News items October 2019

Precision and performance with the new Sizer technology Al Khaleej Sugar, owner and operator of the worldwide biggest standalone sugar refinery, supplied already to customers in more than 40 countries before project was started. The production capacity was 2,400 MT per year with a daily throughput of more than 6,000 tons. Nowhere near enough. By installing and commissioning of Mogensen machines the sugar production capacity was increased to more than 7,000 tons per day with reduced number of machines. The task from Al Khaleej was manifold Temporary appearing higher sugar moisture effected regular screen clogging and product mixing with related time effort for maintenance and screen cleaning. Additionally there have been quality claims from notable sugar customers to an increasing degree caused by product impurities from rubber abrasive wear from screen cleaning device. Despite use of modern technology there was an enormous maintenance effort as the machines have been supplied from different manufacturers. The spare parts

For more than 70 years Gericke has been producing and selling a complete range of flour sifting machines for mills and industrial bakeries worldwide. The purpose of these centrifugal sifters is to remove foreign bodies from the various flour qualities. This allows the flour quality to be kept constant and clean. The success of these centrifugal screening machines in milling is mainly based on 3 points: 1.)Very high screening capacity with mesh sizes between 400 and 800 µm and flow rates between 1 T/h and 100 T/h. 2.)Compact devices in terms of throughput and simple design. This facilitates operation and maintenance. 3.)An extremely robust construction ensures the longevity of the machines. There are Gericke sifters being in operation for more than 40 years. This is sustainability. These centrifugal screening machines have been further developed over the years to simplify cleaning and to meet new technical and regulatory requirements: Atex, CE/1935/2004 certification,

In the twenty-first year of the company’s existence, the management of inprotec AG, one of the leading service providers in spray granulation and spray drying, will be undergoing change. The company has two locations in Heitersheim (Baden-Württemberg) and Genthin (Saxony-Anhalt). After the investment company, Paragon Partners from Munich, has already acquired the majority share of inprotec AG in summer 2018 in order to support the further development of the company, Dr. Steve Döring will take over the management of the company as Managing Director as of October 2019. He will replace Dr. Andreas Baranyai, one of the company’s founders, who successfully managed the company for more than 20 years, and who will leave the company at the end of the year. He will, however, continue to be available to the company as a technical consultant. We would like to thank Dr. Baranyai not only for the excellent collaboration over the past decades, but also for his entrepreneurial

BEUMER Group delivers belt apron conveyors for reliable transportation of cement clinker From a kiln cooling system to silos: the safe and economical transportation of hot materials like clinker is crucial in cement plants. The material can have extremely high temperatures of 500 to 800 degrees Celsius. Reliable plant operation requires a robust conveying system. The Beumer group supports cement manufacturers with system solutions tailored for this industry, with apron conveyors for example. A special variant offered is the belt apron conveyor (GSZF): using a belt instead of a chain as the traction element allows higher speeds and a slimmer design while still delivering the same level of performance. The GSZF is therefore particularly suitable for modernisations, as can be seen with the Turkish cement manufacturer Göltas Cemento. In the wake of a building boom in Turkey and the growing demand for cement, the cement manufacturer opted for modernising its kiln and increasing the performance. An increase from 250 to 400 tons per hour of the conveying technology

The team of UWT India presents level sensors for liquids and solids During 25th – 28th September 2019 the team of UWT Level Control India Pvt. Ltd. exhibits at the Automation expo in Bombay Convention & Exhibition Centre Goregaon East Mumbai. The event is one of Asia's leading Automation and Instrumentation Exhibition. At the UWT booth reliable technologies of measurement solutions for content and level limit detection were presented as well as new sensor solutions for liquids applications. ☆☆ discover our latest technology highlights for continuous and point level measurement solutions ☆☆ Asia's leading Automation and Instrumentation Exhibition

Visit us at hall 7A booth 649 UWT supply level limit and continuous measurement sensors for bulk solids and liquids. Different measurement techniques are used depending on the medium and application in question. A distinction is made between continuous level measurement and point level detection. Furthermore, we offer complete systems for level monitoring and visualisation, working together with our customers to set up the installation and commissioning of our products. Customers around the world value us for our tailor-made solutions. Accordingly, we can manufacture complete system solutions to individual customer requirements. Our level sensors are characterised by their reliability, easy handling and long service life.

