Cat Litter Manufacturing: Process Analysis and Machine Operation

This report provides a comprehensive overview of the cat litter manufacturing process using recycled paper, addressing process optimization, safeguarding, and hammer mill constraints. It details each stage, from the collection and transportation of recycled papers to the final packaging of the cat litter pellets. The report includes a safe work procedure for operating the hammer milling machine, highlighting potential hazards and necessary safety precautions. Furthermore, it outlines the process flow, including blending, pelletizing, and cooling stages, specifying the materials used and the approximate time taken for each process. The document emphasizes the importance of proper machine installation and maintenance for efficient and safe operation. Desklib provides access to this and many other solved assignments.

Product Manual 2
Product Manual Objectives and Deliverables 2
Operating Safety 2
Happy Cat Litter- Safe Work Procedure 3
Process Flow Diagram 4
Process Stages 4
Packaging Process 8
Hammer Mill 8
Installation 8
Testing of the Machine 11
Operating Principle/Feeding Mechanism 12
Shut Down Sequence 15
Cleaning and Maintenance of The Hammer Mill and Machine 15
References
Table of Contents
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Product Manual
The ever rising demand for cat rate and the price rate increase has led to the immense study of the paper
for effective cat litter production. Cat litter production uses recycled paper to produce the cat box fillers or
pellets. The paper litter is re-pulped, then de-inked and screened to produce short fibres. Water is drained
from short fibres, then they are pelletized, dried and combined with odour control agent. Finally packaged
as the cat lighter. This paper based cat litter is flushable when used in small quantities. In the recent years is
widely accepted because it is eco-friendly
Product manual Objectives and deliverables
The aim of the production manual development is to understand the challenges associated with operation of
making the cat litter; solving through engineering knowledge as well as making the overall process
effective. The parameters that are indicative are used for monitoring of every the production stage are
relevant to the industry standards approved to absorbent. The manual helps the operator to keep safety rules.
The main objective is to derive the procedure standards of operation and eliminate safety hazards as well as
the hurdles. There are three deliverables within the three production stages:
 Process optimization
 Process safeguarding
 Hammer mill constraints identification
 Parameters identification for optimal composite mixture blending
Project deliverables are summarized as follows:
 The deliverable budget
 Analysis of the root cause of process failure rates
 Provision of the company operation manual.
 To obtain the production rate of three tonnes per day
Operation Safety
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Happy Cat Litters – Safe Work Procedure
HAMMER MILLING MACHINE
DO NOT use this machine unless you have been instructed
in its safe use and operation and have been given permission
PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT
Safety glasses should be worn
during work-times in work
areas.
Loose and long hair ought to
be contained.
Industrial safety gloves
ought not to be worn when
operating this machine.
Safety boots should be worn
at all work-times in work
areas.
Protective clothing ought to
be worn.
Jewellery and Rings ought
not be worn.
PRE-OPERATIONAL SAFETY CHECKS
 Discover and make sure you are have knowledge
pertaining the machine controls and operations
 Male sure all safeguards are fitted, functional and
secure. Do not operate if safeguards are faulty or
missing.
 Check working-spaces and pathways to make sure
no trip or slip dangers are present.
 Make sure the cutter is in good working condition as
well as securely mounted.
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 Check delivery coolant system to let adequate
coolant flow.
OPERATIONAL SAFETY CHECKS
 Keep moving machine parts clear
 Follow proper clamping processes. Ensure
overhangs are minimal as you can; check the work-
piece if it is secure.
 Set the right speed that suits the diameter of the
cutter, the cut depth as well as the material.
ENDING OPERATIONS AND CLEANING UP
 The machine should be switched off when the work
is completed.
 Remove cutters for milling and store them in a safe.
 Before making modifications as well as
measurements or swarf accumulations cleaning,
switch off then to bring the machine to a whole
stoppage.
 Leave the work area and the machine in a safe,
clean as well as the tidy state.
