attachments can dump contents without needing additional motors or pulleys. This allows for quick and efficient collection and disposal of scrap in the workshop.
Self-Dumping Hoppers and Forklifts:
These hoppers feature a release latch that simplifies the dumping process. Once the load is dumped, the hopper automatically closes and the latch locks back into place. Some models even offer a dump-from-seat option, eliminating the need for operators to exit their vehicle to empty the hopper.
Commonly known as "trash hoppers" or "scrap hoppers," these units are designed for handling waste and debris. The dump-from-seat feature enhances safety for the operator by reducing the need for manual handling.
Box dumpers are perfect for efficiently unloading materials, enhancing productivity while reducing employee fatigue and the risk of injury.
Hydraulic box dumpers are designed to carefully unload items from boxes, crates, and other containers. They efficiently lift and empty Gaylord boxes, enhancing productivity and reducing operator fatigue. The "portable tilter" is a floor-level box tilter that facilitates easy loading. It can handle materials from 60- to 95-gallon tote bins and is suitable for dumping contents from carts, bins, Gaylords, or other containers. Customize the dumper to handle your specific containers and materials with ease.
Position the containers on the lift/tipper and raise them using the convenient foot pedal or push-button control.
Tilt tables make loading and unloading packages with dunnage efficient, enhancing safety and productivity. They help minimize time lost due to employee injuries and support increased output. Featuring hydraulic steel fittings, tilt tables are versatile and can be adapted to various applications. Their polished chrome shafts at all sliding and pivot points reduce wear and extend component lifespan.
In various industries, tilt tables serve as essential lifting mechanisms that improve ergonomics by positioning heavy loads. Also known as scissor lifts, these tables are used to lift, stack, tilt, move, or transport heavy goods, such as pallets, between different heights.
Pneumatic tilt tables allow users to adjust the tilt angle using factory air, enabling precise positioning at a convenient height.
Manual push with powered tilt container and pallet tilters are designed to be manually pushed across a workspace while carrying a load. These tilters feature a motorized mechanism that allows one person to easily tilt and move open-bottom pallets, skids, totes, and boxes within a warehouse or storage area.
Lift dumpers, including high lift and hoist dumpers, are engineered to achieve greater lifting heights compared to gon/bulk dumpers. They can load products at ground level or from a set height and elevate them to a discharge height of up to 20 feet or more. Hydraulic lift dumpers use one or more cylinders to raise and rotate the dumper to the desired height, which can be adjusted up to 120 inches from the floor. These dumpers are also equipped with a stand to stabilize the unit during operation.
The hydraulic high-lift dozer is driven by a carriage mechanism that includes a cylinder, chain, and sprocket. It utilizes two cylinders to perform the dumping action, allowing for discharge heights of 20 feet or more.
Column dumpers can lift and dump a barrel to a height of approximately 72 inches. Equipped with a single cylinder, these devices raise and lower the barrel or goods to a set height, with discharge heights reaching up to 12 feet or more.
Tippers come with several essential features designed for sanitation, safety, and durability.
A twin-column dumper is an excellent choice for industrial environments that handle heavy, bulky loads throughout the day. Capable of lifting up to 3,000 pounds in a single operation, these robust dumpers offer reliable, long-term performance. For even greater efficiency, a fully electric dual-column dumper can provide years of consistent, leak-free service. Additionally, optional features such as a stainless steel, fully enclosed safety cage can enhance operator safety.
Twin-column dumpers can be customized to the ideal height for your facility, eliminating the need to rearrange your workspace to accommodate new equipment. They also come with various adjustable features to suit specific needs.
A single column dumper is the best choice when carrying light loads of heavy goods. This dumper has an electric gear motor with a brake and a column that is 10 gauges thick. Employees won't have to stretch to load the merchandise because it offers floor-level loading correctly.
Box tippers are designed to tip boxes, providing easy, secure, and ergonomic access to packaged goods. They are an excellent solution for enhancing worker safety during repetitive tasks.
These box tippers come equipped with essential safety features and are available in various lengths, configurations, sizes, and shapes. They are built to endure even the most demanding environments.
Each box tipper is customized to meet specific user requirements and complies with all sanitary equipment design standards, making them suitable for use in food processing facilities.
Tippers are designed with features that enhance their durability, cleanliness, and safety.
Gaylord box dumpers are designed to lift and empty Gaylord boxes, enhancing productivity and reducing operator fatigue. These dumpers require three-phase electricity and feature a reinforced steel frame with an adjustable holding bar that can be set between 24 and 48 inches high.
Designed for easy access to hydraulic and electrical components, Gaylord box dumpers need to be secured to the floor and require a ceiling clearance of 130 inches for discharge heights up to 48 inches, or 150 inches for heights up to 60 inches.
These dumpers have a lift time of 30 to 33 seconds and a gravity downtime of 45 seconds. The standard drum dimensions are 52 inches wide by 48 inches deep, with an option for a 60-inch wide drum.