Düsseldorf from 16th till 23th October 2019 In hall 9, booth C42, the AZO Group will be demonstrating solutions for automatic handling of large and medium components and the integration of small components and ingredients in the automated process. In the economic cycle, recycling and the use of alternative plastics are becoming increasingly important. High-quality end products made from recycled material, bio-based or compostable plastics offer a future market with considerable economic potential. AZO offers tailor-made solutions for your material handling along the entire value chain. In these processes, the task is usually in the planning and creation of the layout for a fully automatic feeding system of a process machine, for example an extruder, and finally the realization and installation of the system. The concept has to be cost-efficient, but also compact, without losing flexibility. At our trade fair stand you can find out more about the following key themes: 1.Sustainable Solutions for the plastics

Continuous gravimetric dosing of powdered products AZODOS® type P … DV dosing unit is used for volumetric metering of powdered products in weighing and finishing processes. The machine can be used in the food, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and plastics industries for feeding production processes with a constant mass flow in coarse or fine flow. By adding a weighing device, the machine can be extended to form the AZODOS® type P... DW dosing system for gravimetric feeding of processes. The machine can be used as loss-in-weight scales to dose small quantities into the downstream system with gram accuracy. The AZODOS® P… DW is used with the AZO®CONT dosing controls for feeding continuous gravimetric processes, resulting in a DDW loss-in-weight feeder. Key advantages •stainless chrome nickel steel design with various surface finishes •high grade dosing screws •easy-to-clean system for rapid changeover of components •compact design •easy to extend thanks to modular design •maximum dosing accuracy thanks

economical transporting, dosing, weighing and mixing with an ingenious system Preferred applications The Mixomat is particularly well suited to discontinuous, gravimetric loading as well as to mixing and dyeing of granulate exactly as specified in the recipe, with masterbatch, re-work, pigments and additives. It can be used for medium to high throughputs values when loading compounding systems, blowing machines and foil lines. Various designs are available, covering a performance range from 150 kg/h to 2.5 t/h. Combining the process stages of transporting, dosing, weighing and mixing in one device achieves an exemplary level of efficiency. The Mixomat can easily be cleaned and has proved to be effective in meeting exacting requirements in terms of quality and reproducibility. With this device, it is possible to register and report on the exact material consumption at any time, even with minor components. It can be used both with individual loading or in collective loading systems with shared blower and secondary filter. The Mixomat can be combined

automatic weighing of minor and micro components Until now, minor and micro components had to be weighed manually, thus entailing risks and potential errors. These grow with the number of components and batches, and with the required weighing and metering accuracy. This has an adverse effect on product safety and quality overall. Manual operations may under certain circumstances require a large number of staff and demands a high degree of concentration from them during weighing processes. They are to some extent exposed to relatively high amounts of dust. Occasionally automatic dosing units are also employed, which meter the ingredients onto a weigh belt feeder. However these require substantial outlay for cleaning; neither can they prevent cross-contamination. In order to resolve the problems described above, AZO is expanding its already extensive portfolio for automation of minor and micro quantities with the Azo componenter® Step. This system makes it possible to weigh minor and micro components automatically

for pneumatic conveying systems extension bends: stainless steel (also aluminium), special bends according to your drawing, sample or sketch, stud with flange, branch pipe with flange, branch pipe with parallel outlets, branch pipe with reduced outlet, stud end, fork, T-piece with extended outlet, extension bends, angle piece

AZO is continuing its strategy of digitisation, as already demonstrated at past exhibitions, at the K2019 trade fair. Further development of approaches is ongoing in order to supplement and improve new functions. The aim is primarily to offer better, practicable solutions with genuine added value for customers. The first topic we are focusing on is virtual reality (VR). The engineering & services (AZO®e&s) division is presenting the latest version of the planning and digitisation tools, which can be used for planning systems and for services in the AZO®e&s area and hence also at AZO®Poly. Three different applications are demonstrated, which clearly depict the latest options for plant design in a virtual environment. 3D planning is used to create the model for virtual reality directly. In order to obtain an ideal basis for planning when extending or modernising plants, there is an option to create a point cloud via a 3D scan and to record the plant’s current status.

