Trough Mixer
Horizontal shaft mixer for powder and light paste materials. U-shaped trough design with Z-type or spiral agitator blades delivers efficient, gentle, and uniform mixing -- built to GMP standards.
What Is a Trough Mixer?
A horizontal shaft mixing machine designed for powder and light paste materials, named for its characteristic U-shaped trough body with an open top for easy loading.
Product Overview
The Yinda YDCH Series Trough Mixer (槽型混合机) is a horizontal batch mixing machine engineered for uniform blending of dry powders, granules, wet powders, and light paste materials. The U-shaped trough body provides an open-top design that simplifies loading, while the Z-type or spiral agitator blades deliver efficient convective mixing with minimal material degradation.
Constructed from SS304 or SS316L stainless steel, the YDCH series meets GMP, CE, and ISO standards, making it suitable for pharmaceutical, food, chemical, and agricultural applications where hygiene and batch consistency are critical.
The motorized trough-tilting discharge mechanism reduces labor intensity and ensures complete material evacuation, while the enlarged space between shaft seals and bearings facilitates thorough cleaning between batches.
Uniform Mixing
Main and auxiliary materials are fully and evenly blended in every batch.
Simple Structure
Easy to operate and maintain with straightforward mechanical design.
GMP Compliant
SS304/316L construction with smooth surfaces meets pharmaceutical and food standards.
Auto Discharge
Motorized trough tilting for automatic material discharge reduces labor intensity.
Technical Specifications
YDCH Series -- 7 standard models from 50L to 500L capacity. Custom configurations available upon request.
| Parameter | YDCH-50 | YDCH-100 | YDCH-150 | YDCH-200 | YDCH-300 | YDCH-400 | YDCH-500 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Volume (L) | 50 | 100 | 150 | 200 | 300 | 400 | 500 |
| Shaft Speed (r/min) | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 22 |
| Mixing Motor (kW) | 1.1 | 2.2 | 3 | 4 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 7.5 |
| Discharge Motor (kW) | 0.75 | 0.75 | 0.75 | 0.75 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.5 |
| Overall Dimensions (mm) | 980×425×820 | 1280×440×900 | 1590×660×1075 | 1590×660×1125 | 1890×700×1235 | 2140×705×1265 | 2435×900×1385 |
| Machine Weight (kg) | 220 | 350 | 500 | 600 | 750 | 1000 | 1350 |
Specification Note
All specifications are for reference. Actual performance depends on material bulk density, moisture content, particle size, and loading ratio. Contact our engineering team for a configuration recommendation based on your specific material and production requirements.
Working Principle
Understanding how the YDCH Trough Mixer achieves thorough, consistent blending in every batch.
How It Works -- Step by Step
Loading
Materials are loaded through the open top of the U-shaped trough body. The open design allows easy manual or automated feeding of powders, granules, or wet materials.
Mixing
The motor drives the agitator shaft through a gearbox reducer. Z-type or spiral paddle blades rotate inside the trough, generating convective flow that tumbles and shears the material bed, achieving uniform distribution of all components within 3-10 minutes.
Discharge
Once mixing is complete, the discharge motor activates the trough-tilting mechanism. The trough rotates to a set angle, allowing material to flow out completely by gravity. This motorized tilting minimizes residue and reduces manual labor.
Main Components
Mixing Trough
U-shaped SS304/316L body with tilting mechanism
Agitator Shaft
Z-type or spiral blades for convective mixing
Gearbox & Motor
Reducer-coupled drive for consistent shaft speed
Control Cabinet
Manual or automatic PLC-based control options
Key Features & Advantages
What makes the YDCH Trough Mixer the right choice for your powder and paste mixing requirements.
High Mixing Efficiency
Z-type or spiral agitator blades create strong convective flow within the trough, achieving high mixing uniformity in 3-10 minutes. Short cycle times reduce energy consumption per batch.
Easy to Clean
The enlarged clearance between shaft seals and bearings simplifies disassembly and cleaning. The open trough design and smooth internal surfaces allow thorough manual or CIP cleaning between product batches.
Robust Stainless Steel Build
All material-contact parts are constructed from SS304 or SS316L stainless steel. Welded and polished to GMP standards, the structure resists corrosion and withstands demanding production environments.
Flexible Control Options
Available with manual push-button control for simple operations or automatic PLC-based timing control for repeatable batch processes. Optional inverter drive for variable shaft speed.
