How an industrial mixer is sized

Two tanks of the same size with the same motor can give opposite results: one mixes homogeneously and the other leaves lumps or layers. Sizing a mixer isn't about choosing "a big agitator", but about matching several variables to your product and your recipe. These are the ones that weigh most.

Product viscosity

It's the governing variable. A fluid liquid takes fast axial-flow agitators; a viscous product needs radial-flow blades, anchors or scraping systems that move the whole mass and not just the centre. Getting this wrong is the most common cause of a poor mix.

Tank volume and geometry

Volume sets the required torque and power, but geometry also matters: the height-to-diameter ratio, the agitator position and the baffles determine whether you get a flow that drags the whole product or just a swirl that doesn't mix.

Agitator type

• Axial flow (propellers): fluid mixes and fast homogenisation.
• Radial flow (turbines): dispersion and emulsification.
• Anchors and gates: viscous products and wall heat transfer.
• Rotor-stator: fine emulsions and particle-size reduction.

Power and speed

Viscosity, volume and agitator type give the power per unit volume and the rotation speed. Oversizing wastes energy and can damage the product; undersizing leaves the mix half done. The sweet spot is the balance, and it depends on your recipe.

And cleaning

A good mixer is also designed to be cleaned: sanitary finish, geometries with no dead zones and, if the process calls for it, integrated CIP to ensure hygiene between batches.

That's why, when we size a mixer, we start from your viscosity, your volume and your recipe — not from a catalogue. Mixers are our speciality, and each one is tailored to what you have to produce.