ASTON, PA. - Maguire Products Inc. wants to interface its blenders with plantwide production monitoring systems, via a new Fieldbus Interface the Aston auxiliary manufacturer will introduce at K 2001.
Maguire (Hall 10, Stand A 26) said the adapter module is loaded with software that links a central server to one or more blenders in which Maguire's Gravimetric Gateway or Extrusion Control Network software has been installed.
The Fieldbus Interface enables processors to draw on batch-by-batch material-consumption data from the blenders to control injection molding, blow molding or extrusion in an individual production line - or do plantwide, or even multiplant control, said Chris Crittenden, sales manager for Maguire Europe.
Aston-based Maguire is selling the interface in two forms: A small external module that connects to the serial interface on the blender controller and to the cable linked to the factory's Fieldbus system, and an internal card that replaces the standard RS232 serial port in the blender controller.
Also in Germany, the company will introduce a smaller model in its LPD line of low pressure dryers. Maguire claims LPD dryers can save $10,000 a year compared with conventional hot air/desiccant dryers. The LPD 30 is designed for use with smaller or lower-throughput processing machines
The beside-the-press dryer accommodates processing throughputs of 50 pounds an hour.
The 30 refers to the 0.30-cubic-foot volume of any of the three vacuum chambers or canisters on the indexing carousel inside the dryer.
Each canister can hold only about 12 pounds of resin, but the patented three-station design enables the dryer to provide a continuous supply of properly dried resins, according to the company.
That combination of vacuum drying and multistation indexing cuts drying time and energy consumption by 80 percent, said B. Patrick Smith, vice president of marketing and sales.
Maguire also will show its Shuttle Granulator. It shaves scrap like a carpenter's plane, then reduces it to granulate.