Turnkey Solutions for Plastics Industry Polimak has succesfully finished a turnkey polyethylene handling project for a global composite manufacturer. Client's demand was to achieve a seamless bulk material handling solution from raw material delivery to feeding point of production line. Project incorporated automatic sack discharging system, pneumatic conveying system, stainless steel storage silos and extruder feeding system. All components of the system were controlled from a central PLC system for fully automatic operation. The core component of the project was automatic bag discharge system which enables bulk materials coming from sacks to be unloaded in an efficient and safe way saving manpower, time and operational costs. 15 to 50 kg bags on plastic or wooden pallets are placed on belt conveyor of the system together with pallet by forklift. Conveyor moves the pallet to the bag lifting unit. The automatic gripping system grips the bags on the top with pneumatically driven claws. And moves them horizontally

A company who had never purchased any products from Vortex called to inquire about the iris valve they saw advertised. They had used iris valves from two different manufacturers and had not been comfortable with either company’s pricing or valve mechanics. The company was looking to convey abrasive glass powder from beneath a tote system. Vortex’s challenge was to convince the customer that not all iris valves are manufactured similarly. The application for the valve was an installation beneath a tote handling powdered glass. The customer had experimented with different sleeve materials and found that a urethane-coated sleeve gave them longer wear with their abrasive powder. They also liked Vortex’s infinite position design, since the flow rate of powder was frequently changed as it was discharged from the bin. As the company was not acquainted with Vortex, the sales engineer handling the inquiry suggested they purchase a single 30cm iris valve with the infinite

handling from AZO - resilient and wear-resistant Requirements •increase in overall productivity •high degree of flexibility in conveying materials thanks to vacuum conveyor •components chosen to make best use of overall height •simple, flexible design of conveying distances using pipes •modular concept •robust, cost-effective concept for wear protection •integration of existing technology •improved working conditions thanks to reduction in generation of dust •separation of residual dust The customer In founding the company of Dekura kunststoffrecycling GmbH in 2016, REHAU, the experts for polymers, and Tönsmeier, the plastics recycler, drew on their consolidated expertise in the recycling of PVC and disposal of old windows. The company takes delivery of offcuts from window production, in addition to old windows and roller shutters, and reprocesses them. The collected materials are used to produce high quality secondary raw materials, which can then be used again in the manufacture of window profiles

Continuing high demand for innovative vibration technology NetterVibration Spain celebrates its fifth anniversary and draws an extremely positive balance. Since its opening in 2014, NetterVibration Spain has significantly expanded its active customer base in the Spanish and Portuguese area and has continuously increased its annual turnover in the double-digit range. The continuous growth of the past five years confirms the high demand for innovative vibration technology "Made in Germany" by Iberian companies. NetterVibration has clearly established itself as a competent and reliable partner in Spain and Portugal. Above all, the customers appreciate the personal advice and the efficient solution approach of the experienced employees as well as the high-quality products. The sales office and warehouse of NetterVibration Spain is located in Villabona-Guipúzcoa, northern Spain, between Bilbao and San Sebastian. Contact details NetterVibration Spain: +34 943 694 994

Hornbach Baumarkt AG is optimising processes within their DIY megastores Heart of the innovative concept: vertical balers from HSM. 330 of the HSM V-Press 860 and HSM V-Press 1160 max balers compact paper, cardboard and film at 180 points of collection – megastores and logistics and administration centres in nine European countries. The investment for the balers is paid off within a very short period. The concept, said Andreas Back, Head of Quality Management, Environment & CSR at Hornbach, has increased the recycling quota dramatically: “A lot of residual waste has become recyclable material.” The objective was a waste management concept that foresaw waste separation and a container registry for more transparency. Additionally, the journeys within the incoming goods areas of the DIY megastores and garden centres were to be optimised so that employees could work more effectively. Disposal of the recyclable material was to become independent of a recycling partner. It quickly became apparent to Andreas Back and his colleagues at the

