State-Of-The-Art Materials Handling

MIXING VIRGIN AND REGRIND back into the process is now easier thanks to Thoreson-McCosh. Getting a reliable percentage of regrind and then getting a good homogeneous mixture of virgin and regrind is now achievable with the company’s line of proportional loaders with a mixing chamber.

The loaders come in various sizes and can be integrated into a central vacuum system or stand alone.

Materials are loaded into the vacuum chamber with an adjustable percentage of regrind and then mixed for a variable amount of time before being dropped into a holding hopper. The result is a good mix of both materials.

These units also work for adding colors or other materials requiring thorough mixing.

En-plas Inc. 416-286-3030

RESPONDING TO CUSTOMER DEMAND, Novatec can now provide the NovaTouch touch pad PLC controller for its conveying systems, blenders or desiccant dryers. This powerful, user-friendly control was first introduced on Novatec dryers in 2002.

When used for a materials conveying system, NovaTouch can control up to 64 loading stations and five pumps in the standard configuration. Blowback, purge or proportioning can be added, dependent on the number of stations controlled.

Plug-and-play communication modules for modem, Modbus, Profibus and MPI can be added. Ethernet, Canbus, ASI and DeviceNet protocols are also available.

Plastics Machinery Inc.

905-895-5054

BY MODULARIZING THE HOPPER and auger components of its Precision Additive Feeders (PAF), Universal Dynamics has dramatically reduced the set-up time for changing colors or additives. Change-overs with the new modular PAFs takes just minutes. Hopper and auger/barrel assemblies simply lift off for easy access to all material contact surfaces. Additives for the next job can be set up in another modular hopper ahead of time and snapped into place as needed. Likewise, the screw and auger can be replaced to match the new material and throughput required.

The modular PAFs have adaptive controls that automatically adjust the metering of additives in response to variations in cycle time, extruder speed or the amount of regrind flowing into the process.

Hamilton Avtec Inc. 905-568-1133

A SELF-CLEANING FUNCTION is the latest enhancement to Process Control Corp.’s Guardian Series gravimetric batch blenders. The self-cleaning feature allows the blender to purge the previous recipe’s resin before entering into a new recipe set-up. It is ideal on lines which experience frequent recipe changes.

The self-cleaning function cleans all resin from the weigh hopper and mixing chamber with just the push of a button. The blender incorporates several mechanical features to facilitate purging. Both the weigh hopper and the mixing chamber contain purge ports. In addition, pneumatic solenoids are used to cycle air through these ports, and ensure both are empty of resin before beginning a new recipe.

Intrepid Standard Technologies Inc. 905-278-8088

A MINI-BLENDER that goes by the nickname Herbie has been developed by M-tek, a division of Mould-tek Industries Inc. The HRB (High Resolution Blender) has a capacity of 1 lb. (454 g), and handles four materials, with any combination of major and minor ingredients. Herbie has a blending capacity of up to 160 lb. hour.

Herbie and all M-tek blenders are now available with a color touch-screen controller. The HRB controller has a quick start sequence, a selection of two types of batching cycles, and three levels of sequencing for automatic control of ingredients.

It provides a visual display of real-time running conditions, blending rate, target weights and deviation per ingredient.

M-tek 416-285-5400

HIGH CAPACITY DRYERS which conserve air and reduce drying time are available from AutoLoad. The AutoDry II series of drying hoppers have a solid-cone stainless steel hopper with a smooth interior for superior air distribution and material mass flow. According to AutoLoad, the dryers are very energy efficient, using a closed-loop design to conserve air, cut drying time and reduce energy consumption.

The large-volume AutoDry II dryers can dry up to 400 lb./hr. The design has no moving parts and no desiccant.

Hamilton Avtec Inc. 905-568-1133

LORENZ TWO-WAY DIVERTER VALVES for resin conveying systems have been enhanced with more durable seals to provide longer seal life. Sizes range from 2 in. OD to 12 in. OD in a variety of configurations. A lightweight aluminum sealed housing and polished stainless steel blade provide durability and corrosion resistance, plus positive sealing. Unobstructed flow improves system performance and reduces product degradation.

Lorenz has also steamlined its manufacturing processes to improve delivery times.

Lorenz & Son 905-372-2240

EFFICIENCY AND ECONOMICS play crucial roles within plants that operate a central material loading system and introduce regrind back into the process. Spaltech’s Vacu-Bin materials handling bin can provide an optimal solution for such processes.

