Recent advances in technology have made the concept of drying in a central location—as opposed to right at the machine—more advantageous for certain kinds of processing operations.

A new slide gate for dry bulk-solids metering is designed to prevent leakage of air pressure in pneumatic conveying systems.

Dryers, feeders, blenders, loaders, metal detectors, level sensors, mechanical and pneumatic conveyors, silos, bins, pumps, filters, valves, box fillers, bag dumpers, and materials-handling control systems constitute one of the biggest categories of products on display at NPE.

From pneumatic systems that deliver materials to the processing machine to conveyors and handling devices that pull parts out the back, the trend appears to be “smaller and smarter.” NPE 2000 will show lots of downsized auxiliaries designed for mini processing machines, as well as more compact equipment of every size that frees up floor space.