All pivot points on Gaylord box dumpers are equipped with bearings. Available options include gated enclosures, automatic control packages, increased weight capacities, and construction materials such as stainless steel and wash-down components. Gaylord box dumpers can be integrated into existing shredding systems or designed as part of new setups.
Bin dumpers made of stainless steel increase the productivity of food production lines while protecting workers.
Heavy-duty bin dumpers are an excellent investment for food preparation applications. These robust dumpers efficiently lift and empty large quantities of ingredients while enhancing safety within existing systems.
Automating this essential task can reduce batch production times and, more importantly, the ergonomic design of hydraulic ingredient lifters helps prevent musculoskeletal injuries.
According to OSHA (Occupational Health and Safety Administration), "Production positions in food processing involve repetitive, physically demanding tasks that have been linked to the development of musculoskeletal disorders."
Using bin dumpers can help prevent such injuries, benefiting both employees and the bottom line. Workplace accidents incur significant costs, including higher workers' compensation premiums, wages for temporary replacements, and reduced overall productivity. The ROI for a bin dumper can quickly surpass the cost of a single avoided musculoskeletal disorder.
Without getting out of the truck, pallet dumpers are used to dump loaded pallets for a fork truck. The unit attaches to forks and is chained securely. While the contents are being dumped into the hopper or dumpster, two retainers keep the pallet in position. First, the forks are lifted, and the retainers hold the pallet on the forks until they have cleared the opposite end of the pallet. Next, the pallet is raised to dumping height and set down on the dumpster's edge. The fork carriage is released when the cable is withdrawn, which causes the pallet to tilt and empty its contents into the hopper or trash can. The fork is lowered once it is done till the carriage latches.
To prevent ergonomic injuries, bin dumpers mechanically empty ingredient drums or boxes into processing machinery. This process often involves lifting a heavy object overhead, twisting the body, and maintaining an awkward posture until the container is fully emptied. Bin dumpers address and eliminate these ergonomic challenges.
Bin dumpers have earned the trust of various industries, including chemical processing and warehousing, for heavy-duty lifting and emptying tasks. Their reputation for stability is due to innovative engineering, with the "lift-and-tip" motion offering both efficient ingredient handling and ergonomic safety.
As the bin dumper's cradle rises, the container is gently tipped consistently. The machine maintains exceptional stability, with the center of gravity remaining above its footprint even as the load weight shifts. This design ensures that ingredients are quickly and effectively poured into mixers or hoppers.
Drum dumpers are designed to facilitate the ergonomic handling of various industrial pails and drums. These drum dumpers can accommodate barrels ranging in height from 36 to 72 inches and are available in weight capacities of 750, 1,000, or 1,500 lbs.
Drum dumpers are typically used to empty drums of powders or pellets. The drum is raised and tilted over a receiving container or processing equipment. Stainless steel dumpers can be customized with either cone or chute discharge valves. Cone discharge valves ensure a secure transfer and better dust control, while chute-style valves direct the discharge out and over the receiving port.
Dumper drum tippers are essential for various industrial production processes, including loading coaters, filling reactors and other process vessels, and dispensing materials.
A bag dumping station is a modern feeding device designed for manual bag-feeding tasks. It operates without generating dust, with the entire process being contained and conveyed. This station is widely used in various industries for its efficient feeding operations.
The bag dumping station uses negative pressure to capture dust from the materials. After bags are manually opened, the contents fall into a silo for temporary storage, regulated feeding, and processing. This system ensures a clean and controlled feeding environment, making it a valuable tool for many industrial applications.
The design of the bag dumping station's height is meticulously engineered to minimize manual labor. The bag is placed on the workbench, and the packaging is cut open. The materials then fall from the packaging into a collection bin due to their weight. An induced draft fan is used to capture dust from the workbench, drawing it into a dust bag through a pressure differential. This process ensures that even very fine dust is trapped on the filter and not released into the air. As a result, the working environment remains dust-free, with no dust escaping from the discharge port, meeting environmentally friendly production standards.
A motor vehicle equipped with a dumper is commonly used for moving materials, especially in construction. It efficiently handles debris, garbage, dirt, and other loose materials, making the transportation process quick and easy. Typically, the dumper’s container is positioned at the front of the vehicle, while the operator sits at the rear.
While diesel engines usually power these vehicles, they can also be driven by electric motors or hydraulic systems. The vehicle is designed to maneuver easily on four wheels and can be fitted with tracks to enhance traction in muddy or uneven terrain.
The skip, located at the front of the dumper, is a container that can be tilted to facilitate the unloading of materials at their destination.
Feeding materials into an industrial dumper can be achieved in two ways:
One option is to use an integrated mechanism or accessory that automatically handles the loading process, which the operator can control. The other option involves manual loading using a shovel or similar tool. For instance, a hydraulic tipping mechanism or a bucket attached to the dumper via a boom can be used. The boom moves the bucket to collect the material and then deposits it into the dumper's container.
Among the various components of a dumper, a few key factors significantly impact its performance and ease of use for the operator.
