Precision screw feeders for powders, pellets, flakes, fibers, and additives
Orbetron single screw, twin screw, micro, M-Flex, and OSB feeding systems are built for accurate volumetric and gravimetric dosing across plastics, chemical, food, pharmaceutical, packaging, lab, and agricultural applications.
Consistent screw fill, stable material flow, and the right control strategy for your product — not just a feeder in a catalog.
Choose the feeder around the material — not the other way around
The right feeding solution depends on flowability, bulk density, particle shape, accuracy requirement, refill method, cleaning needs, and whether the process needs continuous dosing or batch control.
- Free-flowing pellets and granules: often work well with single screw, disc, or vibratory feeding depending on rate and precision.
- Poor-flowing powders: often need twin screws, a wide inlet, and agitation to reduce bridging and maintain screw fill.
- Frequent material changes: removable hoppers and quick-change feeder designs reduce cleaning time and contamination risk.
- Multi-ingredient processes: OSB feeding systems combine multiple feeders, controls, recipes, alarms, and refill logic.
Which Orbetron feeder is right for your application?
Use this guide as a starting point. Final feeder selection should be validated against the material, rate, refill method, accuracy requirement, and cleaning/changeover needs.
| Feeder Style | Best Fit | Key Advantage | Typical Models |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single Screw Feeders | Granules, pellets, free-flowing powders, regrind, flakes, and fibers | Simple, modular, accurate feeding with tool-free screw changes and wide throughput ranges | OSS Micro, AS25, AS60, AS130, NS70 |
| Twin Screw Feeders | Poor-flowing, cohesive, sticky, or difficult powders | Better screw fill and material control where single screws may bridge or rat-hole | OTS Micro, AT16, AT20, AT35, AT70, OT45 |
| M-Flex Feeder | Broad flexibility, quick hopper exchange, single/twin screw configurations | Flexible wall design with massaging rolls to activate material flow without degradation | M-Flex, OS65/OD70, OT22, OT36 |
| Vibratory Feeders | Free-flowing flakes, fibers, glass fiber, fragile chips, abrasive grained powders | Consistent dosing of fragile or easy-flowing bulk materials by vibration frequency control | OVF80, OVF220 |
| OSB / Dosing Systems | Multi-component compounding, extrusion, batching, and blending | Centralized control of multiple feeders with recipe management, alarms, and production data | OSB, GBM+, S2 System |
Single screw feeders
Single screw feeders are a strong fit for many free-flowing powders, pellets, granules, regrind materials, flakes, and fibers. Depending on the model, they can be used as standalone feeders or integrated into a multi-feeder gravimetric system.
Low-rate feeding with quick hopper change
Designed for free-flowing products and poor-flowing powders at very low rates. Removable feed hoppers are useful for quick material changes and reducing contamination risk.
Flexible single screw feeding for many bulk solids
The AS60 is suitable for granules, pellets, free and non-free-flowing powders, regrind, flakes, and fibers, with multiple wing agitation to promote consistent screw filling.
Twin screw feeders for difficult powders
Twin screw feeders are typically selected for poor-flowing powders, cohesive materials, and applications where constant screw fill is critical to stable dosing. Integrated agitators help eliminate bridging and promote material flow into the screws.
Precise twin screw dosing in a compact footprint
Useful for powders and additives requiring stable flow at lower production rates, with multiple screw options including twin concave, twin auger, and twin spiral configurations.
Production-scale feeding for demanding products
For larger flow rates or more difficult materials, larger twin screw platforms provide higher output while maintaining consistent material flow and dosing stability.
M-Flex feeder for broad material flexibility
The Orbetron M-Flex feeder is designed for applications that need wide flexibility across materials and throughput ranges. Exchangeable hopper and screw configurations make it useful when a process handles multiple products or requires fast changeovers.
- Quick hopper exchange from the rear for faster product changes.
- Single and twin screw configurations available in multiple screw sizes and profiles.
- Massage roll agitation activates material flow while helping avoid material degradation.
- Volumetric or gravimetric operation for continuous, batch, loss-in-weight, or gain-in-weight applications.
Hoppers, agitators, loaders, and feeder accessories
Feeding accuracy depends on more than the screw. Hoppers, agitators, refill equipment, discharge tubes, seals, and controls all affect whether the feeder maintains a consistent screw fill and stable output.
Matched hopper geometry
Hopper extension modules, special hoppers, and quick-change hoppers help match storage volume, refill method, and material flow requirements.
Better flow into the screw
Multi-wing or massage-style agitation helps eliminate bridging, maintain consistent screw fill, and improve linear mass flow.
Automated refill support
Loaders can be integrated with feeder hoppers to automate refill while protecting feeder accuracy and process continuity.
Volumetric and gravimetric control
O2/S2 controller options support feeder speed control, recipes, alarms, calibration, diagnostics, and coordinated operation with the production line.
