The Rheo Drum Conditioner provides a safe and reliable means of conditioning hardened product within raw material containers. The breakup of the hardened product allows for easier product flow out of drums later in the manufacturing process. Safety, containment, and productivity are all addressed with this simple-to-use machine.

  • Safety: The Rheo Drum Conditioner eliminates the need for a mallet or baseball bat in the product conditioning process. The Drum Conditioner uses hydraulic actuators to break up hardened material in drums so that operator intervention for breaking up material is eliminated. All moving parts are guarded to keep operators safe.
  • Containment: The Rheo Drum Conditioner can break up material throughout the drum without removing the lid. This allows the material to stay contained within the drum instead of exposing the product to break up the material using other means.
  • Productivity: The Rheo Drum Conditioner can be programmed to automatically condition a drum using a customized recipe for each drum that can ensure repeatability with breaking up the material and can significantly reduce the time required by an operator. An operator can load a drum, press a button to start the conditioning sequence, and then walk away to work on another process while the drum is being conditioned.

How It Works

The Drum Conditioner utilizes two hydraulic actuators to provide up to 7000 lbs of force to the sides of the drum in order to condition even the hardest of materials. This system has three primary functions:

  • Conditioning Arms: two guided arms are actuated using two separate actuators that apply up to 7000 lbs of force to the sides of the drum. The end effectors can be changed for different profiles per the client drum type and application requirement.
  • Drum Elevator: this function moves the drum up and down between the conditioning arms to allow total contact along the height of the drum.
  • Rotating Drum Platform: the drum platform is built on a rotary bearing that allows the drum to rotate, allowing the conditioning arms to contact all points along the circumference of the drum.

Higher Throughput Capacity Option

For continuous conditioning of a single drum type, a conveyor can be integrated with a drum conditioning frame in order to simultaneously condition multiple drums.

  • Features multiple hydraulically powered conditioning arms to carry out the simultaneous conditioning of multiple drums at different heights.
  • Integrated powered conveyor system allows for high drum throughput without operator intervention.
  • Conditioning sequence is customized for each specific drum type and is controlled by a PLC with touchscreen HMI.
  • Different drum types can be programmed to work with the conveyor and drum conditioning system.