Pug Mill Moisture

Stay Ahead of the Game

When it comes to manufacturing using a pug mill—whether its bricks, pottery, ceramics, cement, concrete or asphalt—pug mill moisture content is important. Mixing the materials at optimum moisture levels ensures that the highest quality and desired properties are achieved.

If moisture is not properly regulated, quality decreases and product waste occurs. When this happens, costs increase and profits suffer. Accurate moisture testing technology is the key to prevention.

The IR-3000 takes immediate, non-contact readings of moisture in % dry and % wet; allowing you to adjust moisture either automatically or manually according to your needs. We know moisture better than anyone else—but that’s not all we do. The IR-3000 accurately measures temperature, chemical composition, and other levels important to pug mill processing.

At MoistTech, we understand your company’s need to cut production costs without compromising product quality. With the IR-3000, product quality becomes better than ever before, and you’ll see a decrease in production costs, too. Both start-up and down times are reduced, and product waste due to incorrect moisture content is eliminated.

Discover Precise Measurements Now!

Pug

Pug is a product that is produced thru a pugmill (sometimes spelled as pug mill), a machine in which materials are simultaneously ground and mixed with a liquid. Industrial applications are found in bricks, pottery, cement and some parts of the concrete and asphalt mixing processes. In ceramics pug mills, or commonly known just as “pugs”, are not used to grind or mix, but rather they extrude clay bodies prior to shaping processes.

Having the correct pug moisture level has become a critical component during the production process. Being such a porous material, pug can easily become either too wet or dry wasting the manufacturer’s time and money.

By installing the MoistTech pug moisture sensor in the processing area, the user continuously monitors the manufacturing process with the ability to control the pug moisture content either manually or automatically.

The sensor should be installed over the conveyor transporting the pug, several inches above the belt, screw conveyor or any area where the material can be viewed. In the installations of spray or fluid bed dryer’s, optical windows or sampling systems can be provided.

non-contact

Our equipment never comes into contact with the product, allowing for less waste

zero drift

Our sensors are guaranteed not to drift over time – which saves time and money

closed loop

Create a closed-loop process by tying a moisture sensor into your PLC. Full control over the line!

no recalibrations

We’ve mastered the art of moisture sensors – your unit will never need to be recalibrated for the same product twice!

Efficiency in the Production Process

Users need to correlate moisture changes with pugmill operation. Changing the moisture percentage even by as little as 1% makes
a noticeable difference in the pellet quality both in the durability and in the sheen. If the moisture rate varies by 3-5% it is almost impossible to consistently make a durable pellet at all. The other factor that moisture directly affects is the amperage of the main drive on the pellet mill. In wood pelleting specifically, if the moisture rate trends upwards the amperage of the motor swings upwards as well. When the moisture rate drops the amperage falls significantly. This bouncing of the amperage rate can have a detrimental effect on the production capacity of the pellet mill.

Assess

Locate the point in the production process in which measuring moisture will be the most crucial and beneficial. Identify how you will use the moisture measurement data for improvements and if it will tie into your PLC.

Remember this could involve more than one installation point!

Contact

We offer service and support throughout the world for our moisture measurement sensors and would be happy to connect you with a rep in your area. Contact us today for more information!

Understand the Process

MoistTech Corp manufactures a state of the art moisture detection sensor that provides instant, accurate, repeatable data that can be used to make line adjustments directly on the production line.