The Vacu-Bin can be utilized in conjunction with a vacuum loader support frame. The frame supports a small loader or cyclone responsible for loading the bin with granulator regrind, while the bin is then unloaded to the process via the vacuum system. This set-up allows for the efficient recycling of regrind back into the process, eliminating the need for manual operation.

Spaltech offers the Vacu-Bin in three models: SEB-100 (110 lb. capacity), SEB-300 (300 lb. capacity), and SEB-500 (500 lb. capacity). The Vacu-Bin is made of high-density polyethylene and is supplied with lids and manufactured with heavy-duty casters. Support stands for this application are also available from Spaltech and are custom designed to accommodate the customer’s specific loader requirements.

Spaltech International 905-542-7444

SALINA VORTEX’S SEAL TITE Gravity Diverter was designed to address the problems present in traditional flapper style diverters. A unique flow design channels the flow of material away from the leading edge of the flapper valve. As well, a removable access door and live-loaded shaft seal offer significant advantages. Available in two-way and three-way models.

Salina Vortex 785-825-7177

WITTMANN HAS ADAPTED proven control technology from its CNC7 robot control to the new M7 touchscreen network control for materials handling systems. The operator interface of this new control system incorporates a high-resolution 8.5 in. VGA TFT color touchscreen.

The M7 control is suitable for medium to complex networks of up to 240 network nodes. Each node is freely configurable for the control of a pump station, central filter, material loader or purging valve, giving maximum flexibility to create a customized materials handling system.

The control also allows for back-up copies of the system configuration, including the network topology and set-up values, such as conveying times, purging times, etc., on a SmartMedia card.

The graphical interface provides simple operator menus for data entry and adjustment of process parameters.

Nucon Wittmann Inc. 888-466-8266

CUT COST OF FREQUENT MATERIAL CHANGES

PROCESSORS WHO RUN engineering materials that require drying and who make several material changes per machine per week can save US$200,000 with the ResinWorks system from Conair. This new concept in materials management brings together drying, blending and conveying technology into one package, custom built to meet the needs of processors large and small.

With ResinWorks centralized drying and distribution, material changes are made more quickly than conventional machine-side drying because resins can be pre-dried and conveyed to processing machines quickly.

Processors can remove individual dryers from beside or atop machines. They can cut labor costs dramatically and improve operator safety by eliminating manual handling of resin. And they can improve finished product quality with better control over drying and blending, and reduced potential for contamination.

The Conair ResinWorks system can be almost anything a
processor wants it to be. Up to five drying hoppers, each sized specifically for either multi-machine/long run or single-machine/short-run operations, are factory assembled onto a sled-like base and fitted with heaters, controls, dry-air manifolds and purge valves for easy place-and-play installation. The ResinWorks system can also include a gaylord or bag station, plus a Conair gravimetric blender can mix different materials and additives.

In addition to the microprocessor controls that come with the Conair Carousel desiccant dryer, the ResinWorks system also has an Airflow Adjustment System that allows the user to fine-tune airflow to each individual drying hopper based on readings obtained from a portable Air Flow Calibrator. Each hopper also has a single control lever that both interrupts air flow and shuts off the heater to allow for cleaning of one hopper while the rest of the system continues to operate.

Stephen Sales Group 905-940-5577;

Auxiplast Inc. 450-922-0282

ADVANCED MATERIALS HANDLING SAVES RESIN, ENERGY AND LABOR

SIX OF THE NEW materials handling products launched by Motan in 2003 have found a home at a Tier 1 automotive supplier in Ontario. With five facilities in Ontario, this injection molder is strong and lean, in part due to advanced material handling systems.

The most recent Motan installation for this Tier 1 molder includes products for central conveying, drying, and blending of plastic resins. The central system concept allows any material to be delivered to any machine with only a simple line connection change at the material distribution manifold. Drying is centralized, while blending takes place at the press.

Color touchscreens featured on Motan’s A series Luxor dryers and Metro controls offer at-a-glance system status, data trending, on-screen help, and alarm logging.

At the molding machines, Motan’s Gravicolor gravimetric blenders and Minicolor additive feeders add even more flexibility to the system, allowing accurate mixing of color or other additives. For loading of the Gravicolor blenders, Motan’s new S receiver is used.

Also in use at this facility are Motan’s updated SB style filterless vacuum receivers, which eliminate filter cleaning and reduce maintenance time.

For this installation, system return-on-investment is expected to be rapid, due to increased efficiencies, reduced material waste and contamination, reduced labor (especially maintenance) and reduced energy consumption.

Motan Inc. 800 991-9921