Virto-Cuccolini: A simple solution to recover metal powders for 3D printing

Is total automation really responding to the daily needs of its users? In the constant dialogue with our customer base, divergent positions concerning this topic are emerging.

In the 3D printing market, there are various existing solutions for the recovery of metal powders following the Additive Manufacturing printing process. These technologies have developed with the prospect of becoming increasingly automated.

However, Virto-Cuccolini’s new solution combines ease of use with accurate screening performance for the recycling and reconditioning of metal powders.

In fact, the 3D-500 system covers numerous end users’ daily demands:

– A technically complete and ready-to-use unit in its full-optional version: This is a sieving solution, specifically designed for fine powders, with predisposition for inert gas purging and oxygen level sensor; it also includes a mesh cleaning system to prevent mesh clogging and a PLC panel configured to control the sieve’s working logic together with inertising, and eventually data exchange with the rest of the plant;

– Easy disassembly for easy cleaning: Opening the machine without tools allows reducing cleaning phases; the quick clamps that hold the unit tight are designed to keep the components’ quality unchanged over time, even when handled daily;

– Simple maintenance, also thanks to the constant support of the Virto-Cuccolini Aftermarket Division

– The vibrating sieve unit can be offered with flexible sleeves and collection containers -bins- for product handling, according to customer needs; it’s also possible to customize inlet and outlet connections to suit any AM configuration requirement.

As a new type of Additive Manufacturing process, 3D printing with metal powders is currently in full development, and Virto-Cuccolini is pleased to support customers who intend to reclaim their metal powder batches, carrying out their recovery through fine vibrating sieving. Our system, also designed to reduce operational costs, helps preserving the quality of these precious raw materials, essential for the AM industry supply chains.

Do you want to know more about the Virto-Cuccolini 3D-500 system? Send us your request using the form below!

During 2022, Virto-Cuccolini had the opportunity to exercise a new layout on one of its own products. Following the specific need of an important customer in the pharmaceutical sector, a variation of the feeding cover was designed to improve the pouring dynamics of bagged powder ingredients. Consequently, a new upper part of the vibrating sieve model VPF 800 was built.

After a careful engineering feasibility assessment, the following main modifications were made, aiming at optimizing the machine’s functionality within operators’ daily activities. The design, specially taking into account the opening of also cubic bags, is equipped with a semi-circular hood connected to a concave surface for supporting bags; with a working height suitable for facilitating emptying of bags directly delivered by an horizontal source. The project is completed with handles to ease assembly and disassembly of the hood, together with quick release clamping rings to speed up the task.

In this way Virto-Cuccolini has supported not only the customer’s needs in terms of machine’s performance and functionality, but also its ergonomics, keeping the quality of the vibrating sieve unchanged and also supplying increased workplace well-being and safety of the operators.

The customer, declaring themselves satisfied, then purchased two units; and another customer from the food sector requested the same innovative fitting on a VPB 800.

For Virto-Cuccolini it was an interesting concerted ergonomic design experience, which allowed the team to learn new points of view on their sieving equipment and their use.

Are you looking for a suitable solution for your bag emptying station? Contact us by filling out the form below the video. We will be happy to assist you!

As it has been possible to observe with more than 30 active installations worldwide, Virto-Cuccolini Spirulina Harvesting Range (SHT) is supporting final product’s quality in many ways.

The performance of SHT range is based on proven results which can be summed up as following:

– Spirulina cells’ integrity after sieving: Virto-Cuccolini’s vibrating sieving equipment has great care of the product particles, which proved to remain whole after passing through the sieving process and therefore keeping nutrients content unchanged, versus other harvesting methods available in the market

– Harvesting efficiency: our harvesting range typically covers from 30 down to 7 µm (end of harvesting campaign); moreover, the specific construction shape of our sieves is guaranteeing a high efficiency of the system (harvests are 15-30% higher than other types of vibrating sieves), thanks to the effective vibration of our sieving section

In addition to the above, while spirulina cultivation is getting great amounts of attention, it is fundamental to keep in mind that harvesting efficiency, and therefore product quality, can be properly obtained in combination with a processing time that is proportioned to the need of fine sieving spirulina cells. This is a fact within any mechanical sieving process in any context.

To check the above points, Virto-Cuccolini is available to make small renting units available for testing the process and checking the difference.

Would you like to test the performance of the new Virto-Cuccolini SHT line for Spirulina harvesting? Contact us using the form below.

At Algaeurope 2022, International Congress held in Rome on Dec 13^th to 15^th, Virto-Cuccolini, in partnership with Liqoflux, Dutch plant engineering firm with great experience in the algae and microalgae sector, promoted the new range Spirulina Harvesting Technology (SHT), a cost-effective and safe solution for small and large Spirulina culture volumes. You can see a few pictures of the venue below:

Would you like to know more about our competence in spirulina harvesting? Contact us by filling in the form below:

SHT – Spirulina Harvesting Technology is the new Virto-Cuccolini line for the collection of spirulina.

Developed over the last 24 months together with spirulina producers from various parts of the world, the new Virto-Cuccolini SHT line is designed to meet all the needs of those who have to collect spirulina from small to large flowrates, with single systems or integrated with cultivation water recirculation solutions.

Three VLB vibrating screens are available in 3 different stand-alone sizes: 800 (small productions), 1200 (intermediate productions) and 1500 (large productions).

The flowrates, within these categories, may vary based on the desired cutting point: for an evaluation, Virto-Cuccolini is at your complete disposal.