Low Energy Consumption
Short mixing cycles (3-10 min) combined with efficient motor-gearbox drive systems minimize power consumption per batch. Motor power ranges from 1.1 kW to 7.5 kW across the seven standard models.
Material Integrity Preserved
The gentle convective mixing action does not dissolve, evaporate, or degrade material properties. Suitable for heat-sensitive or fragile materials where preserving particle structure is important.
Available Customization Options
Applications & Suitable Materials
The YDCH Trough Mixer serves a wide range of industries where powder and light paste blending is required.
Pharmaceutical
Blending active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) with excipients before granulation or direct compression. Pre-granulation powder mixing and wet mass preparation.
Food & Seasoning
Mixing food ingredients, seasonings, spice blends, sugar powders, and nutritional formulas. Suitable for pre-blending before granulation or packaging.
Chemical Industry
Blending chemical powders, disinfectants, detergents, and chemical intermediates. Suitable for materials requiring thorough homogenization before further processing.
Agriculture & Animal Feed
Mixing feed additives, vitamins, minerals, and premixes for animal nutrition. Suitable for blending powdered supplements with base feed ingredients.
Ceramics & Building Materials
Blending ceramic raw material powders, pigments, and functional additives. Suitable for wet clay mixing and preparation of ceramic body materials before forming.
Health & Nutraceuticals
Blending nutritional supplement powders, herbal extracts, protein powders, and vitamin premixes. Suitable for pre-capsule or pre-tablet blending operations.
Suitable Materials
- Free-flowing dry powders
- Wet powders and damp granules
- Crystalline granules (sugar, salt, etc.)
- Light paste materials
- Materials with bulk density 0.1-1.4 g/cm³
- Pharmaceutical wet mass (pre-granulation)
- Ceramic body materials
Not Recommended For
- Semi-solid or highly viscous solutions
- Fully liquid materials
- Very large batch volumes (>500L per batch)
- Highly abrasive materials (consider wear-resistant lining)
- Explosive or pyrophoric materials (requires special design)
If you are unsure whether the trough mixer is suitable for your material, contact our engineering team. We can arrange a material test to verify performance before equipment selection.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about the YDCH Trough Mixer -- from selection to operation and maintenance.
What is the difference between a trough mixer and a ribbon blender?
A trough mixer uses Z-type or spiral paddle blades mounted on a single horizontal shaft inside a U-shaped trough. It is well-suited for wet powders, paste materials, and pre-granulation mixing where some shear and kneading action is beneficial.
A ribbon blender (螺带混合机) uses inner and outer helical ribbons to create opposing convective flows and is typically better for large batches of dry, free-flowing powders where gentle, thorough blending is required with minimal shear.
For wet or paste applications -- such as pharmaceutical wet mass preparation or ceramic body mixing -- the trough mixer is generally the preferred choice. For large-volume dry powder blending, the ribbon blender is often more appropriate.
How do I select the right YDCH model capacity for my production?
The recommended loading volume is 40-70% of the total trough capacity. To calculate the required model:
- Determine your target batch weight (kg)
- Identify your material's bulk density (g/cm³)
- Calculate batch volume: batch weight ÷ bulk density = required volume (L)
- Divide by 0.6 (60% fill ratio) to get the minimum trough capacity needed
Example: 60 kg batch at 0.5 g/cm³ bulk density = 120L material volume ÷ 0.6 = 200L minimum trough capacity → Select YDCH-200 or YDCH-300.
The 100L-300L range is most commonly recommended for typical batch production. Contact our team with your material data for a precise recommendation.
Can the trough mixer handle wet or paste materials?
Yes. The trough mixer is specifically designed to handle wet powders, damp granules, light paste materials, and materials with added binder solutions. This makes it particularly suitable for:
- Pharmaceutical wet mass preparation before granulation
- Food paste and wet ingredient blending
- Ceramic body preparation with water or binders
- Chemical powder mixing with added liquid components
For applications requiring liquid addition during mixing, we can configure the machine with a liquid spray nozzle system. Please specify this requirement when requesting a quote so the appropriate shaft seal and trough design can be selected.
What material standards are used for food and pharmaceutical applications?
For food and pharmaceutical applications, all material-contact parts are manufactured from SS304 or SS316L stainless steel. The key differences:
- SS304: Standard food-grade stainless steel. Suitable for most food, seasoning, and general pharmaceutical applications.
