Preform press has power backup option
Where were you when the lights went out? If you had a power backup option for the Petform, a PET preform injection press from Krauss-Maffei Kuntstofftechnik GmbH, you'd be OK.
In case of a power outage, the optional backup ensures that the production cycle concludes before the entire system stops. The unit monitors the power supply constantly. In a blackout, it first checks the status of the injection cycle. If the cycle has not started yet, the backup unit closes the needles. If injection already has started, the operating voltage will be sustained, then after injection is finished, the needles are closed and it shuts down.
As soon as the power comes back on, the preforms can be demolded, assisted only by the part ejector.
The backup option avoids short shots that, when frozen in the mold core, must be removed by core hammering, which can damage the sensitive mold.
Krauss-Maffei is based in Munich, Germany. Its U.S. headquarters, Krauss-Maffei Corp., is in Florence, Ky.
Tel. 859-283-4366, fax 859-283-9631, e-mail [email protected]
Colortronic creates CPP phase conveyors
Colortronic North America Inc. has developed the CPP series of low-velocity, semi-dense phase conveyors for moving powdered materials such as additives.
The conveyor has a low ratio of compressed air to material, so the powder doesn't break up, but stays in a slug as it moves through the piping. Material degradation can happen when powder moves as a dust, Colortonic said.
The CPP moves large volumes of powder - up to 50 cubic feet per hour with the 1-inch model and 100 cubic feet per hour with the 2-inch models, at distances up to 200 feet.
Multiple units can be operated in sequence to reach a higher rate of conveying.
Colortronic is based in Flint, Mich.
Tel. 810-720-7300, e-mail [email protected]
Ridat unveils pressure former
Ridat Co. of London, which makes thermoforming machines, is launching a versatile, high-speed pressure forming machine designed for large volumes of basic plastic products such as cups, tubs, containers, plant pots, lids and trays.
One model, the 1610 APF, can produce more than 15,000 yogurt cups an hour, running a nine-cup mold at 28 cycles per minute.
The pressure formers incorporate in-tool cutting and automatic stacking. For the complete line, the machines have a maximum forming area of 16 inches by 10 inches. Cycle speeds run between eight and 50 cycles a minute.
The roll-fed material passes under a multizone heater into the tool, where it is formed and then trimmed. A blast of air clears finished products from the tool, and the skeletal waste is wound onto a rewind unit, all automatically.
The new Ridat machine spreads the heating over six index pitches, with seven heaters across the web at each station. The temperature of each zone is controlled by a microprocessor-monitored thermocouple.
Tel. 44-20-8458-6485, fax 44-20-8455-5056, e-mail [email protected]
Weima now making pre-shredders, too
Weima Maschinenbau GmbH has developed the PreCut pre-shredder for an exotic application: to shred plastics and other types of waste that then are turned into alternative fuel.
That type of shredding usually happens in a multistage plant that does both pre- and post-shredding. Weima, which has made post-shredders for many years, now has entered the market for pre-shredders. Both types of shredding enable simply separation of material streams into different grades.
The PreCut's rotor has a working width of 10 feet. Cutting-turning crowns can be reversed four times.
The firm's U.S. unit is Weima America Inc. in Fort Mill, S.C.
Tel. 803-802-7170, fax 803-802-7098, e-mail [email protected]
Novatec introduces VersaLoad system
Novatec Inc. has introduced a rotating-wheel desiccant dryer called the NovaWheel and its VersaLoad twin-chamber system.
The wheel continuously moves dry desiccant into service, while it regenerates moisture-laden desiccant in the same rotational cycle. Novatec said the wheel dryer is a simpler, smaller, lower-cost alternative to conventional twin-tower dryers.
NovaWheel also delivers less variation in dew point than other wheel dryers, since it uses a steel-link drive chain instead of a belt to drive the wheel, said Mark Haynie, product manager for dryers. ``Because belt drives invariably undergo distortion, slippage occurs, causing rotation speed and thus dew-point performance to vary from target settings,'' he said.
The dryer also eliminates spikes that can happen with twin-tower dryers during the changeover from one bed to another.
The cylindrical wheel contains a desiccant-impregnated honeycomb divided into three sections. Air from the resin hopper that has been cooled and filtered goes through a blower, then is split into two streams. One stream passes through the moisture-removal section of the wheel, the other through the purge section, where desiccant already has been regenerated and now is cooled down. At the same time, a stream of hot air passing through the third section regenerates desiccant there.
Haynie said the NovaWheel is especially effective with heat-sensitive resins like PET and glycol-modified PET because of its efficient cooling after regeneration. Also, the rotor speed can be adjusted easily to prevent overdrying of materials such as nylon.
In other news, Baltimore-based Novatec said its new twin-chamber system, VersaLoad, enables processors to switch quickly from one resin or color to another for job changeovers without the usual downtime for cleanout and changing resin source points.
VersaLoad has two vacuum chambers and a central mini-hopper for purging compounds, all mounted on a rail over the processing machine. With each chamber connected to a different raw material conveying line, the operator quickly can change over from the job run supplied by chamber ``A'' by simply moving the system on the rail so the mini-hopper is positioned at the machine throat, and the machine is purged, and then moving the system farther until chamber ``B'' is positioned at the machine throat.
Even if a third material or color is needed, that change can be accomplished on the fly with one chamber while the other chamber continues to supply material to the machine.
Safety is another benefit, since the operator does not need to climb on the machine to make hose changes.
Each chamber has a see-through reservoir with an externally mounted, variable-height photoelectric level sensor.
Models are available with Novatec's VL self-contained vacuum loader series for operations where a central materials-handling system is not employed.
Tel. 410-789-4811, fax. 410-789-4638, e-mail [email protected]