Method and apparatus for expanding loose fill material, such as expandable polystrene pellets

摘要

A compact, self-contained apparatus and method for expanding loose fill foam material for packaging includes an eductor having a fan, a venturi chamber, and a wire mesh cage arrangement for automatically feeding expandable loose fill material to a hopper. The loose fill material is then uniformly fed through the hopper by air pressure in conjunction with gravity to an expansion chamber. The expansion chamber includes a stepped conveyance platform disposed over a stepped steam chamber, and a track arrangement for simultaneously conveying and tumbling the loose fill material across each conveyance platform step. A condensing unit disposed above the expansion chamber removes excess moisture from the expansion chamber and provides warm dry air to a discharge housing from which the expanded loose fill material is discharged from the expansion chamber.