- SS316L: Higher corrosion resistance with lower carbon content. Recommended for pharmaceutical (GMP), nutraceutical, and applications involving corrosive or acidic materials.
Internal surfaces can be polished to Ra ≤ 0.4 μm (mirror finish) to minimize material retention and facilitate cleaning. Material certificates (mill test reports) are available upon request for regulated projects.
How is the trough mixer cleaned between batches?
The YDCH trough mixer is designed with cleanability in mind. Key design features that facilitate cleaning include:
- Open-top trough design allows full visual inspection and direct access for manual cleaning
- Enlarged clearance between shaft seals and bearings for easier disassembly
- Smooth, polished internal surfaces minimize material adhesion
- Motorized tilt discharge ensures near-complete material evacuation before cleaning
For multi-product facilities, we recommend discussing your cleaning validation requirements with our engineering team. Depending on your application, we can advise on appropriate shaft seal types, drain port configurations, and surface finish specifications to meet your cleaning protocol.
What control options are available?
The YDCH series offers two standard control configurations:
- Manual Control: Push-button start/stop for mixing motor and discharge motor. Suitable for simple batch operations where the operator monitors mixing time manually.
- Automatic Control: Timer-based or PLC-controlled operation with preset mixing time, automatic discharge triggering, and optional touchscreen HMI. Ensures batch repeatability and reduces operator dependency.
Optional upgrades include variable frequency drive (VFD) for adjustable shaft speed, current monitoring for overload protection, and integration with upstream/downstream equipment via digital I/O signals. Please specify your control requirements at the time of inquiry.
What is the typical delivery time and what documents are included?
Standard delivery time for YDCH series trough mixers is 25-35 working days from order confirmation and deposit receipt. Delivery time for customized configurations may vary depending on specific requirements.
Standard documentation package includes:
- General assembly drawing
- Electrical schematic diagram
- Operation and maintenance manual
- Spare parts list
- Packing list and commercial invoice
- Material certificates (SS contact parts)
For pharmaceutical and regulated projects, FAT (Factory Acceptance Test) documentation, IQ/OQ support materials, and CE certificates are available upon request. Please confirm document requirements before order placement.
Can I test my material before placing an order?
Yes. We strongly recommend material testing for new applications or unfamiliar materials. Testing allows us to verify mixing uniformity, estimate actual cycle time, evaluate cleanability, and confirm the correct model and blade configuration for your specific material.
Testing options available:
- Send material samples to our facility for testing
- Real-time video testing session with live demonstration
- On-site witness testing at our factory
- Receive test samples, photos, and video documentation
Contact us to discuss your material and arrange a test. We will provide a test report with recommended equipment configuration based on the results.
Purchasing Guide
What to prepare and consider before placing your order to ensure you receive the right equipment for your application.
Prepare Your Material Information
- Material name and composition
- Bulk density (g/cm³)
- Moisture content and stickiness
- Number of components to be mixed
- Dry powder or wet/paste application
- Target mixing uniformity (if specified)
Define Your Production Requirements
- Batch size (kg or L per batch)
- Number of batches per day or shift
- Industry standard (food / pharma / chemical)
- Cleaning requirements between batches
- Available floor space (L×W×H)
- Power supply (voltage, frequency, phases)
Specify Configuration Options
- SS304 or SS316L contact material
- Z-type or spiral blade preference
- Manual or automatic (PLC) control
- VFD for variable speed (optional)
- Liquid spray nozzle (if needed)
- FAT / CE / GMP documentation needs
Why Choose Yinda Machinery?
Yinda Machinery is a professional trough mixer manufacturer and supplier based in China. Our YDCH series is designed and built to meet international quality standards including ISO, CE, and GMP requirements.
We don't just sell equipment -- we help you select the right configuration based on your material, production goals, and industry requirements. Our engineering team provides technical consultation, material testing support, and complete documentation for regulated applications.
Every YDCH unit undergoes dimensional inspection, mechanical run test, electrical function check, and no-load trial operation before shipment.
12-month warranty on manufacturing defects. Spare parts, remote technical support, installation guidance, and operator training available for all YDCH models.
Ready to Select Your Trough Mixer?
Tell us your material, batch size, and production requirements. Our engineering team will recommend the right YDCH model and configuration -- and arrange a material test if needed.