Hosokawa Micron BV’s famous Nauta® Conical Screw Mixer is the original cone-shaped mixer for gently batch processing powders and liquids. The truly revolutionary technology was originally invented in the late 1930s by Johannes Ewardus Nauta, and since then, has been constantly honed, optimised and expanded to become one of the world’s most successful industrial mixers.
The processing equipment has been elevated to iconic status by numerous manufacturing sectors all over the world – including the pharmaceutical, chemical, food, nuclear, coating, pigment and mineral industries – who appreciate its convenient multi-functionality, build quality, thoughtfully engineered design features and its ability to carefully handle fragile ingredients – not to mention the precise results it consistently delivers.
Available in a wide range of sizes and multiple designs, with many optional accessories and features available to suit particular processing and cleaning requirements, the energy-efficient Nauta® Conical Screw Mixer not only performs as a highly effective low intensity batch mixer for a diverse range of materials, including challenging delicate and cohesive powders, but can also be used for a host of additional applications, from heating, cooling and drying, to coating, granulation, de-aeration and densification.
Hosokawa Micron BV’s iconic Nauta® Conical Screw Mixer is a great multi-tasking solution for batch processing all kinds of material into superior-quality free-flowing powders and pastes.
Conveniently available in a wide range of sizes and capacities (from 2.5 litres to 100,000 litres+), some of which are detailed below, the versatile mixer is very energy-efficient and has numerous design options and optional accessories to suit many applications, processes and materials. Typically, 300 litres of powder can be mixed in 3 to 10 minutes, while 3,000 litres of material take between 15 to 45 minutes to complete.
For small-scale laboratory and R&D use, we also offer the Nauta® Minimix, which is closely based on the classic Nauta® Conical Screw Mixer and provides the same advantages on a much smaller scale, including gentle mixing, full discharge and flexible filling options. The diminutive, mobile version handles material batches as small as 0.3 litres.
Design Options
Optional Accessories
Test Centre Product Development Solutions
Hosokawa Micron Group is proud to be able to offer a comprehensive product trial service as part of the development of your application processes and equipment designs. The in-house service is backed up by the latest powder and particle processing technology and state-of-the-art digital support, which can be 100% online if an in-person visit to one of Hosokawa Micron Group’s Europe-based test centres or laboratories is not feasible.
Collaborating with your engineering team, our in-house team of expert technicians, scientists, engineers and operators will rigorously put your application requirements to the test to devise the optimal process system or piece of equipment.
We perform well in excess of 500 product trials per year, each one typically taking up to a week to complete, and, for your convenience, our team is available at all times during the trial process to assist you and answer any queries, either remotely or in-person at our facilities.
Product, application and equipment trials can be carried out at laboratory or production scale using our comprehensive suite of Hosokawa-brand powder processing and containment equipment, ancillary equipment and analytical instruments, and we provide full documentation, reports, test results and sample material throughout the process.
As one of the world’s leading powder processing specialists, Hosokawa Micron Group has more than a century’s-worth of in-depth knowledge and experience working with a huge and complex variety of materials and for a wealth of applications in increasingly diverse and exciting sectors.
Whether its traditional manufacturing industries such as pharmaceuticals, nuclear, chemicals and food, or more contemporary sectors such as rechargeable battery materials, recycling and advanced materials, we can test your products in a realistic environment to ensure you can achieve the largest, most high-quality yields from your raw materials prior to supplying your optimised equipment or system.
We have in-house test centres dedicated to food, particle and powder processing, recycling, granulation and compaction. Our set up also includes a pharmaceutical-based clean room featuring containment equipment, a circuit-air mode and an OEL < 10µm/m3, along with a fully equipped laboratory dedicated to particle analysis, rheological properties and microscopy.
From feasibility studies, process optimisation, scale-up and product development to special designs that meet challenges such as potentially explosive environments and products, abrasive and hazardous products, process simulation, clean room designs and particle size analysis – the possibilities and opportunities are endless.
For more in-depth information about the Nauta® Conical Screw Mixer and process system specifications, including full details of the design options available and our cutting-edge testing centre services, please feel free to contact us on +44 (0)1928 755100 or complete our short enquiry form – we would be delighted to trial your processes and materials and help you to choose the perfect mixer or process system for your application.
The multi-functional, low intensity nature of Hosokawa Micron BV’s Nauta® Conical Screw Mixer means that it has been a universally popular piece of processing equipment for decades and is utilised by a wide variety of industries for a multitude of reasons. The mixer is particularly popular in the pharmaceutical, chemical, nuclear, food, mineral and metals sectors, where it is configured and adapted to the latest ATEX standards for hazardous areas.
Primarily a high-performance, low intensity batch mixer for processing fragile materials gently, the equipment is also highly effective for drying, moistening, heating and cooling material to create high-quality free-flowing powder mixtures and pastes. When used in combination with an intensifier, it is also suitable for processing challenging cohesive products.