The complete station is based on a 1200 size screen and includes both the suction pump of the product to be screened and the one for the recirculation of the cultivation water.

The systems of the SHT line are available in Aisi 304 stainless steel for fresh water and Aisi 316 for water with higher salt content.

To contact the Virto-Cuccolini staff and ask for more information on the new SHT – Spirulina Harvesting Technology line, you can use the form below, specifying your request!

In industrial applications, sieving also means being able to separate intact product from non-intact product.

This is the case of coffee, specifically of roasted coffee in beans to be sold in order to be ground upon need. 

In fact, roasted coffee beans are recommended to maintain the aroma and fragrance of the type of coffee directly until consumption, to be carried out immediately after grinding. Obviously, the presence of unhealthy and crushed coffee beans is not appreciated by consumers.

For this reason, it is advisable to separate, after the roasting process and just before the packaging phase, the whole roasted coffee beans from the crumbled and crushed ones, damaged following the various production phases.

In this regard, we have already made some supplies in this field, as can be seen from this laboratory test:

Also in this case, sifting means taking care of a product so that consumers have the maximum satisfaction in its consumption.

Virto-Cuccolini is proud to be able to support coffee producers and packagers in this goal.

CUCCOLINI is always unique and original.

Are you a fan of macarons – as we at Virto-Cuccolini mostly are?

If so, you should know that egg white plays an important role within the consistency of the macaron – when foamed and then cooked, it creates a light, delicious body, which fills your mouth with sweetness and flavor.

Egg white is mostly sold as a food ingredient in powder nowadays, which makes it easier to handle and can also be even more easily incorporated into the dough.

We happened to test egg white powder for safety sieving with our VP2 C-Line circular vibrating sieve. We initially thought that this type of powder would not be that easy to sieve, due to its tendency to agglomerate. On the contrary, we were pleased to discover that our vibrating sieving technology can handle this task quite well, as you can see from below video shot in our lab:

Thanks to safety sieving, we are able not just to separate foreign bodies that may enter your product in bulk, but also to improve the fineness of your ingredients and the texture of your final product by removing lumps.

Would you like to check whether your food ingredients can be sieved before use? You can contact us by using below form, you will be contacted back from us at soonest!

Vibrating sieving technology does not just apply to powders, but to solid products too.

In this case, we had the opportunity to check our C-Line circular vibrating sieve efficiency on a product sample of tea flowers, leaves and dust/waste we had received from a pharmaceutical Company, also active in the segment of nutraceutical and wellness products in Southern Europe.

As you can see from below video, our C-Line is able to separate the product by putting together 2 sieving processes:

• safety sieving: i.e. flowers separated from the main product
• dedusting: i.e. tea leaves (intermediate product) separated from dust and waste

Our sieving process is efficient and quick, compared to the type of product which is voluminous and irregular in shape.

Are you looking for a similar solution for your plant-based products? We are available to test a sample of your product: contact us by filling the form below!

As a manufacturer of industrial sieves and screens, Virto-Cuccolini has the opportunity to go through the supply chains that recycle valuable products, such as glass, in this case. Let’s follow this path together!

Glass has always been a 100% recoverable material. After crushing, glass fragments can be put back into the production cycle to create new objects.

The most recent developments in the glass market require increasing attention to the separation of the fragments, to identify the materials of greatest value or technical interest by grain size.

A part of these fragments is also sold to the ceramic industry for the preparation of raw materials. Glass particles are treated to form grit or ceramic frit with great attention to their particle size parameters, in order to determine the best possible composition and obtain a final product (tiles, dishes) with the desired technical and decorative characteristics.

In this case too, Virto-Cuccolini, with the T-Line tumbler screen, is able to effectively classify grits according to their dimensions, thus supporting our customers in this industry in creating different and efficiently divided products, according to the desired dimensions.

Here is an example of one of our tumblers installed in Italy.

This is also the goal of our X-Line multi-frequency screens, which have long been used in the glass recycling industry to extract the most valuable parts for an increasingly demanding sector.

In the photo alongside, you can see one of our X-Line installed at an Italian glass recycling company.

Do you want to learn more about how we can help you with glass recycling? Contact us for more information!

In the production of food ingredients, Virto-Cuccolini industrial sieves are the best support to increase the quality of the products by exploiting the principle of selection by grain size.

Some examples:

• in the dedusting of spices and dried fruit, to eliminate product fragments
• in the collection of microalgae such as spirulina or chlorella, through a superfine sieving (equal to or less than 15 µm)
• in the production of wheat starch, to separate the liquid portion of the hydrated flour
• in the production of tartaric acid, to classify the product and thus identify the most suitable particle size for different uses
• in the production of grain or hazelnut paste, through the classification of the various product grain sizes after grinding
• in the production of milk powder and whey, to check its safety and quality level

Here is a rundown of our experiences:

Spices and dried fruits dedusting with Virto-Cuccolini

Virto-Cuccolini and the classification of tartaric acid

Sieving spirulina at 15 µm: Virto-Cuccolini takes a step forward

Virto-Cuccolini And Hazelnuts: A Long Quest for Quality Enhancement

Hydrated flour wash-out with Virto-Cuccolini in wheat starch production

Virto-Cuccolini’s care in control sieving for powdered milk and whey

How can we improve the quality of your ingredients with Virto-Cuccolini sieving systems? Contact us for more information using the form below and we will be happy to answer you!