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Valves for Powders and Bulk Materials

Contained and Controlled Materials Handling

Matcon design and manufacture a range of unique discharge valves to control the flow of bulk powders and overcome the risk of powder flow problems such as bridging, ratholing and segregation.

At the heart of our valves is Matcon's world-famous Cone Valve Technology delivering efficient and flexible powder handling solutions, serving a range of powder manufacturing industries. 

Matcon is the original manufacturer of Cone Valve Technology and can provide solutions for a wide range of applications to enhance your materials handling capabilities and transform your powder handling processes.

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The Cone Valve

Invented, patented and developed by Matcon, the original Cone Valve Manufacturers.

Our Cone Valve technology allows manufacturers to handle a wide range of powders, bulk materials from cohesive to free-flowing.

The Cone Valve overcomes all of the typical powder handling problems associated with butterfly valves and silo hoppers, such as bridging, blockages, mix segregation and core-flow. This impressive discharge device also provides accurate, automatic and controlled discharge of virtually any powder type, achieving what other systems cannot.

Gain control of your powders with the Matcon Cone Valve.

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The original Cone Valve technology

The Cone Valve is at the heart of the Matcon IBC systems.  It is essentially a discharge and flow device.

It sits at the outlet of the Matcon IBCs or Discharger Valves and can be configured with variable lift heights or levels of vibration, to overcome all powder handling issues and control powder flow.

The Cone Valve creates mass-flow discharge with ‘first-in first-out – FIFO’ flow, maintaining the homogeneous blend.

With an automated discharge procedure, it can be operated across floors or at height and linked to level probes in the downstream equipment.

Maintain a homogeneous blend, whatever the materials

Blended materials can be fed directly from the IBC, discharging to the downstream process with minimal risk of mix segregation protecting the reliability of the end product.

Cohesive powders and materials can be stimulated to flow, without the risk of particle rolling or segregation, which results in better product quality and less scrappage.

Powders that are 'free-flowing' can be controlled and dosed to specified weights without the need for additional feeders, which would add cost and complexity to a system.

Fragile ingredients and materials such as flakes, candy, or gum are gently handled and breakages are avoided.

Shut-off of the flow of materials during discharge is possible and enables a switch out of IBCs that still contain product, without the risk of product leakage.

Dust-free handling and containment are assured throughout processing removing the risk of cross-contamination hazards – ideal when manufacturing allergen-containing products.

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Discharger Valve

Designed for fitting to silos and hoppers to equip them with Cone Valve technology, Discharger Valves deliver a controlled discharge of bulk powders.

The Discharger Valve acts as both a flow aid, metering device and shut-off valve in one.

Feeding of dry bulk powders to a downstream process such as extruders or loss in weight feeders is controlled and ensures a consistent and reliable source of material.

Every material has different powder characteristics and each application needs a specific flow or feed rate, so it is helpful to have support from our experts who have the knowledge and experience to ensure you get the right sized valve for your application

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With sizes ranging from 500mm to 2.5 metres in diameter, the Discharger Valve is designed with a flange in order to be easily mounted to the silo, hopper or bin outlet.

The internal cone houses a pneumatic vibrator which is deployed as the cone lifts into the powder material and is used to stimulate the flow of bulk solids. Rubber isolators limit any vibration transmission into the surrounding plant.

An actuator driven by compressed air provides the lift force to raise the internal cone which is enclosed within a hygienic cover.

The internal Cone Valve promotes mass flow as it rises into the powder material, and pulls material from all sides of the vessel, preventing rat-holing and bridging.

An adjustable lift height allows metered, controlled dosing.

Manufactured from 316L stainless steel it can be used in almost any industry application.

Robust and reliable design with easy access panel for maintenance.

Easy to install and retrofit to existing silos, hoppers and bins to overcome powder discharge problems.

Promote the discharge of even the most challenging materials

Discharge device - the powerful lifting and vibrating action of the cone valve easily overcomes bridging, ratholing, and other flow problems. A major benefit of the Cone Valve is that it promotes 'mass-flow’. Pulling material from all sides of the vessel. This helps to eliminate particle segregation should the powders in the silo or hopper be a mixed blend.

Valve - because it opens and closes vertically the cone valve can be shut off at any time to stop the flow of product. Other types of valves cannot close effectively once the flow has started. The valve closes under gravity and the weight of material overhead, thus is totally failsafe.

Feeding device - because it can be controlled so easily, the Matcon Discharger Valve is frequently used to meter material from storage, either at a controlled rate or to a level sensor or to a specified weight.

As the Cone Valve lifts, it creates an annular gap through which the powder flows freely under gravity. This proven design ensures that you avoid powder handling issues such as:

  • Material Degradation
   
   

 

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Manual Cone Valve (MCV)

The Matcon Manual Cone Valve will add superior powder handling capabilities to your butterfly or slide valve IBC fleet – overcoming the issues of core flow and particle rolling that are experienced with standard butterfly valves.

Designed primarily for the Food, Beverage, and Chemical sectors, the manually operated Manual Cone Valve promotes mass-flow discharge of free-flowing powders, preventing segregation of powder mixes and ensuring product quality.

The Manual Cone Valve can easily be retrofitted to IBCs and offers a cost-effective way to add Cone Valve technology to an existing system.

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MCV at a glance

The Matcon Manual Cone Valve is a manually operated discharge device that is fitted to the outlet of an IBC.  It offers a superior discharge process compared to butterfly valves.

The unit comprises a valve body with a single-sided arm that supports a cone valve which is raised using a lever handle.  The lever can be locked in the open or closed positions, or any intermediate position via a locking handle, depending on the desired flow rate of powder discharge.

As the cone valve rises inside the IBC the annular gap created promotes mass-flow of the powders as they exit the IBC.

Key features:

  • Sandwich mounting - outlet ID 250mm
  • Variable stroke position locking
  • Stainless steel grade 316L construction
  • FDA approved seals

The Manual Cone Valve advantage

The MCV protects powder mixes during the discharge process as powder exits the IBC under mass-flow discharge, which prevents particle rolling and ingredient segregation.

The Manual Cone Valve can be retrofitted to upgrade your existing IBCs as it is easily fitted to the IBC outlet.

Designed for free-flowing powders it is ideal for protecting product mixes such as sugar-based drinks powders, 3-in-1 beverage mixes, salt-based food ingredients and washing powders.

The MCV provides contained powder handling during transit. Designed for fast assembly and disassembly, it is also easy to clean.

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Manual Cone Valve Images

MCV Line of Valves Manual Cone Valve with Handle

 

 

Matcon's World Leading Cone Valve Technology

Discover how IBC Cone Valve Technology could be the solution to your powder handling problems.

Achieve accurate, controlled, and contained discharge of materials

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The Matcon Product Range

Powder Handling Equipment

Using decoupled processing with Intermediate Bulk Containers (IBCs) to transport powders between manufacturing steps, from blending to discharging and packing.

IBCs

Matcon IBCs are efficient, dust-tight powder containers, manufactured to the highest standards for all industry applications.

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Formulate

Formulate powder recipes directly to IBCs with accurate, automated filling and add into your batch processing flow as required.

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Blend

Mix powder recipes of all sizes any time using an IBC Tumble Blender. Improve loading times, cleaning and remove bottlenecks.

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Pack

Accurately discharge your powder-based products without segregation. Optimise throughput with automated, packing solutions.

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