Typical applications include:
Materials which may be processed by the Nauta® Conical Screw Mixer include pharmaceuticals, cell culture media, dyes, polyamide, ascorbic acid, herbs, seaweed, soya, amoxicillin, quartz, kaolin, flour, coffee beans, spices, corn starch, cell culture media, pigments, fertilisers, APIs, hyaluronic acid, collagen powder, cocoa powder, tea, synthetic rubber, barley, sugar, potato starch, nutraceuticals, mica, proteins, gelatine, dried fruits, detergents, animal feed, wheat, mineral powder, lactose, hormones, dental compounds, vitamins, metal compounds, catalysts and fibre.
The classic Nauta® Conical Screw Mixer is an extremely efficient convective batch mixer with a gentle action that maximises the integrity of the materials it is processing. This gentle action means that it is suitable for all ATEX zones.
Suitable for a huge variety of materials and applications, the versatile capabilities of the mixer mean it may be used for mixing powders together and mixing powders with liquid to create suspensions. Additionally, the mixer can be used as a heater, dryer, reactor and cooler. Configuration adaptability and a range of optional accessories provide additional flexibility in design, widening its commercial appeal. An additional advantage is that the mixer accurately processes batch volumes of 15% to 100%.
Ingredients enter the vertically configured mixer from the top of the wide end of the conical vessel. When ready, the vessel’s rotating and cantilevered mixing screw (with an average speed of 70rpm) then proceeds to convey the products from the bottom of the vessel to the surface of the product area. Suspended from an orbital arm, the mixing screw turns alongside the conical vessel’s internal wall, causing shear and convective mixing of the material particles.
Particle speed increases as gravity pulls the ingredients back down into the narrower area of the vessel, recirculating the materials and causing fast, intensive yet gentle and accurate mixing.
The convective mixing effect is created by the axial mixing of the screw, the radial mixing and shape of the cone and the tangential mixing of the arm.
The mixer is very energy-efficient and, because of its low energy consumption, generates very little heat, meaning materials with a low softening point of 50°C can be processed.
Processed material discharges very quickly and effectively via the discharge port at the bottom of the vessel, leaving minimal amounts of residue remaining. Thanks to the simplicity of the design, the mixer is very easy and quick to clean, so changing batches is an easy process while maintenance is also simplified. Conveniently, we offer system designs for wet cleaning, dry cleaning and sterilisation.
The Nauta® Conical Screw Mixer by Hosokawa Micron BV can be supplied as an individual piece of mixing and particle design equipment but may also be supplied as part of a larger, tailor-made process system designed, engineered and manufactured by Hosokawa Micron Group to precisely cater for your specific application, material and requirements.
With a wealth of experience and innovation expertise – as well as an industry-leading portfolio of processing equipment encompassing containment, milling, classification, mixing, particle design, agglomeration etc – we are adept at creating bespoke, complex mixing systems that combine optimal functionality, quality, performance and reliability.
We can combine the Nauta® Conical Screw Mixer with equipment for conveying and handling, dosing and weighing, size reduction and classification, packing and storage, all surrounded by the very latest control and process automation technologies.
For example, the mixer can be integrated into a system for hydro thermic treatment of wheat flour for producing savoury foods such as soups, sauces and gravies. Requiring very controlled conditions, such as precision moisture addition, the mixer (with additional heat jacket) provides steam to the wheat flour and cooks it for a period of between 20-40 minutes before being quickly loaded to an intermediate hopper. From there, it can be fed into a Drymeister (DMR-H) continuous flash dryer where the flour is milled and dried into a fine powder within seconds.
Trusted by leading manufacturing companies spanning a wide variety of sectors – from pharmaceuticals, nuclear and chemicals to cosmetics – Hosokawa Micron Group is known globally for equipment and process system innovations that perfectly complement our game-changing processing techniques.
A first-class in-house project management and engineering service, along with technical services such as contract manufacturing, particle design and powder testing, offer you a complete, professional solution to match our adaptable high-performance products and the process systems that we can precisely tailor-make for you.
Our equipment portfolio is also underpinned by extensive lifecycle management services and friendly, efficient customer care to support you during the decades of service you can expect to enjoy from Hosokawa Micron Group equipment and process systems.
The famous Nauta® brand conical screw mixer was truly pioneering and exciting when it was invented in the Netherlands by Mr J. E. Nauta in 1939, combining for the first time an auger, drive unit, a universal joint for an agricultural tool (agriculture being its first market) and a conical vessel in which to process the materials.
Widely known and respected by powder processing sectors all over the world ever since, the design classic developed over time and is famous for its low intensity mixing capabilities and producing the finest-quality free-flowing powders and pastes.
Originally, many of the mixer’s customers came from the cattle feed industry, followed shortly after by the food and chemical industries. Fast forward to the sectors that use the equipment today and you can include detergents, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, nuclear and minerals in the mix, amongst many others.
Protected by patents for many years, the mixer was solely produced by J. E. Nauta’s Nautamix® NV company in the Netherlands but began to be manufactured by the Japanese Hosokawa Micromeritics Corporation when a license was granted for it in 1963, opening up the important Japanese market. In 1987, Nautamix® NV was fully merged into the Hosokawa Micron Group international family of companies.
Today, the iconic Nauta® Conical Screw Mixer is the most widely used industrial-scale mixer in the world and is trusted by thousands of manufacturing companies who require processed powder. The processing equipment continues to be developed, optimised and manufactured by Hosokawa Micron BV in its original home – the Netherlands.
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