Dynamic mixer allows single-screw mixing
Dynamic Melt Mixer Inc. of Manchester, Mass., claims its machine mixes resins and makes alloys on a single-screw extruder, a process that normally requires twin-screw extruders.
The company builds new machines and also supplies the Dynamic Melt Mixer as a retrofit onto existing single-screw or twin-screw extruders, according to President Desi Csongor.
The first part of the process uses a main single-screw extruder to feed the melt to a second section, which uses a series of rotors and stators. Satellite extruders feed materials to the melt. The rotors and stators achieve efficient, dynamic mixing, blending components under tightly controlled shear rates and temperatures, Csongor said.
Temperature and viscosity can be pre-set to make material suited for a specific end-product, he said.
``It's the simplest, most cost-effective method and it's retrofittable to any existing extruder,'' Csongor said.
The machine has blended ABS and polycarbonate, among other materials.
Tel. (978) 526-2419, fax (978) 526-8838, e-mail [email protected]
Battenfeld introduces roll-unloader system
Battenfeld Gloucester Engineering Co. Inc. of Gloucester, Mass., has developed an automatic roll unloading and recoring system for cast stretch film makers.
Operating either in manual or automatic mode, the system strips the finished rolls from the winder's cantilevered shaft onto an unloading table. Then the machine loads a pre-selected number of cores onto the empty shaft. The unload table then tips the rolls onto a platform, so the operator can pack the rolls.
At the same time, empty cores are reloaded from one of two large core bins onto the core conveyor before the next transfer.
The new roll unloader works with the entire line of Model 1002 automatic surface/center winders, including the 1002S, 1002D, 1002DS and 1002CS.
Tel. (978) 282-9420, fax (978) 282-9111.
SIG's BlowPac 2-10 reduces time, cost
SIG Blowtec has developed a more-economical machine to blow mold 20-liter polycarbonate bottles for water coolers, the BlowPac 2-10 PC.
SIG officials said the earlier model, the 2-20, was too big. SIG engineers reduced the price by about 15 percent and boosted output to 140 bottles an hour, from 100 bottles, without compromising quality, the company said.
According to SIG, about 80-85 million PC water-cooler bottles were sold in North America in 2001. About 26 million went to Latin America. The fast-growing West Europe market is expected to triple by 2004, to 2.3 million bottles.
Features of the BlowPac presses include a special screw and feed- zone geometry for PC resin, shorter cycle times and adjustment of the temperature profile and material feeding in the extruder. Another SIG specialty: calibrated neck finish that is done completely inside the mold.
Costs were trimmed by reducing the clamping force to 20 tons, from 30 tons. A new machine frame and other load-bearing elements allowed a modular design, saving money during assembly and shipping.
SIG said more than 10 BlowPac 2-10 PC machines have been sold since last November, to customers in the United States, Mexico, Europe and Indonesia.
SIG Blowtec is a unit of SIG Plastics International GmbH of Essen, Germany. Its North American headquarters, SIG Plastics Technologies (USA) Inc., is based in North Branch, N.J.
Tel. (908) 252-9350, fax (908) 252-9807.