POTENTIAL HAZARDS AND INJURIES
 Sharp cutters.
 Hair/clothing getting caught in moving machine parts.
 Injuries to the eye.
 Irritation to the skin
 Metal splinters and burrs.
 Flying papers.
DON’T
 Faulty equipment must not be used. Immediately
report suspect machinery.
 Never leave the machine running unattended.
 Do not place equipment on top of the machine.
Happy Cat Litter Production
Happy cat litter is a product that helps the owners of the cats to fix the problems of animal droppings at
random places. Instead of being embarrassed, the owners use the product that enables them to clean up
and vaporise the pungent odour associated with the dropping. The production of this product requires
each stage treatment of the material to be precise in term of the composition, moisture, viscosity and
temperature.
Raw Materials for Cat litter
 Recycled papers ( i.e. old newspapers, old document papers, boxes and cards)
 Water
 Baking soda
 Natural fibre
 The Process of Cat Litter Manufacturing
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Process Stages:
Collection and transportation
Collect the old papers waste from un-useful and old documents, boxes, cards, magazines and
newspapers. The paper waste can be bought from some offices or collected from the bins. The
collected waste papers is later transported to the cat litter factory.
Waste paper dumped at the office
Waste papers at the dumping site awaiting loading to the plant
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Storage stage
Then arrange them in the storage facilities according to their sizes for easy sorting.
Papers awaiting sorting and screening in the factory collection point.
The sorting out of waste depending size and texture.
The screening is done at the facilities to remove some unwanted waste. Then the paper is stored and
awaits the right time for use.
Ready waste paper in the warehouse awaiting processing.
Hammer Mill
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The paper from the warehouse is feed into the machine. In this stage, it has three sub-stages.
Feed the hammering machine with about 306.26grams of waste paper. In the first step the papers are
hammered to reduce them into small volume by the machine.
Papers feeder into the machine to be reduced in size and to be shred.
Then the papers are shred into small particles with the machine.
Shred papers
The whole hammering process takes about three seconds to end when automated. The production rate
at this stage about 1.82 per an hour.
Blending
Later the shreds are mixed with warm water which is treated to kill microbes and heated for about
twenty seconds. After mixing and blending with water the, paper and water will be 5% in mass less
than the paper feed into the water mixing chamber. For instance a mass of 306.2g feed to the water
mixer, its output will be 290.9g. Then it is screened to remove contaminants from pulp such as plastic
and glue.
In this stage also the de-inking of the pulp occurs by use of chemicals by the process of floatation. The
rate of production is about 1.6 per hour.
The mixture is blended with baking soda. Even the colour is added at this stage and some fibre to
enhance required features of the blend. At this stage the paper is ready for pelletizing.
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Shredded paper + water
Pelletizing Process
The blend is then transferred to the pelletizing machine within 10 seconds. The machine drains and
makes pellets by taking about 3 seconds completely. Here the mass of the mixture is gains about 5%.
For instance the mass was 290.95 g will be 300.56 g. This because of addition of fibre and colour
during pelletizing process. They can be made into any shape whether cylindrical, cubicle or cubes.
Wet pellets produced by pelletizing machine.
Cooling
The wet pellets are dried and cooled in this chambers by the air blown on them. The input mass does
not change mostly. The 300.25g is outputted as dry pellets. The process takes about 1 second to end.
Dried cat litter pellets
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Packaging Process
Then final process is packaging of the cat litter pellets. In this stage there is no loss of pellet mass. The
same mas of pellets transferred from the cooling is the same.
Packet cat litter
Hammer Mill
It is an essential machine in various industries like food and pharmacy. It can be used for various
purposes like crushing of food, corn shells, wood etc. we could say that there are three factors that
determine the output of a hammer mill i.e. shaft speed, screen size, cutting knife configuration. It is
highly recommended that these factors are to be considered while purchasing the hammer mill for the
right purpose.
