Ultra quiet granulator permits conveyor feed, remote monitoring

Hosokawa Polymer Systems recently installed a customized version of its Premium Shurfeed granulator that maintains operating noise levels below 80 dbA at an automotive parts manufacturing facility. This manufacturer produces thick parts of hard, glass-filled nylon that resulted in extremely loud granulator operation.

The manufacturer’s demand for noise levels below 80 dbA required the granulator be housed in its own soundproof room, but the granulator was still to be a central machine, fed directly by a conveyor belt. The conveyor feed enters the soundproofed enclosure through sound-deadening doors that close when the granulator is in operation.

Another challenge presented by the soundproofed enclosure was how to allow operators to monitor and control the machine remotely.

The Premium Shurfeed granulator was modified to include a sophisticated programmable logic controller (PLC) and a ferrous and non-ferrous metal detector.

“The PLC gives our customers complete control of all functions of their machine,” says Jack Bowne, vice-president of sales and marketing for Hosokawa Polymer Systems. “Whether in another room, or even in another country, operators can use the PLC to track the granulator’s high and low bin level indicators to prevent overfeeding, to initiate regrind evacuation, even shut down of the conveyor feed to avoid burnout if the amperage of the granulator motor reaches overload levels.”

Plastics Machinery Inc. 905-895-5054