Replacement of baffle plates with MaxxFlow In a lime plant in Poland there was a request to measure the amount of extracted lime in free fall after an air slide, integrating the flow of two installation points. Our customer had previously used impact plates, however this solution was not optimal and it always led to problems with mechanical components such as caking on the baffle, mechanical wear, dust, etc. As a result, there were frequent downtimes of the plant due to maintenance work. Process data Customer: Lime plant (Poland) Material: Quicklime Quantity: 50 t/h Installation: Free fall after air slide Process temperature: 80 °C Function: Mass flow measurement of quicklime Solution The MaxxFlow HTC sensor was specially designed to replace baffle plates in the process. It is used to measure the volume of bulk materials after mechanical conveyor systems. In the application described above, the sensor offers numerous advantages for our customers compared to the baffle plate: In

in industrial scale In the production of flame retardants, a low residual water content in the ppm range plays a decisive role. AVA has developed a flame retardant dryer that enables the reliable and efficient production of flame retardants in batch sizes up to 20.000 liters. Many plastic materials are hydrophobic. If water molecules are trapped in the polymer matrix, they will not bind to the polymer and have a negative impact on the mechanical properties of the material. Therefore, flame retardants added to the plastic products shall have possibly low moisture content; often the specification is to reach ppm level. To reach such low moisture content within reasonable drying time, the vacuum drying process shall be carried out under high vacuum and the product temperature shall be as high as the product allows. For some organophosphorus compounds for example, process temperature over 300 °C is not unusual. The AVA HTC-VT type vacuum dryer can be well adapted to this application. The

Automated production of wood-plastic composites Requirements •high plant uptime, designed for continuous operation •no restrictions when it comes to automating raw materials •high throughput rate •robust, high-quality construction •process and control engineering and after-sales service from a single supplier The customer Environmental responsibility and recycling technology were among the top priorities when developing the concept and deciding on investment for the manufacture of innovative and award-winning products in the UPM ProFi family of products. Having set themselves the goal of cost leadership, UPM then picked AZO as a partner, with whom continuous optimisation of processes is possible at any point. UPM is a global business with headquarters in Finland and is made up of six business units: Biorefining (biofuels & cellulose), Energy (hydropower plants), Raflatac (label materials), Specialty Papers & Communication Papers and Plywood. UPM Biocomposites’ business is the manufacture of wood-plastic

Level measurement devices of the MOLOSwave series also suitable for explosive bulk goods MOLLET Füllstandtechnik offers with the MOLOSwave series the opportunity, to measure the filling level in potentially explosive bulk goods as well. Reliable measuring signals and a very attractive price-performance-ratio make the MWF21 with rod probe and the MWF27 with rope probe extremely interesting for more and more customers worldwide. High accuracy due to four wire technology and independence of product characteristics as well as very good insensitiveness against dust, build up and condensate are further advantages of the MOLOSwave series. The radar measuring devices of the MOLOSwave series are based on the Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) principle. In doing so high frequency microwave pulses with low energy are created that are coupled onto the probe and guided along this probe to the bulk goods. The product surface partly reflects these pulses. The electronic detects the reflected pulses and calculates the actual filling level from the time difference of the

Expert handling of demanding The requirements •Automation of difficult materials: Plant-based with fluctuating properties, Adherent, sticky, bridging Solid and liquid Sensitive for dust explosion •Tailor made production environment •Expandability for the future •Ideal material flow •Low production cost The customer BioLogiQ® Inc., a bioplastic resin manufacturing company specializing in sustainable plastic products made from renewable resources, was founded in 2011. The company’s intent was to create a useful plastic from the excess starch generated during potato processing. This led to the invention of a new kind of Thermoplastic Starch (TPS) called NuPlastiQ® BioPolymers. Using its proprietary process, BioLogiQ® makes a low moisture content plasticized starch resin. They make NuPlastiQ® in pellet form so plastic product manufacturers can use them like traditional plastic resin pellets on their standard production equipment. NuPlastiQ® pellets are designed to be blended with

Ready for production This August, Foeth received a Z-blade mixer. This AMK-Aachen-VIU-450 was completely overhauled in our workshop, where our craftsmen did an outstanding job to get this machine up and running. When the machine arrived, the scraps of the used glue-like hot melt substance were still there. How did the craftsmen proceed during the overhauling process? The Z-blade mixer was completely filled with a glue-like substance. The previous owner decided to take the machine out of production, without cleaning it first. The hardened substance was impossible to remove by hand. This is why we joined forces with a specialized industrial cleaning company who helped us to get the substance off the Z-blade mixer. Our craftsmen completely dismantled the Z-blade mixer, so the machine parts could go into a heated oven for several hours in order to remove all the substance. After all the substance was burned to ashes, Foeth's craftsmen were able to clean the parts completely. We sprayed all

