Auxiliary Equipment (November 01, 2004)

COMPACT, RELIABLE CAROUSEL DRYER

Conair has improved on its workhorse carousel dryers by turning to a desiccant drying technology that has been proven in applications outside the plastics industry. The new Carousel Plus dryer uses molecular sieve desiccant impregnated into and bonded onto a fibreglass substrate. This material is then formed into a continuously rotating wheel that constantly brings fresh desiccant on-line while the rest of the wheel is being regenerated and cooled.

This approach exposes more desiccant surface area to processing air, requires less maintenance and eliminates the contamination problems commonly associated with desiccant beads. The Carousel Plus dryers are more reliable and more energy efficient than other dryers, according to Conair, and are generally 40 to 60% more compact.

Stephen Sales Group 905-940-5577; Auxiplast Inc. 450-922-0282

PROCESS MONITORING SYSTEMS SENDS EMAIL, VOICE ALERTS

“Machine 14 requires attention.” In plants running the latest ProHelp EPM production and process monitoring from Mattec, this announcement can be made automatically, either over a public address system or by an email message. The automated messaging function lets machine operators stay at their post and take immediate action to get the process back on track.

This new feature is part of ProHelp EPM release 6.2, introduced at Plastics USA in September. ProHelp EPM is a real-time production and process monitoring system suitable for injection molding, blow molding or extrusion facilities. The new release has enhanced statistical process control function and the ability to import data from most MRP and ERP systems.

Mattec Corp. 513-683-1802

MORE ACCURATE ALGORITHM FOR TEMPERATURE CONTROL

A newly patented technology from Davis-Standard improves upon an existing adaptive reset algorithm to provide temperature control precision of +/- 0.1F regardless of processing conditions.

“Prior to this development,” explains Saul Eiva, Davis-Standard’s software development engineer who designed the new algorithm, “there was a one-degree Farenheit deadband in the reset function.”

The reset algorithm memorizes the thermal loading or temperature conditions of each barrel zone at different screw speeds. When the screw speed enters a specific range, the algorithm makes adjustments relative to thermal load to maintain an exact temperature.

The new temperature reset algorithm is available with the dual thermocouple technology on Davis-Standard’s EPIC III and MESA III supervisory control systems.

Stephen Sales Group 905-940-5577; Auxiplast Inc. 450-922-0282

DOUBLE THE LIFE OF FEEDSCREWS

Extreme Coatings from Surface Engineering & Alloy Co. are said to double the life of a feedscrew. The tungsten carbide coatings greatly enhance wear resistance and improve throughput. Sales engineer Larry Dwyer explains that coated feedscrews maintain tighter tolerances longer than conventional screws, thus they have less backflow and better throughput.

XC1000 is a composition of cobalt or nickel saturated with 80-90% tungsten carbide. This provides hardness of Rc 68-71. For small diameter feedscrews, the XC1000-17 formulation is suggested. It has a higher concentration of cobalt to provide more ductility.

Surface Engineering works through your current screw manufacturer to provide this coating service.

Surface Engineering & Alloy Co. 800-664-0449

QUICK CHANGEOVER PRINTER

Isimat’s enhanced version of its TS 6090 6-color screen printing machine for flexible tubing and plastic cartridges was unveiled at the K Show. The machine, which has a production speed of up to 90 tubes/minute, has been redesigned with a number of new features that increase flexibility and reduce changeover times.

The machine’s ISI-Star UV drying system maximizes UV power during drying while keeping the average power output low to prevent a build-up of heat in tubes during their path through the machine. An innovative differential drive for the screens reduces changeover times when the machine is set-up for another tube diameter. Screen strokes and speeds of all printing stations are matched to the tube diameter by a single adjustment of the drive. Gear wheels are not required at the printing stations and therefore the time normally required to change these gears wheels is saved.

Isimat GmbH www.isimat.de

HIGHLY ACCURATE COLOR MEASUREMENT

Hunterlab’s UltraScan PRO spectrophotometer measures both reflected and transmitted color and meets CIE and ASTM guidelines for accurate color measurement. The instrument’s D65 illumination source is calibrated in both the ultraviolet and visible regions for accurately measuring flourescent samples. This extended measurement range permits the measurement of camouflage products and UV absorbing materials.

The UltraScan PRO comes with five nm resolution, enabling the precise measurement of plastic with colorant having sharp contrast characteristics. The spectrophotometer includes EasyMatch QC software. It also features three sizes of sample measurement areas with automated lens change.

HunterLab 703-471-6870