What is vibratory mixing?

Vibratory mixing replaces the rotating shaft and impeller of a conventional mixer with a perforated plate that oscillates vertically at high frequency and low amplitude, driven by an electromagnetic or mechanical drive unit. Instead of the circular, vortex-forming motion of a rotating impeller, the oscillating plate generates directional axial flow through the vessel. DrM's FUNDAMIX is a vibro-mixer built on this principle, used for efficient, low-shear mixing across industrial and pharmaceutical processes.

How does the FUNDAMIX vibratory mixer work?

The FUNDAMIX drives a perforated plate up and down through the liquid at high frequency and low amplitude. The plate's bores are conical, narrower on one face than the other, so flow resistance is higher in one direction than the other on each stroke; this imbalance, the Bernoulli effect, produces a net flow in a single direction every cycle, turning simple vertical motion into continuous axial circulation. Mixing intensity is set by the plate's amplitude and frequency rather than by impeller speed or blade geometry, so the same mechanism can run gently or vigorously, and the plate can be oriented to pump upward or downward.

How does vibratory mixing compare to a stirred tank or rotating impeller?

Vibratory mixing reaches turbulent, effective mixing at much lower energy input and lower Reynolds numbers than a stirred tank with a rotating impeller. In DrM's comparison, turbulent flow begins at Re 20 to 300 (versus above 10,000 for a stirred tank), specific power input is 510 to 1,530 W/m3 (versus about 8,600 W/m3 for a Rushton turbine), dimensionless mixing time is 1.5 to 3 (versus 10 to 100), and energy consumption is roughly 50% lower. It also protects shear-sensitive material, with cell survival above 99% versus 60 to 70% in a stirred tank.

Does vibratory mixing prevent vortex and foam formation?

Yes. With no rotating impeller, a vibromixer does not create the central vortex a spinning blade produces, so it does not pull air down into the batch. The oscillating plate generates axial (up-or-down) flow rather than a circular, vortex-forming pattern, which makes it well suited to processes where foaming is a concern or no air should be introduced; a downward-flow plate configuration is used where avoiding air entrainment is especially important.

Is vibratory mixing suitable for shear-sensitive products?

Yes, low shear is one of its main advantages. A vibromixer agitates more gently than a rotating impeller, making it suitable for sensitive products such as cell cultures, proteins, and delicate emulsions. In DrM testing, cell survival for shear-sensitive cultures was greater than 99% with vibratory mixing, compared with 60 to 70% in a conventional stirred tank.

Does vibratory mixing reduce energy consumption?

Yes. Because it achieves turbulent mixing at much lower power input, vibratory mixing uses approximately 50% less energy than a conventional stirred tank in DrM's independent testing. Its specific power input is 510 to 1,530 W/m3, versus about 8,600 W/m3 for a Rushton-turbine stirred tank, and it reaches effective mixing at far lower Reynolds numbers, so less energy is needed for the same result.

What is the difference between FUNDAMIX and FUNDAMIX SU?

Both use the same oscillating-plate mixing mechanism; the difference is the format. The FUNDAMIX Vibro-Mixer is the standard stainless-steel mixer for new installations or retrofits into existing vessels, available across several drive sizes. FUNDAMIX SU is the single-use version for sterile and biopharmaceutical processing, where a disposable, pre-sterilized mixing assembly eliminates cleaning and cross-contamination between batches while the drive unit outside the bag is reused. Both remove the rotating shaft seal, a common contamination point.

VIBRATORY MIXING TECHNOLOGY

Beyond the Rotating Impeller

An oscillating plate replaces the rotating impeller, generating controlled axial flow for efficient, shear-sensitive mixing across industrial and pharmaceutical processes.

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The Core Mechanism of Vibratory Mixing

technology

Vibratory mixing replaces a rotating shaft with a plate that oscillates vertically. Three things about that mechanism define how it behaves in a vessel.

Oscillation Replaces Rotation

A mixing plate moves up and down at high frequency and low amplitude, driven by an electromagnetic or mechanical drive unit, instead of a shaft turning an impeller.

Axial Flow, No Vortex

As the plate oscillates through its perforated bores, it generates directional flow up or down through the vessel rather than the circular, vortex-forming pattern typical of a rotating impeller.

