--- title: Anyone Else Need An Air Cannon/Vibrator When Refilling Coffee Grounds? description: Dealing with material flow issues is frustrating. When a blockage occurs, production is negatively affected and often requires manual intervention. image: https://blog.martin-eng.com/hubfs/transferopointchutehammerrashbanghere2.jpg --- [![martin-sig-logo](https://blog.martin-eng.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Martin_Engineering_December2018/Image/martin-sig-logo.png?width=310&name=martin-sig-logo.png "martin-sig-logo")](https://blog.martin-eng.com/) ## visit us at [www.martin-eng.com](http://www.martin-eng.com) / [800-544-2947](tel:+8005442947) ## [< ![](https://blog.martin-eng.com/hs-fs/hubfs/ChelseaHeadshot.jpg?width=35&name=ChelseaHeadshot.jpg) By Chelsea Blake on Sep 30, 2022 8:46:44 AM Just in time for National Coffee Day, I was refilling the coffee jar and it got me thinking...this takes a lot more time than I thought it would. I don't even like coffee, but I wanted to try to be an adult and have coffee grounds in a "fancy" jar on the counter. I do like how it looks. However, I have to start the process and then go about doing other things while I wait for the funnel to empty into the jar.  It never completely empties on its own, I have to come back and shake the funnel or hit it with a spoon.  That is where a flow aid would come in handy. I am too busy to repeatedly deal with this.  --- [![Download Air Cannons 101 Ebook](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/5156573/35cd2a48-12c9-4665-b968-23e02c1ee5e7.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/5156573/35cd2a48-12c9-4665-b968-23e02c1ee5e7) --- ### Eliminate Manual Intervention To Restore Material Flow Not only are manual methods to prevent material buildup inefficient and repetitive, but they also increase safety risks and component damage.  Typical problems include bridging, ratholing, clinging, and arching. Once a blockage occurs, it becomes necessary to remove it to keep production up and running. One of the first things people usually do is try to dislodge it using techniques such as water and air lances, blasts, and more to eliminate the blockage. The most common means of material removal is normally a sledgehammer which can cause vessel damage as well as employee injury.  [![Hammer rash can weaken the structure](https://blog.martin-eng.com/hs-fs/hubfs/transferopointchutehammerrashbanghere2.jpg?width=650&name=transferopointchutehammerrashbanghere2.jpg)](https://www.martin-eng.com/content/product_category/468/industrial-vibration-solutions) ### Industrial Vibration Using the power of applied vibration, the material is energized, reducing friction against container walls as well as internal particle-to-particle cohesion. With properly sized and applied vibration, the material moves more freely, feeds more effectively, sorts more consistently, compacts more efficiently, and handles more easily. [![Learn About Using Vibration To Move Material ](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/5156573/5295711c-a473-4c36-9cd3-6147171d8208.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/5156573/5295711c-a473-4c36-9cd3-6147171d8208) ### Air Cannons [![Air cannons can keep material moving through a transfer point chute](https://blog.martin-eng.com/hs-fs/hubfs/aircannonstransferpointchutecement.jpg?width=650&name=aircannonstransferpointchutecement.jpg)](https://www.martin-eng.com/content/case_study/1116/hurricanes-stop-transfer-chute-clogging-and-conveyor-belt-backups) Maximize productivity and efficiency by keeping material flowing. Air cannons prevent buildups and obstructions by releasing controlled yet powerful bursts of air without risking damage to equipment. In addition to enhancing material flow, air cannons increase safety and maintenance planning as they eliminate the need for workers to manually intervene with blockages, disrupting the production process. [![Improve Material Flow With Air Cannons](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/5156573/dd81b3ca-cc41-48ee-b5dd-f56874597aaa.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/5156573/dd81b3ca-cc41-48ee-b5dd-f56874597aaa) [![Keep material flowing through transfer chutes with air cannons or vibration](https://blog.martin-eng.com/hs-fs/hubfs/CoffeeFill-1.jpg?width=500&name=CoffeeFill-1.jpg)](https://www.martin-eng.com/content/case_study/1116/hurricanes-stop-transfer-chute-clogging-and-conveyor-belt-backups) So, the next time you're filling your "fancy" coffee jar or dealing with blockages, I hope you remember this blog post and these flow aid devices to help improve material flow, production, and safety.  [![Checkout the blog post on the frustration of glass ketchup bottles](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/5156573/4741cf7d-b429-4ab9-8879-c4c8d06b3d24.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/5156573/4741cf7d-b429-4ab9-8879-c4c8d06b3d24) Share this with a friend: [![Share on Facebook](https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/522195/SphereOne/SVGLogoNew/icon-fb.svg)](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.martin-eng.com%2Fflowaids%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dfacebook) [![Share on LinkedIn](https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/522195/SphereOne/SVGLogoNew/icon-linkedin.svg)](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.martin-eng.com%2Fflowaids%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dlinkedin) [![Share on Twitter](https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/522195/SphereOne/SVGLogoNew/icon-twitter.svg)](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.martin-eng.com%2Fflowaids%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dtwitter&url=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.martin-eng.com%2Fflowaids%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dtwitter&source=tweetbutton&text=Anyone%20Else%20Need%20An%20Air%20Cannon%2FVibrator%20When%20Refilling%20Coffee%20Grounds%3F) [![Share on Pinterest](https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/522195/SphereOne/SVGLogoNew/icon-pinterest.svg)](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.martin-eng.com%2Fflowaids%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dpinterest&media=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn2.hubspot.net%2Fhubfs%2F522195%2FSphereOne%2FSVGLogoNew%2Ficon-pinterest.svg) [![Share on Email](https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/522195/SphereOne/SVGLogoNew/icon-mail.svg)](mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20https%3A%2F%2Fblog.martin-eng.com%2Fflowaids%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Demail%20&body=Check%20out%20https%3A%2F%2Fblog.martin-eng.com%2Fflowaids%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Demail) ##### comments 0 ## BLOG CATEGORIES --- - [Air Cannons (38)](https://blog.martin-eng.com/tag/air-cannons) - [Conveyor Products (141)](https://blog.martin-eng.com/tag/conveyor-products) - [Dust Control (32)](https://blog.martin-eng.com/tag/dust-control) - [Railcar Unloading (17)](https://blog.martin-eng.com/tag/railcar-unloading) - [Safety (78)](https://blog.martin-eng.com/tag/safety) **[All](https://blog.martin-eng.com/)** ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "VideoObject", "caption" : { "@type" : "MediaObject", "contentUrl" : "https://blog.martin-eng.com/media-transcripts/86472223879/es.vtt", "inLanguage" : "es", "name" : "es Captions" }, "contentUrl" : "https://5156573.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/5156573/IMG_0077.3gp", "dateModified" : "2025-09-19T23:08:52.694Z", "duration" : "PT18.862S", "height" : 240, "name" : "IMG_0077", "thumbnailUrl" : "https://5156573.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/5156573/IMG_0077.3gp/medium.jpg?t=1758323332694", "uploadDate" : "2022-09-29T17:02:33.435Z", "width" : 320 } ```