Cooling Conveyor Towers for Molten Products

Power conveyors can come in many different sizes, shapes and materials, depending on the needs of the packager and project at hand.  One special type of conveyor is used for products that are filled hot, but need to cool prior to moving to the next packaging phase.  Cooling conveyor towers make use of both vertical and horizontal space to achieve this aim in an efficient manner.

 

In a typical application, power conveyors are simply used to move product and package from one packaging machine to another.  These systems may consist of a continuous, straight line from an automatic rinser right down to a packing station.  Other packaging lines may include twists and turns depending on the space available and the desires of those doing the packaging.  However, when dealing with molten products, such as candle wax, there is a need to both heat and cool the product during the packaging process.

 

Obviously, candle wax as it sits in the final container cannot be moved through a liquid filling machine.  The process of automatically filling such products requires the product to be heated to a liquid form.  The filling machine will heat the product from the tank and through the hoses and nozzles.  Once in the container, the next step for most products is to be capped or otherwise sealed.  However, trapping heat inside the container can lead to undesirable results, including damage to the container.  

 

For this reason, cooling conveyors are used to allow the product time to settle before being capped and sealed.  Depending on the product, temperature and other factors, a single straight conveyor may sometimes be used to cool product.  However, even moving slowly, such a conveyor may not allow for the proper time to cool.  Cooling conveyor towers can be manufactured when extended time is required prior to product entering the capping machine.  These towers are, generally, tiered conveyors.  Allowing product to travel not only back and forth through lanes, but also from one tier to another to allow for the extended cooling time.  The cooling conveyor towers can also be manufactured with a fan system to aid in the process and expedite the cooling.  

 

These conveyor systems include easily adjustable speed controls, allowing the operator to fine tune the amount of cooling time for each product or project being run.  Once cooled, the product will simply move out of the cooling conveyor tower and on to the next packaging machine (normally the capper) to continue the process.  Other types of tiered of serpentine conveyors may be used for accumulation as well.  For more information on the cooling conveyor tower, take a look at the features and options on our cooling conveyor page.