Frequently Asked Questions

Orbetron manufactures disc feeders, single screw feeders, twin screw feeders, and complete feeding systems. We also offer solids handling equipment (hoppers, agitators, loaders, bag break stations, Ezi-Dock containment) and liquid handling equipment (drum pumps, gear pumps, Mahr Meter Mix Systems) for complete bulk material and liquid process solutions.

Orbetron’s 50 Series Disc Feeder, OSS-Micro, and OTS-Micro feeders all achieve feed rates down to 1 gram per hour. This makes them among the lowest-rate precision feeders available for industrial applications, and particularly well-suited to pharmaceutical micro-dosing, specialty chemical metering, and laboratory R&D.

Orbetron designs and manufactures its feeding equipment in the United States. Our engineering and manufacturing operations are based in Gastonia, North Carolina, with our corporate office in Lincoln, Rhode Island. Our products are distributed in the US, Canada, and internationally through our partnership network.

Orbetron serves plastics and compounding, pharmaceutical and nutraceutical, food and beverage, chemicals and adhesives, health and beauty, medical devices, military and aerospace, and energy (nuclear, hydrogen, gas, oil) industries. We also supply feeding equipment for laboratory and R&D applications across all these sectors.

A disc feeder uses a rotating horizontal disc to sweep bulk material from a hopper to a discharge point, providing a gentle, consistent feed stream without mechanical compaction or forcing. A screw feeder uses a rotating helical screw to positively convey material to the discharge. Disc feeders excel at very low feed rates and gentle handling of fragile or sensitive materials. Screw feeders are better suited to higher feed rates and free-flowing or difficult-flowing materials that benefit from positive conveyance. See our blog article on disc feeders vs. screw feeders for a complete comparison.

Choose a twin screw feeder when your material is cohesive, sticky, hygroscopic, fibrous, or tends to bridge in a single screw. The counter-rotating screws in a twin screw feeder provide positive conveyance and a self-wiping action that moves difficult materials reliably. Single screw feeders are more appropriate for free-flowing materials with consistent bulk density.

A volumetric feeder controls feed rate by controlling the speed of the feeding mechanism, assuming a consistent material bulk density. A gravimetric (loss-in-weight) feeder measures the actual weight being discharged and adjusts feeder speed to maintain the target mass flow rate. Gravimetric feeding is more accurate — particularly for materials with variable bulk density — and is required for applications with tight formulation tolerances or regulatory documentation requirements.

The OBLIW-SM is Orbetron’s loss-in-weight batch blending system for multi-ingredient applications. It incorporates 1 to 6 disc feeders on a common frame, each independently weighing its ingredient as it discharges into a common blending zone. The system uses stepper motor-driven disc feeders for high accuracy at low rates, and communicates via Modbus TCP/IP. It is used in pharmaceutical compounding, nutraceutical blending, food formulation, and specialty chemical applications.

The Ezi-Dock is a split butterfly valve containment system that enables 100% contained material transfers between process equipment and Orbetron feeders. You need it when your material is high-potency (pharmaceutical OEB 3–5 compounds), when operator exposure must be controlled, when allergen cross-contamination is a concern, or when regulatory requirements mandate contained handling. It is compatible with all Orbetron disc feeder series.

Yes. Orbetron’s disc feeders are particularly effective with fine powders that are problematic in screw feeders due to flooding, compaction, or bridging. The disc mechanism provides gentle, controlled feeding without the mechanical pressure that can cause fine powders to compact. For very fine or dusty materials, enclosed hopper designs and appropriate dust containment accessories are recommended.

Yes. Orbetron’s disc and micro screw feeders are in use in pharmaceutical manufacturing for API and excipient feeding at rates from 1 gram per hour upward. We offer gravimetric configurations with the accuracy and data logging capability that GMP pharmaceutical processes require, as well as the Ezi-Dock containment system for high-potency compounds.

Yes. Orbetron’s S1 and S2 controller platforms communicate via Modbus TCP/IP, enabling integration with virtually any industrial PLC or DCS. The S2 controller supports up to 12 feeders and 4 process lines in a single controller. Analog setpoint input is also available for simple integration scenarios.

Yes. Custom engineering is a core part of what Orbetron does. We design and manufacture custom feeder configurations for materials and process requirements that our standard product line doesn’t fully address. Contact our engineering team with your application details to discuss custom design options.

Orbetron works with Krauss-Maffei Corporation to integrate Orbetron’s bulk feeding systems with Krauss-Maffei extrusion and processing equipment. This partnership provides customers with a fully integrated solution for extrusion line feeding applications, with feeding systems that are engineered to communicate directly with Krauss-Maffei control architectures.

In 2018, Orbetron formed a partnership with Mahr Metering Systems, a manufacturer of precision liquid metering technology headquartered in Charlotte, NC and Goettingen, Germany. Through this partnership, Orbetron offers Mahr’s gear pumps and Meter Mix Systems as part of our liquid handling product line, providing complete bulk material and liquid mix solutions for processes that involve both solid and liquid ingredients.

Orbetron is the exclusive North American and Canadian distributor for Technovel Corporation, a Japanese manufacturer of laboratory-based compounding extruders. Technovel’s lab extruders are designed to pair with Orbetron’s low-rate disc and micro screw feeders for complete lab compounding systems. This partnership gives US and Canadian customers access to Technovel extruder technology alongside Orbetron’s feeding expertise and engineering support.

Contact Orbetron by email at sales@orbetron.com, by phone at (866) 553-3330, or through the contact form on our website. Please include your material type, required feed rate range, application description, and any specific performance or integration requirements. Our engineering team will respond with product recommendations and can provide technical datasheets for any product in our line.

Yes. For critical or unusual applications, Orbetron can evaluate your material and conduct application testing to confirm feeder selection and performance before equipment purchase. Contact our engineering team to discuss testing options for your specific material and application requirements.