100 years of the Eirich mixing principle

The planetary mixer developed in 1906 marked the company's entry into ceramic applications. At that time, the focus was on the production of refractory bricks. The development of the counterflow mixer and the intensive mixer that followed then covered almost all areas of ceramic production as well as the preparation of carbon bodies. Today, the ceramics industry is one of the sectors most affected by rising energy prices and requires innovative solutions. Eirich has therefore developed the EcoPrep® process, which produces a high-quality and economical granulate that is later pressed into tiles or other ceramic products. Compared to conventional technology in spray towers, the process saves up to 60 percent energy as well as raw materials and additives.

Eirich has been a partner to foundries since 1925 with molding sand mixers and offers complete turnkey molding material preparation. Today, in addition to high-quality production results, the industry is also focusing on resource conservation and digitalization. Eirich has developed an intelligent sand management technology that saves raw materials and energy throughout the entire production cycle and also minimizes rejects in the castings. The EVACTHERM® process combines mixing, cooling and bentonite disintegration in one machine under a vacuum atmosphere. The QualiMaster AT1 inline testing device monitors the quality of the molding material in real time and ensures consistently high quality by detecting deviations and taking self-learning countermeasures. Data communication also takes place with the downstream molding system, allowing comprehensive production analyses and predictive molding material compositions.

First trial runs in cooperation with Lurgi (now Metso:Outotec) and distribution of Eirich mixers in iron ore pellet plants in the 1970s. Eirich impressed with a significantly better mixing quality compared to the previous system. Eirich continuous mixers were then the next development stage in the early 1990s for ever higher throughputs, culminating in the DW40 type in 2006 - for the processing of up to 1200 t/h of iron ore concentrate (equivalent to a complete freight train per hour). Eirich was also able to achieve a higher level of processing for sinter mixtures by homogeneously processing significantly higher quantities of fines and ferrous residues. Currently, the development is moving towards the processing of micro pellets which are further processed in the hydrogen-based direct reduction and in the electric arc furnace. In this way, we too can make a major contribution to the decarbonization of the steel industry.