Intensity Set by Amplitude and Frequency

Mixing intensity is adjusted by how far and how fast the plate oscillates, not by impeller speed or blade geometry, which allows the same mechanism to run gentle or vigorous.

How Does Vibratory Mixing Generate Flow?

Why the plate's holes matter: the Bernoulli effect

Most mixing plates are perforated with conical bores rather than built as a solid disc. Because each bore is narrower on one face than the other, resistance to flow is higher in one direction than the other as the plate moves up and down. That imbalance produces a net volume flow in a single direction each cycle, which is what turns simple vertical motion into continuous axial circulation through the vessel, rather than the plate just pushing fluid back and forth in place.

Flow direction is set by plate orientation

The same plate design can be installed to pump primarily upward or downward. An upward-flow configuration can be mounted close to the vessel bottom, minimizing the volume of liquid that stays unmixed at low fill levels, and tends to suit fast, efficient mixing of liquids and light solids. A downward-flow configuration is better suited to processes where solids settle quickly, foaming is a concern, or no air should be introduced into the batch. A third variant routes gas through a hollow shaft beneath the plate, combining mixing and sparging for aeration or fermentation duties.

How Does Vibratory Mixing Compare to Stirred Tanks?

comparison

Vibratory mixing reaches turbulent, effective mixing at lower energy input and lower Reynolds numbers than a stirred tank with a rotating impeller.

Metric	Vibratory Mixing	Stirred Tank / Rotating Impeller	Source
Turbulent flow onset	Re 20 to 300	Re above 10,000	Gimba et al., 2026
Specific power input	510 to 1,530 W/m³	8,600 W/m³ (Rushton turbine)	Gimba et al., 2026
Dimensionless mixing time	1.5 to 3	10 to 100	Gimba et al., 2026
Cell survival rate (shear-sensitive cultures)	Greater than 99%	60 to 70%	DrM customer testing
Energy consumption	Approximately 50% lower	Baseline	DrM independent testing

Low shear matters for sensitive products such as cells, proteins, or delicate emulsions. A vibromixer agitates more gently than a rotating impeller.

Foam or vortex formation is a problem. Without a rotating impeller, a vibromixer does not generate the central vortex that pulls air into the batch.

Sterility, closed operation, or seal elimination matters. Vibratory mixing removes the rotating shaft seal altogether, closing off a common contamination point.

Efficient mixing at low power is the priority, particularly for fast homogenization or continuous recirculation duties.

The process involves gas dispersion, suspension, emulsification, or dissolution in a vessel sized to match the mixing plate.

The Same Mechanism, Three Ways to Deploy It

Every DrM mixing product uses the oscillating-plate mechanism described above. The right format depends on your vessel, your sterility requirements, and how the system needs to integrate into your process.

Available Formats

FUNDAMIX® Vibro-Mixer

Standard mixer

The standard format for new installations or retrofits into existing vessels, available across four drive sizes covering lab through full industrial scale.

Packaged Units

Turnkey System

Complete stand-alone or skid-mounted systems that combine the mixer with the vessel, controls, and utilities, from glass reactor lab setups to fully automated industrial plants.

FUNDAMIX® SU

Single-Use Mixer

The same vibration-based mixing principle built for disposable bags, with the drive mounted outside the bag for a non-invasive, sterile setup.

The Origins of Vibratory Mixing Technology

Dr. Hans Müller, the founder of DrM, came up with the idea in an unexpected way. As the story is told within the Müller family, his wife had been given an at-home vibrating massage device, and when he held it in a cup of coffee out of curiosity, the reaction was dramatic enough to convince him that vibration, not rotation, could be an entirely different way to mix liquids.

He developed the first electromagnetic vibromixer at Chemap AG, the company he founded to commercialize his solid-liquid separation and mixing inventions. When he sold Chemap in the early 1980s and founded a new company, DrM, Dr. Mueller AG, the vibromixer did not come with him. It was produced and developed for the next 29 years by Graber & Pfenninger GmbH, before DrM bought the technology back.

Back at DrM

2012: DrM reacquires the original vibromixer technology and reintroduces it under the FUNDAMIX® name, with a newly engineered drive.

2018: A redesigned drive leads to FUNDAMIX® Silent, with quieter, more efficient operation.

2020: DrM introduces FUNDAMIX® SU, adapting the same vibration-based mixing principle for single-use bioprocessing.