DTC system creates discs with accuracy
Munich, Germany-based Krauss-Maffei Kunststofftechnik GmbH said the patented PowerPulse Dynamic temperature control system used in the Futuremold III mold series produces optical discs with outstanding accuracy and minimal dishing and tilt values, all in a short cycle time.
The system can be converted onto existing disc production lines from Krauss-Maffei, making them suitable for molding high-definition DVDs. The larger process window also makes it easier to make Blu-ray discs, the company said.
With DTC, each mold half is equipped with a cooling section close to the cavity and another one far away form the cavity. During the heating process, the one near the cavity supplies the cooling section far from the cavity.
All four heat-balancing circuits are controlled in the mold, with a heat-balancing unit circuit and a pump. The advantage, according to Krauss-Maffei: The entire mold operates at a single temperature.
To cool the mold, only the circuits near the cavity are briefly switched to the colder cooling circuit. Cooling channels farther away keep the high temperature level constant in the mirror area of the mold and are used to store heat for a fast temperature change.
During part removal, the cooling circuit sections near the cavity are switched to heating.
The system keeps a high surface temperature for injection and a low surface temperature for demolding.
The company's U.S. headquarters, Krauss-Maffei Corp., is in Florence, Ky.
Tel. 859-283-0200, fax 859-283-9631, e-mail [email protected]
Battenfeld presents high-speed extruder
Battenfeld Extrusionstechnik GmbH of Bad Oeynhausen, Germany, said its new high-speed BEX 1-75-34 single-screw extruder can turn out 4,400 pounds of high-impact polystyrene or about 3,300 pounds an hour of polypropylene.
At a demonstration for 70 customers, the company ran a cast film coextrusion line and downstream equipment. The line was later shipped to an unidentified maker of thermoformed packaging.
The screw diameter is 75 millimeters, and the processing length originates from the feeling of designers that machine performance depends on screw speed instead of the size of the machine. That means the BEX line takes up less space, and is easier to maintain and repair, than a traditional machine with the same output. Other benefits include quicker changeover times and up to 25 percent reduction in energy consumption.
In other news, the company introduced the Calandrette, positioned as an alternative to a conventional calender for making small or midsize batches of PVC film.
The line includes a two-step extruder concept - a planetary-gear extruder and a discharge unit with a die, a polishing stack, haul-off and chill rolls, a thickness gauge, electrical installations and a controller. The Calandrette is a three-roll polishing stack.
Battenfeld Extrusionstechnik sold one of the redesigned Calandrette lines to a company that makes PVC film for the pharmaceutical market.
Tel. 49-5731-242-0, fax 49-5731-2712-4, e-mail [email protected]
Russian processor adds 3 Berstorff lines
Penoplex Holding, a Russian maker of extruded foam polystyrene insulation boards, has purchased three extrusion lines from Berstorff GmbH of Hanover, Germany.
The machines are Berstorff's ZE/KE Schaumtandex lines, a combination of twin- and single-screw extruders.
Penoplex, based in Kirishi, Russia, near St. Petersburg, added the lines to its new factory in the Russian city of Perm.
The company's goal is to boost its production capacity and reach a 90 percent market share for the foam boards, which are used for insulating basement walls and floor panels and to reinforce and insulate roads and airport runways. In the pavement insulation applications, the boards are buried, so they prevent the upper layer of the ground from melting, avoiding frost heave and damage to pavement.
Another Russian application: to insulate oil and gas pipelines.
Berstorff provided all the equipment, including the extruders and downstream equipment such as in-line board processing, recycling and packaging.
The company's U.S. headquarters, Berstorff Corp., is in Florence, Ky.
Tel. 859-283-0200, fax 859-283-1860.
Coperion develops tiny extruder for lab
Coperion Werner & Pfleiderer GmbH & Co. KG of Stuttgart, Germany, developed a laboratory extruder with a screw diameter of only 18 millimeters.
The ZSK 18 Megalab is designed for developing formulations of compounds, masterbatches and powder coatings at factories, and for carrying out basic tests and research in universities and research facilities.
Megalab may be small, but it has the same torque and high speed as the rest of Coperion's line of ZSK Megacompounder extruders.
The company's U.S. operation, Coperion Corp., is in Ramsey, N.J.
Tel. 201-327-6300, fax 201-825-6460, e-mail [email protected]
PAS adds hydraulics to its assembly unit
Plastic Assembly Systems of Bethany, Conn., has upgraded the 2500 IAS ``Solution Series'' of equipment for heat-stake assembly of plastic parts.
PAS said the unit was the first high-tonnage machine to use hydraulics instead of pneumatics. Now it has a large touch-screen display.
The machine comes in three different frame sizes, depending on the size of the part. It is capable of forces up to 3½ tons.
Tel. 866-882-1701, fax 203-393-0395, e-mail [email protected]
BEST touts precision of its latest feeder
Bulk Equipment Systems Technology Inc.'s Model TSF twin-screw feeder does precise batching and weighing of plastics and other materials.
A dual-helix design is ideal when limited space prohibits multiple individual-screw units. The two helixes, measuring 1½ inches and 4 inches in diameter, are mounted on an 18-by-22-inch hopper.
The hopper inlet is fitted with air pads and an on/off pulse timer to ensure a positive, uninterrupted flow to the helixes. Lubricated bearings with air-purged shaft seals prevent any leaks of product out of the rear of the machine.
BEST is based in North Brunswick, Ohio.
Tel. 800-827-9237, fax 330-225-8740, e-mail [email protected]
Solid Wood provides CNC machining center
Solid Wood Solutions of High Point, N.C., said its Balestrini Idea is a fast, accurate computer numerically controlled machining center that can do shaping, routing, boring and other operations required to make plastic components.
Programming can be supplied with preset machining recipes.
Tel. 336-884-0700, fax 336-887-6650, e-mail [email protected]