Key considerations include:
Mobility and Comfort: The powered nature of these machines is a notable advantage, but how well do they perform across different terrains? Dumpers equipped with durable rubber tracks and an oscillating roller undercarriage ensure smooth operation on various surfaces, reducing the risk of tire punctures or getting stuck in debris.
Transport Capacity: Dumpers are designed for heavy-duty tasks, and a powerful model with a larger container can handle substantial loads more efficiently. This capability helps speed up operations and reduces the strain on personnel, making the process more efficient.
The ideal dumper is characterized by its technological attributes, including stability, precision, speed, and versatility, which define its overall effectiveness and suitability for various tasks.
Articulated Underground Dump Trucks: Commonly used in civil engineering and mining, articulated dump trucks feature a joint between the cab and the dump box, allowing them to maneuver through rough terrain and cover long distances efficiently. These large, robust trucks are designed for transporting bulk materials in challenging conditions.
Site Dumpers and Front Tippers: For projects requiring a more compact solution, site dumpers or front tippers are ideal. These vehicles can handle loads ranging from 1 to 10 tons while maintaining safety and durability in confined workspaces, with protective rolling bars surrounding the driver’s area.
Rigid Rear Underground Dump Trucks: Rigid rear dump trucks, often used in tandem with hydraulic excavators, are well-suited for mining and quarrying operations. These heavy-duty trucks are typically very large and specialized for specific mining tasks.
Track-Mounted Underground Dump Trucks: Designed to handle challenging surfaces such as rough, steep, or soft ground, track-mounted dump trucks, also known as crawler transporters or crawler dump trucks, offer enhanced mobility compared to rubber-tired vehicles, especially in confined or uneven terrain.
Underground Dump Trucks: Built for transporting payloads of at least 30 tons, underground dump trucks are used in hard-rock mining and tunnel construction. They are designed for high efficiency and low cost per ton of material moved in underground operations.
Hi Rail Underground Dump Trucks: Rail-mounted dump trucks, known as hi-rail dump trucks, are used for transporting track ballast and other materials along railways. Equipped with both track and rail wheels, they can transition seamlessly between rail and road travel.
Hydraulic dumpers convert the kinetic energy of moving parts into thermal energy, effectively reducing harsh impacts and minimizing high vibration amplitudes.
Hydraulic dumpers, also known as hydraulic dampers, feature a pressure pipe, a connecting rod with a specialized piston system, and an oil-based damping medium. The system includes an oil-filled pressure pipe between the connecting rod, which is equipped with a unique protection and guidance package, and a hermetically sealed interior that remains insulated from external environmental conditions.
As the piston rod moves, the oil-based damping medium is pushed through the bores of the piston system. The resistance of the oil as it moves through the piston mechanism generates the damping force. The internal design of the piston mechanism allows for independent adjustment of the pull and push directions, thereby influencing the damping forces.
The vehicle's front and rear wheels on the same side are linked through a combination of rubber springs and hydraulic suspension within the dumper system.
As the rear wheel encounters a bump, some of the suspension fluid from the front wheel's displacer unit transfers to the rear wheel unit, helping to lift it and maintain the vehicle's level stance.
Telescopic Direct-Acting Type: This dumper is mounted directly between the vehicle body and the suspension element attached to the road wheel. It can be produced as a standalone bolt-on unit or integrated into the suspension system. Both single-tube and twin-tube direct-acting dumpers are available.
Direct-acting dumpers are more cost-effective to produce and highly reliable. For optimal performance, they are best installed vertically. However, many modern suspension designs, especially those with live rear axles, use diagonal mounting to enhance stability. Unlike dumpers designed to handle high-speed body movements, they do not provide friction to counteract slow-speed body roll. Manufacturers often complement them with a transverse stabilizer, also known as an anti-roll bar, to manage roll motion.
The performance of dumpers is evaluated using advanced oscillation testing equipment. This process measures how many oscillations the spring undergoes before the vehicle body stabilizes, providing an indication of the dumper's efficiency.
Single-Tube: This dumper features an operational cylinder that consists of a single tube, sealed at the bottom, and connected to the suspension's moving component via an eye or stem. The tube has multiple oil-passing holes, and inside it slides a piston equipped with two-way reed valves. The rod, linking the piston to the vehicle body, extends through a guide at the top of the tube.
The rubber brushes at the attachment locations isolate the road shocks and allow the dumper body to pivot somewhat. A rubber seal is inserted next to the guide to stop fluid leakage and is held in place by fluid pressure. An abutment plate is attached to the piston to restrict the piston's stroke and provide a flat surface for consistent contact with the top seal during the dumper's full extension.
A tubular shield is attached to the rod member to safeguard it from damage. At the base of the dumper, a free piston seals a chamber containing compressed inert gas. This gas remains compressed when the dumper is filled with thin mineral oil.
During jounce, oil is displaced from the bottom chamber to the top chamber through the internal movement of the piston. The damping action is driven by the force needed to move the piston valves and pump the oil through the orifices. The resistance of each stroke can be adjusted by altering the sizes of the jounce and rebound orifices to meet specific requirements.
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