Volume 4, Number 3 July/August 1996
A technology developed for the nation's space program by Rockwell International Corporation's Rocketdyne Division in Canoga Park, California, is finding a "down-to-earth" application with a packaging equipment manufacturer in Monroe, Louisiana.
Custom Equipment Design manufactures machinery that moves bulk chemicals from storage bins to packaging equipment. According to company president Charles DeCrane, transporting very light, powdery materials, such as talc, carbon black and fused silica, is difficult if the materials are carried along by the traditional method: strong currents from air blowers. The air causes the light, powdery materials to become too loose, making bulk packaging difficult. Once packaged, the powders settle out of the air in the container, resulting in much wasted packing space and materials.
William Nally, an electrical engineer at Custom Equipment Design, was studying the problem when the plant was visited recently by a technology transfer outreach team. This group included Gordon Dyer of Lockheed-Martin Manned Space Systems in Michoud, Louisiana, Vickie Rester of the Louisiana Department of Economic Development, Dr. Elizabeth Rodgers of the Technology Transfer Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and Roger Black of ERC in Huntsville. Nally discussed his firm's problem with the visitors and submitted a request for NASA technical assistance.
The request was sent to the Southern Technology Transfer Alliance's Technology Applications Board. This board consists of the Marshall Space Flight Center, NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi and the Southeastern Technology Applications Center (a Regional Technology Transfer Center located in Alachua, Florida).
A potential solution was found in an issue of NASA Tech Briefs, a monthly publication from NASA Headquarters that describes commercially viable technologies developed by NASA. A "powder feeder for oxygen-sensitive powders" technology, developed by four engineers at Rocketdyne, seemed to be the answer to the Custom Equipment Design's problem. Representatives from the Louisiana firm, Rocketdyne engineer Christopher Power and members of the NASA technology transfer team met to discuss possible solutions.
The result was to modify the vacuum system to pull the loose powders through the conveyor pipes to the packaging site without dispersing the fine particles in the air stream. Tests have been successful, and Custom Equipment Design is now building a prototype. A patent application has been submitted for this new way of conveying for packaging loose, lightweight materials.
For more information, Phone 1-800/USA-NASA.
Please mention that you read about it in Innovation.
Curator: Joe Goldfus