Gravimetric dosing, blending, and OSB systems
For multi-component processes, Orbetron feeding systems combine feeders, weigh platforms, refill logic, and S2 controls into a complete dosing and blending platform. These systems are especially valuable for extrusion, compounding, additives, masterbatch, plastics, and specialty ingredient processes.
- Multi-feeder control: S2 dosing control can manage multiple dosing units across multiple lines.
- Recipe management: store recipes, dosing factors, refill limits, alarms, and line totals.
- Production visibility: graphical and numerical display of operating parameters, event logs, and alarms.
- System integration: combine feeders with hoppers, loaders, controls, platforms, refills, and downstream equipment.
Multi-component dosing
Continuous loss-in-weight dosing and blending for high-quality production, low material throughput, and repeatable recipes.
Extrusion and additive systems
Engineered feeding systems for plastics, masterbatch, additives, fillers, and multi-line compounding processes.
Typical industries and materials
Orbetron feeders are used where the feed rate, refill behavior, screw selection, and accuracy requirement all matter.
Performance ranges and selection notes
Published capacity ranges depend heavily on the material, screw profile, gearbox, and bulk density. Testing is recommended before final selection, especially for cohesive powders, abrasives, fibers, and low-rate additives.
| Model / Series | General Application | Published Range / Notes | Helpful When... |
|---|---|---|---|
| OSS / OTS Micro | Micro-dosing pellets, powders, additives | OSS: stepper 20–1,000 g; OTS: stepper 5–500 g; dependent on bulk density | You need very low rate dosing or clean hopper changeout |
| AS25 / AT16 | Low-rate single or twin screw feeding | AS25/AT16 support low-rate screw options for free-flowing and poor-flowing materials | You need quick material changes and compact feeder design |
| AS60 | Universal single screw feeder | Published range up to ~1–2880 l/h depending on screw and gearbox | You need flexible feeding of powders, granules, pellets, flakes, or fibers |
| AT20 | Compact twin screw feeder | Published range up to ~1–180 l/h depending on screw and gearbox | You need twin screw control for lower-rate difficult powders |
| AT35 | Production twin screw feeder | Published range up to ~9–990 l/h depending on screw and gearbox | You need higher output with twin screw stability |
| NS70 | Single screw for pellets, regrinds, flakes | Published range up to ~1–3180 l/h depending on screw and gearbox | You need large screw intake, no dead zones, and quick rear screw removal |
| OVF80 / OVF220 | Vibratory feeding of easy-flowing or fragile materials | OVF80: 10–600 dm³/h; OVF220: 600–4000 dm³/h | You need consistent dosing of flakes, fibers, glass fiber, fragile chips, or abrasive grained powders |
Screw feeders in North Carolina & South Carolina
If you are searching for screw feeders in North Carolina or South Carolina, Carolina Material Technologies provides local application support for Orbetron feeding systems across the Carolinas.
Orbetron has a facility in Gastonia, NC, and CMT is based in the Carolinas — giving manufacturers a local resource for screw feeder selection, site visits, layout review, retrofit discussions, and complete feeding system consultation.
- Local site visits: we can visit plants in North Carolina and South Carolina to review your material, process, space constraints, and downstream equipment.
- Application consultation: get help selecting between single screw, twin screw, M-Flex, vibratory, volumetric, and gravimetric feeder options.
- System-level support: CMT can help integrate feeders with hoppers, vacuum loaders, bulk bag unloaders, mixers, conveyors, controls, and batching systems.
- Regional responsiveness: work with a local Carolina partner instead of relying only on remote catalog selection.
Frequently asked questions
When should I use a twin screw feeder instead of a single screw feeder?
Twin screw feeders are often used for poor-flowing, cohesive, sticky, or difficult powders where single screws may bridge, rat-hole, or struggle to maintain consistent screw fill.
What is the difference between volumetric and gravimetric feeding?
Volumetric feeding controls speed and volume over time. Gravimetric feeding measures weight change and adjusts the feeder to maintain a target mass flow rate. Gravimetric control is typically preferred when accuracy, recipe control, or material tracking is critical.
Can Orbetron feeders be used for both continuous and batch applications?
Yes. Orbetron feeders can be configured for volumetric continuous or batch operation, gravimetric loss-in-weight continuous operation, gravimetric loss-in-weight batch operation, and gravimetric gain-in-weight operation depending on the system design.
Can the feeder be integrated into a complete compounding or extrusion system?
Yes. Orbetron feeders can be integrated with OSB/GBM+ feeding systems, hoppers, loaders, controls, refill equipment, weigh platforms, and downstream process equipment.
How do I know which screw profile is right?
Screw selection depends on the material, rate, flow behavior, particle shape, bulk density, and accuracy requirement. Common options include spiral, auger, twin concave, twin auger, and twin spiral screw configurations.
Need help selecting the right screw feeder?
Send us your material, target feed rate, bulk density, accuracy requirement, refill method, and whether you need volumetric or gravimetric control. We’ll help match the right Orbetron feeder, hopper, agitator, controller, and system configuration.