An inline gyro or tumbler screen is a horizontal circular or oval vibrating screen mounted within a continuous production line material flows continuously through an enclosed housing from the inlet at one end to the sieved discharge and reject discharge at the other, without open loading or manual transfer. Processing 50–20,000 kg/h with screen apertures of 100–10,000 µm, it integrates directly between upstream pneumatic transfer, FBP discharge, or blender outlet and downstream tablet press hopper providing continuous inline QC sieving, de-lumping, and oversize removal in ICH Q13 continuous manufacturing lines.
Material enters continuously through the inlet nozzle at one end of the enclosed screen housing; the gyratory or eccentric drive generates horizontal circular motion that causes on-specification particles to migrate continuously toward the sieved outlet at the far end while oversize particles are retained and conveyed to the reject outlet. No operator loading step is required the screen operates automatically as part of the continuous process train. Screen inclination (0–5°) and vibration frequency independently adjust residence time and separation efficiency. A PLC monitors motor current and reject rate high reject rate triggers upstream process alarm. Screen change is performed without stopping adjacent equipment using a quick-release cartridge system.
Challenges
Feed Rate Surge from Upstream Batch Discharge Overloading Screen
FBP or blender batch discharge creates a surge that momentarily overloads screen capacity oversize in discharge.
Screen Blinding During Long Continuous Runs with Cohesive or Moist Material
Extended continuous processing progressively blinds the inline screen reject rate rises while throughput falls.
Screen Cartridge Change Causing Line Stoppage
Stopping the inline sifter for screen change halts upstream and downstream equipment production loss.
Cross-Contamination from Screen Housing Dead Zones at Inlet/Outlet Nozzles
Powder accumulates in nozzle dead zones between products CIP shadow zones create contamination risk.
Integration of Sifter PLC with Line DCS for Reject Rate Alarm and Response
Standalone sifter PLC cannot communicate reject rate data to line DCS upstream alarm not triggered.
Solutions
- Surge Buffer Hopper Between FBP/Blender and Inline Sifter Inlet (60–90 s Capacity): Buffer hopper converts batch surge to steady flow inline sifter never sees peak load.
- Ultrasonic Screen Assist Option (36 kHz, Pulsed Duty Cycle): Ultrasonic option on inline sifter screen prevents blinding during long continuous runs.
- Hot-Swap Screen Cartridge System (<3 min Screen Change, Zero Line Stoppage): Pre-loaded second cartridge swaps in while first is cleaned continuous line operation maintained.
- Full-Bore CIP Spray Nozzles at Inlet and Outlet Nozzles (360° Coverage): Dedicated spray nozzles at each housing nozzle eliminate dead zones validated CIP coverage.
- Profibus / PROFINET / EtherNet/IP Interface to Line DCS (Reject Rate, Motor Current): Sifter PLC reports reject rate and motor current to line DCS in real time upstream alarm triggered automatically.
Applications
- Pharmaceutical (Continuous Mfg): ICH Q13 inline QC sieving between continuous granulator and tablet press oversize removal without batch interruption.
- Pharmaceutical (FBP Discharge): Inline de-lumping and QC sieving of fluid bed granulator discharge direct to IBC or blender.
- Food & Beverage: Continuous inline flour, sugar, and seasoning sieving on high-throughput packaging and filling lines.
- Chemical: Continuous inline classification of catalyst, specialty chemical, and mineral compound in continuous production.
- Nutraceuticals: Inline supplement powder QC sieving between blender and capsule/sachet filling machine.
Models & Capacities
| Type 4Â Inline Gyro / Tumbler Screen (Continuous): Models & Capacities | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Model | Scale | Throughput [kg/h] | Screen Ø / Size [mm] | Screen Aperture [µm] | Fractions Out | Motor [kW] | Inlet / Outlet Ø [mm] | Frame Height Adjust [mm] | Overall L × W [mm] | Overall H [mm] | Weight [kg] |
| VS-IL-300 | Lab/Pilot | 50–300 | Ø300 | 100–5,000 | 2 | 0.18–0.37 | Ø80 | ±50 manual | 600×600 | 900 | 55 |
| VS-IL-450 | Pilot | 100–600 | Ø450 | 100–5,000 | 2 | 0.25–0.55 | Ø100 | ±50 manual | 750×750 | 1,000 | 85 |
| VS-IL-600 | Production | 200–1,200 | Ø600 | 100–5,000 | 2 | 0.37–0.75 | Ø125 | ±100 hydraulic | 950×950 | 1,100 | 130 |
| VS-IL-900 | Production | 500–3,000 | Ø900 | 100–5,000 | 2 | 0.55–1.1 | Ø150 | ±100 hydraulic | 1,200×1,200 | 1,200 | 220 |
| VS-IL-1200 | Production | 1,000–6,000 | Ø1,200 | 150–5,000 | 2 | 0.75–1.5 | Ø200 | ±100 hydraulic | 1,500×1,500 | 1,300 | 380 |
| VS-IL-1500 | Production | 2,000–10,000 | Ø1,500 | 200–5,000 | 2 | 1.1–2.2 | Ø250 | ±150 hydraulic | 1,850×1,850 | 1,400 | 580 |
| VS-IL-2000 | Large Prod | 4,000–20,000 | Ø2,000 | 200–10,000 | 2 | 1.5–3.0 | Ø300 | ±150 hydraulic | 2,400×2,400 | 1,500 | 950 |