VICTAM and VIV join forces to fuel growth in the Asian market International trade show organisers behind VIV and VICTAM are combining their events planned for Bangkok, Thailand, in the early part of 2020. This new partnership unites arrangements relating to the Animal Feed and Grain Industries Show Victam asia in March 2020 and the VIV Health and Nutrition Asia Trade Fair and Forum originally planned to take place in Bangkok in January 2020. Both events will now be co-located at Bangkok’s BITEC exhibition grounds on 24 – 26 March 2020 as Victam asia and Animal Health and Nutrition, by VICTAM and VIV.

Improved Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) systems Evesham-based Powder Handling experts Matcon have been supporting The Vale of Evesham School, a Specialist School for Cognition and Learning since 2016 and this year we are proud to announce that £25,000 of funding has been provided towards the installation of a new sensory room. The ultra-modern classroom has been designed to stimulate visual and interactive learning and includes a magic carpet, interactive whiteboard, bubble tube, light up water table, cloud curtain and a range of wooden and low-tech toys. Laura Wainwright, Teacher at The Vale of Evesham School, was heavily involved with the installation of the classroom. She said: “Having the new sensory room has had a significant impact on the learning and engagement of our children with complex needs. It has made learning more accessible for a wide range of pupils particularly now we have overhead tracking. Staff can use it with ease due to the high spec equipment. The children achieve targets in a range of

The Mixomat mini gravity blender made by Fuchs Maschinen AG has been specially designed for laboratory applications. The laboratory blender is ideal for various applications such as blending, homogenising, inking, blending sedimented liquids as well as polishing metal or plastic parts and much more. This blender is fitted with the same characteristics of the large-sized Mixomat drum blenders. Thanks to its extremely compact design, this small tilting drum blender is ideal to be used in laboratories, in pilot plants and in small production units. As a standard, the Mixomat mini tilting drum blender is supplied with 0,5, 1,0 and 2,0 litre plastic containers. As an option, stainless steel containers of up to 1,0 litre are also available. The blender is fitted with the same functionalities as her bigger Mixomat -brothers: the blending drum is filled to a maximum of 70% of its capacity and rotated around its own axes during a preselected blending time. Because the

Reducing risk of foreign bodies in bulk products Metal separators and detectors are used in many companies in the bulk materials and process industries to prevent foreign bodies from entering the product and then reaching the customer. However, this requires that all objects that can get into the product during the long production process can also be detected. Especially the laboratory requirements made of plastic always represented a potential risk. FOSBA therefore now offers a whole range of metal detectable products that considerably reduce the risk of foreign bodies in the product. The new spatulas, blades, funnels, jugs, bottles and cans are not only metal-detectable but also easy to see thanks to their blue colouring.

SIFTOMATmini The Siftomat mini by FUCHS Maschinen AG has been designed for sifting small batches of bulk material of all kinds. Its extremely compact construction is ideal for laboratories, pilot plants and for small productions. The functioning is identical to that of the big Siftomat plansifter. An eccentric drive makes the sieves swing in a plane eccentric movement. Blending is carried out extremely gently and has a positive impact on the sifting quality. The sieve housing being extremely quickly disassembled for sieve replacement or product change, the plansifter is ideal for contract manufacturer of pharmaceutical products or food stuffs, from which at least the product wetted parts of the machine have to be cleaned extremely often. The machine parts to be cleaned are very light and they can be very easily handled by the responsible collaborators. The Siftomat mini plansifter is available with one or two sieve decks, whereas all product wetted parts are made of stainless

Fast analysis of particle shape and size of suspensions and emulsions Wet dispersion is particularly suitable for fine particles, poorly flowing, fine-agglomerating or sticky materials, which do not react in water or other liquids. The measuring time depending on the sample quantity, is under 5 minutes. And the result is available immediately. This makes the Analysette 28 ImageSizer the perfect measuring instrument for the easy quality control, as well as for research and for laboratory tasks – and it is the fast alternative to sieving. Your advantages - Extra wide measuring range of 20 μm – 2.8 mm - Strong, freely adjustable ultrasonic power for deagglomeration - Extremely quiet dispersion with strong pumping power - Benzine, alcohol and many organic solvents can also be used as suspension liquid as a standard feature - Automatic rinsing cycle - No dead space in measuring and rinsing circulation system - Fast and consistent cleaning Easy wet measurement The Fritsch analysette 28 ImageSizer is in combination with the

