(A) Seed Conditioning Machinery
Selecting equipment for your planting seed processing and conditioning requirements from Continental Eagle Corporation is a wise decision because of the large amount of experience in the seed industry of individuals on the CEC staff, and the long standing tradition CEC has for quality. ‘Whether the equipment and machinery that you buy from CEC is manufactured by CEC or selected for you from other high quality manufacturers, you are assured that the selections are made by conscientious professionals to perform the functions you need both effectively and efficiently.
In addition to CEC’s considerations of the effectiveness and efficiency of the machines, when working with planting seed equipment strict attention is also given to preserving the quality of the seed, and to preserving the integrity of the seed lot purity. This means that the machinery involved must not inflict unacceptable damage to the seed, and provisions must be made to allow a complete cleaning between varieties. Examples follow.
SCREW CONVEYORS
Whenever screw conveyors are needed, they are selected and assembled with a smooth trough and a minimum clearance of 13mrn between the moving flighting and any stationary component that could possibly cause crushing or cutting of the seed.
BUCKET ELEVATORS
Bucket elevators specified by CEC must operate at the optimum speed. It is critical that the speed is fast enough to empty the buckets completely, but slow enough so that the seed are not damaged by striking the inside of the elevator head too hard. By operating these bucket elevators at this optimum speed the bearings, belts, and other components have a better service life. The primary source of damage to seed in a bucket elevator comes from striking the inside of the head ssembly too hard as a result of the speed of the belt around the head pulley being too fast, but damage can also occur if the speed is too slow and seed fall back down the elevator leg rather than being cleanly discharged into he discharge spout. In a Seed Elevator the buckets are attached to the belt with spacers so that there is a space between the bucket and the belt. This space allows the seeds to flow through the space and prevents the possibility of seeds becoming lodged and thus making cleanout between seed lots more efficient.
AIR-SCREEN SEED CLEANER
The air-screen cleaner supplied by CEC is designed for the planting seed conditioner rather than the general grain ndustry. Machines are selected for capacity so that overloading of the screens will not be necessary. All adjustments can be made very precisely in order to remove the most extraneous materials possible without losing excessive amounts of good seed. These cleaners have the capability of making air separations both before and after the screening operation. In order to attain the optimum screening effectiveness screen sizes are available in graduations as small as O.2mm.
GRAVITY TABLE
The gravity table, or specific gravity separator, performs one of the most important functions in the seed plant by removing inferior seeds or extraneous material that the air screen cleaner was not able to remove. The machines supplied by CEC have very precise controls with visual indicators that allow easy return to previous settings or easy monitoring to assure that operating conditions have not changed. One very important feature of the machine supplied by CEC is the sensing of a pressure drop inside the air chamber. This pressure drop usually is caused by an inadequate layer of seed across the deck. An inadequate layer of seed across the deck will result in inferior seed moving off the deck with the good seed. In order to prevent this, a gate is closed preventing seed from leaving the deck when this pressure drop is sensed. This has proved to be a very valuable feature for preserving the high quality of a seed lot.
SEED TREATER
The seed treating equipment utilizes a method where a measured weight of seed activates a cup that delivers a precise amount of chemical to the seed stream. The chemical is delivered through an air nozzle to aid in uniform coverage of all of the seeds. The seed and chemical are then thoroughly blended as they flow through a coating chamber of auger flighting and curved rods. For chemical resistance the seed treating equipment is constructed of stainless steel.
