A diverter valve for conveying a material has a housing with at least three passage openings for feeding or discharging material. The passage openings define a conveying plane. The diverter valve includes a rotary part with an outer contour that is conical, at least in sections, with respect to its axis of rotation. The rotary part is arranged in a sealed manner in the housing. The rotary part can be axially displaced and rotated within the housing. The axis of rotation is perpendicular to the conveying plane. A passage conduit is arranged in the rotary part, which, depending on the rotational position of the rotary part, connects to each other two passage openings for conveying material along the passage conduit through the diverter valve. A drain opening is provided in the housing for the automatic drainage of a liquid from the housing.

A deviation handling apparatus for a continuous production system of granulated products includes a storage section for temporarily storing the products, an inspection section for inspecting selected physical properties of the products, a moving route switching section for switching the moving route of the products according to the results of the inspection and a discharge path for discharging the products judged as not meeting the specifications. The storage section has two shutoff valves and a storage chamber formed therebetween. The switching section has a switching valve having a normal position and a deviation position for causing a conveyance route to communicate with the discharge path. The deviation handling apparatus closes the shutoff valves to store products in the storage chamber and inspect properties of the products. When off-specification products are detected, the switching valve is switched to the deviation position and the products are discharged.

A deviation handling apparatus for a continuous production system of granulated products includes a storage section for temporarily storing the products, an inspection section for inspecting selected physical properties of the products, a moving route switching section for switching the moving route of the products according to the results of the inspection and a discharge path for discharging the products judged as not meeting the specifications. The storage section has two shutoff valves and a storage chamber formed therebetween. The switching section has a switching valve having a normal position and a deviation position for causing a conveyance route to communicate with the discharge path. The deviation handling apparatus closes the shutoff valves to store products in the storage chamber and inspect properties of the products. When off-specification products are detected, the switching valve is switched to the deviation position and the products are discharged.

A system distributes raw material powder from a reservoir to a plurality of at least two additive manufacturing machines. The system includes at least one gas flow drive and at least two conveying lines for conveying the powder to the at least two manufacturing machines by a gas flow driven by the at least one gas flow drive. The system further includes a feeding manifold for feeding the at least two conveying lines with the raw material powder. The feeding manifold is configured and arranged to selectively guide, controlled by at shut-off valves, the raw material powder into one of the at least two conveying lines. Each of the shut-off valves is arranged at the feeding manifold and is configured to selectively close and open for selectively feeding the at least two conveying lines with the raw material powder.

Powder flow conveying from a powder feeder to a process (i.e. thermal spray gun) can have instabilities that can be detected and diagnosed using the hose back pressure. Incorporating a pressure transducer in the powder hose line at the connection of the powder line to the feeder allows the back pressure to be measured in real time at a high sample rate to detect instability and aid in diagnosing the cause of the instability. Diagnosis includes identifying periodic oscillations in the hose such as acoustics as well as detecting hose clogging and hose rupture conditions. Once detected proper corrective actions can be recommended to correct the cause of the instability.

An air cart for distributing air entrained particulate material from a chamber or tank to a plurality of distribution lines for application to an agricultural field has a tank refilling feature utilizing air flow from the cart distribution system or from a dedicated pneumatic source. The cart conveying system air flow is diverted and passed through an assembly containing multiple venturis which also receives particulate material from a supply source. The air entrained material from the source is conveyed to and gently deposited in the cart tank. Exhaust air from the tank may be directed back into the cart conveying system or vented through an air diffuser located beneath the cart. Exhaust air which is directed back to the cart conveying system may return to a location closely adjacent that from which it was originally diverted.

An air cart for distributing air entrained particulate material from a chamber or tank to a plurality of distribution lines for application to an agricultural field has a tank refilling feature utilizing air flow from the cart distribution system or from a dedicated pneumatic source. The cart conveying system air flow is diverted and passed through an assembly containing multiple venturis which also receives particulate material from a supply source. The air entrained material from the source is conveyed to and gently deposited in the cart tank. Exhaust air from the tank may be directed back into the cart conveying system or vented through an air diffuser located beneath the cart. Exhaust air which is directed back to the cart conveying system may return to a location closely adjacent that from which it was originally diverted.

An air cart for distributing air entrained particulate material from a chamber or tank to a plurality of distribution lines for application to an agricultural field has a tank refilling feature utilizing air flow from the cart distribution system or from a dedicated pneumatic source. The cart conveying system air flow is diverted and passed through an assembly containing multiple venturis which also receives particulate material from a supply source. The air entrained material from the source is conveyed to and gently deposited in the cart tank. Exhaust air from the tank may be directed back into the cart conveying system or vented through an air diffuser located beneath the cart. Exhaust air which is directed back to the cart conveying system may return to a location closely adjacent that from which it was originally diverted.

An air cart for distributing air entrained particulate material from a chamber or tank to a plurality of distribution lines for application to an agricultural field has a tank refilling feature utilizing air flow from the cart distribution system or from a dedicated pneumatic source. The cart conveying system air flow is diverted and passed through an assembly containing multiple venturis which also receives particulate material from a supply source. The air entrained material from the source is conveyed to and gently deposited in the cart tank. Exhaust air from the tank may be directed back into the cart conveying system or vented through an air diffuser located beneath the cart. Exhaust air which is directed back to the cart conveying system may return to a location closely adjacent that from which it was originally diverted.

A deviation handling apparatus for a continuous production system of granulated products includes a storage section for temporarily storing the products, an inspection section for inspecting selected physical properties of the products, a moving route switching section for switching the moving route of the products according to the results of the inspection and a discharge path for discharging the products judged as not meeting the specifications. The storage section has two shutoff valves and a storage chamber formed therebetween. The switching section has a switching valve having a normal position and a deviation position for causing a conveyance route to communicate with the discharge path. The deviation handling apparatus closes the shutoff valves to store products in the storage chamber and inspect properties of the products. When off-specification products are detected, the switching valve is switched to the deviation position and the products are discharged.