Automatically cleanable magnet removes metal and stainless steel particles from powders The automatically cleanable ‘Easy Clean flow’ magnet from Goudsmit Magnetics of Waalre recently underwent a redesign. This magnetic separator removes metal particles and weakly magnetic stainless steel particles from powders as fine as 30 µm in the food, chemical, ceramic and plastic industries. The Easy Clean flow magnet is suitable for large product flows and distinguishes itself by the very high magnetic flux density of over 12,000 gauss at the contact surface of the bars. These bars come into direct contact with the product and have a deeply penetrating magnetic field that effectively makes powders and granulates metal-free at high flow rates. The magnet is dustproof to an overpressure of 0.5 bar and has a simple electro-pneumatic controller. The user-friendly cleaning requires 6 bar air and 24 VDC start signals. High separation yield The thick, Ø50 mm magnetic bars provide a very high separation yield, have a deep holding field and a high flux density. This

Fluidized bed and spouted bed technologies for sophisticated product design Added-value ingredients require gentle processes and sustainable packaging. Discover innovative solutions to meet these needs. At Fi Europe 2019 in Paris, plant engineering and process development specialist Glatt Ingenieurtechnik will present effective methods for enhanced product design with natural ingredients for sports nutrition, dietary supplements and beverage applications. In many industries, factors such as nutritional requirements, climate change, the debate on plastic waste and the increasing relevance of online media have prompted a shift away from traditional thinking. More and more manufacturers are responding to the need to replace certain ingredients and develop new formulations based on natural ingredients for increasingly health-oriented consumers. For both applications, Glatt's fluidized bed and spouted bed technologies offer unique benefits in terms of particle design. Sensitive natural ingredients such as vitamins and minerals, as well as fragrances,

Save time and money and Work smart and fast Discover the advantages of El-Clic - One device covers several functions for connection, power termination and splice - Saves time, effort and money, speeds up installation time - No special tools required - Temperature resistant to 100°C and thus suitable for heating, warm water pipes and grease channels - Robust, water resistant housing

Seminar with 50 customers near Ho Chi Minh City Guoyan Zhang-Mailänder encountered many level measurement applications, Engineers as well as OEMs were very interested, Seminar „Industry Solutions with UWT Solids & Liquids Portfolio”, Using interactive demo test equipment, the participants were able to get hands-on with different level sensor units, Special solutions for individual applications, UWT Distributor - Viet Nhat Industrial Equipment Co., Ltd., Opportunity to get to know each other better, accompanied by delicious local food, Social networking and a close customer relationship is the base for successful business partnerships

Numerical Modelling is now widely used for process and product design control and analysis in many fields. In powders and bulk solids progress has been slow but now, techniques are starting to open up. Come to this course and find out what the different techniques are and what they can do for you, including: - the fundamentals of modelling; - the many different techniques that can be applied to powders and bulk solids; - the relative advantages for different types of processes and problems; - the expertise level and expense involved Whether you are making and/or using powders, designing equipment and processes or just starting in research in powders/particulate technology, this introductory level course will help you understand your options and possibilities. The modelling techniques to be discussed include: •DEM •Population Balance Modelling •Cellular Automata •Finite Difference Modelling •CFD – both Euler-Euler and Euler-Lagrange The

Specialist is gearing up for the digital future All the big names in the industry are represented at the MOTEK international trade fair for automation in production and assembly at the Stuttgart Trade Fair Centre between the 7th and 10th of October 2019. Designers and operators will find cross-sector approaches, ranging from detailed solutions to turnkey system solutions. The unique industry platform showcases a wide range of cutting-edge solutions and the latest trends for optimisation in assembly processes. At the exhibition stand in hall 5, Deprag schulz gmbh u. CO. is presenting the new screwdriving system Deprag plus – the future of screwdriving technology. "This is not reinventing the wheel, it is a question of highly effective fine-tuning, as a result of technological advances, which have released enormous potential," explains Daniel Guttenberger, Product Manager for DEPRAG screwdriving technology. Connectivity, user-friendliness, flexibility, efficiency and documentation capabilities: these key characteristics