Using an expert system to monitor mixer performance
Monitoring your mixer's performance would be simple, though expensive, if you hired a full-time powder mixing consultant. A low-cost alternative is to use a computer furnished with software called an expert system. This article describes how you can use one such expert system, called the powder mixing monitor [POMM], to monitor mixer performance. Sections discuss how POMM simulates variations in mixture samples, how POMM determines the acceptable variation range for a mixture, and how POMM interacts with you to monitor mixer performance.
If you had time to check many mixture samples taken from your mixer over a long period, as well as the mathematical expertise to manipulate the resulting statistical data, improving your mixer's performance would be easy. But running an effective mixing operation in a fast-paced industrial environment requires instant access to information on the mixture's acceptability and ways to improve mixer performance. While a powder mixing consultant could probably provide this information, stationing a full-time consultant at every mixer in your plant would be prohibitively expensive. What you really need, then, is low-cost advice from an assistant who knows all the answers and can quickly provide them to you.