Before installation and operation:
Once the equipment are received the crew must be sure of the installation requirements. Anything
unfamiliar should be clarified at any cost prior to setting up the machine and handling of it. Crew
should be aware of the safety measures prior to operating the equipment.
This helps a vibration free setting of the machine at appropriate location with enough space to move
around and for maintenance purpose as well.
Installation:
It is highly recommended that the crew are taught to operate the machine prior to installation and
handling. It is essential to understand the safety measures and handling of the equipment prior to set
up. It is important the machine is installed in a location which vibration free, rigid, easy to handle.
Installation Planning
The installation drawings must be studied keenly and comprehended. The installation drawing
illustrates dimensions, weights, clearances, connections locations, lifting-locations, power connections
and other use information. Use the installation drawing when you are preparing the installation site.
Read diligently the section of notes for every drawing for important details.
Power supply
Read carefully how the machine will be powered. Identify the switches as they are shown on the
pictures in the manual. Read thorough to understand emergency, warning and stoppage guards.
Hand Mill, Blender, Cat Pellet Machine location
Locate the hand mill so that it is easily accessible for repair, maintenance and firefighting purposes.
For room and outdoor installations, comply with the requirements of ventilation, power supply and
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proximity to volatile substances as per the manufactures manual. Before deciding the location to be
used, ensure you have read the manufacturer’s guideline for hand mill location.
Levelling:
The equipment must always be at a level to operate vibration free. Any misalignment could result in
damage of rotors, shafts etc. various shims must be used to correct if any misalignment. All the gaps
must be filled with cement or any hard material.
Levelling groung using spirit level
Machine Foundation
Install the hand mill set on the base slab or concrete pad in order to support accessories and its weight.
A right foundation is necessary to resist vibrations and transmitted noise. The mounting pad
composition should follow the standard set engineering practices. Securely set the hand-mill to the
foundation using required grade, style and size of fasteners. Holes are provided in the frames of steel
rails for mounting and fastening. The install a blender 1 m from the hand mill followed by the pellet
mill in one metre distance. Then install the cooler about two metres from the pellet machine.
Dimensions
The concrete pad must be extended beyond the frame at least by 18 inches; 3-8 inches above the
surrounding surface. The Hand mill machine needs a space of about 2.22m height by 2.33m width by
3.4m length. The space for operation has a storage box of 1.2m by 70cm high for storage purposes.
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The base must be:
 Able to support about 125% of the gross weight of the single loading. Gross weight is the
weight of hand mill plus weight of paper in the each mill equipment.
 Able to withstand severe torques to those paralleling systems.
 The level and flat within 1 inch.
Mounting
The hand-mill, blender, pellet mill and the cooler have mounting holes and rails. Use the mounting
holes in the frame base of the hand mill to fasten it to the foundation. Always, it is recommended to
use required grade, size and style. The hand mill has wheels which makes it easy to move to the site of
mounting. Then adjust the spring isolators by following the manufacturer’s instructions after
installations. Usually, the mounting pad is supposed to be at a flat level of about ½ inches.
Fasten the spring isolators to both the hand mill base and foundation with the appropriate grade, size as
well as the style of fasteners. Do the same to the blender, pellet machine and the cooler.
Spring isolator
Ensure the bottom of the hand mill is closed to prevent entry of foreign objects such as birds, metals
and rodents.
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Testing of the Machine
Connect it to the power supply. Then observe if it is vibrating or not. This has or will always be a
problem for the equipment, if any mistakes have been done during setting up. Any changes found
unusual should be corrected at once or it could result in motor damage, bearing damages etc. There are
various reasons for this issue, such as inappropriate base, loose ends, loose bearings, contact with other
equipment etc. After tests, the hand mill is then ready for operation.
Full installed cat ltter machine
The hammer mill primarily consists of five parts as mentioned below in the image.
Operating principle/Feeding mechanism
Sorting of papers
The feeding mechanism is simple as the machine has an inlet for particles to be fed into it through feed
hopper.
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