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materials handling | Innovation


Right: Maguire has more than 45,000 WSB blenders installed


worldwide. This is its


MicroBlender model


The demonstration unit was equipped with four hoppers using a combination of the company’s Access and Filterless loaders. Access loaders and receivers feature an angled hopper, which makes them easier to clean and maintain, and an oversized discharge opening designed to prevent material bridging. Filterless loaders use a patented cleaning process that continu- ously reverses airflow to separate incoming material from conveying air without the need for filters or screens.


Connectivity is also a key development focus


at Austria-headquartered Wittmann, which recently launched the Feedmax S3 net system. This allows simple material conveyors or loaders to be connected in a network to achieve control from a central point. It combines the advantages of using simple production cell-based conveying units with many of the benefits of a centralised system, according to the company. The Feedmax S3 net system uses a CANbus network


Below: Piovan’s recently introduced Quantum blender features a new patented mixer design


to link a number of individual Feedmax S3 net conveyor units to a single console, which includes a 4.3-inch TFT touch screen and displays complete information about the status of each separate conveyor unit. As standard, the Feedmax S3 net units also include an LED status display that provides a clear indication of current activity of the device to production staff. The Feedmax S3 net conveyor unit is equipped with a 1,100W motor and can handle throughputs up to 200 kg/h. Features include a stainless steel construction and polyester micro-fibre filter and automatic cleaning system, which the company says prevent power loss when processing dust-laden materials. Each unit can also be fitted with an optional two-component diverter to enable conveying of both virgin and regrind materials. Where it is necessary to convey


material over greater distances, Wittmann has also developed a central vacuum pump version. The Feedmax BS net unit can be combined with blowers rated up to


7,500W.


Wittmann has also introduced two new additions to its Gravimax blender line that it claims meet user demands for more flexibility in throughput rates. The Gravimax G14 and Gravimax G34 units offer material throughputs of


up to 80 and 200 kg/h respectively. However, both also incorporate a new ‘parallel dosing’ function, which uses simultaneous operation of multiple dosing


36 INJECTION WORLD | March 2014


valves to allow system output to be increased by up to 30% if required with no mechanical


modifications. As with the previous models in the


Gravimax range, the G models use Wittmann’s RTLS (real time weighing) technology to ensure accurate dosing. This keeps two weighing cells active


through the entire dosing cycle to maintain accuracy to within 0.1g. Dosing weight, the progress of dosing operation, and the


remaining quantity to be dosed can be read in per cent or kilograms at any time from the


colour LED display on the handheld control unit. This display provides information about current


production – including throughput, the consumption of individual component materials, or the dosing ratio of components to one another. A history of about 1,000 cycles can be exported via a USB port for further analysis. US-based Maguire, which has more than 45,000 of its WSB gravimetric blenders in operation around the world, updated its Gravimetric Gateway G2 software last year to provide more capability in plant-wide and multiple plant monitoring applications. G2 Version 5 provides access to the blender network via a PC server, allowing users to capture more ‘live’ material usage data more easily, helping them control and document process conditions. The software, which is fully compatible with


Windows 8, provides extensive material-usage reports, displays alarms from anywhere in the network, downloads and updates recipes in specific machines from remote locations, monitors inventory levels, and provides alerts to reorder raw materials. “Increasingly processors and their customers are


taking advantage of the third-party links available through G2 software to deliver real-time process information to their databases,” says Paul Edmondson, general manager of Maguire Europe. “This capability increases control over the largest cost factor in plastics processing—raw material—and addresses the growing demand for documentation on the part of customers in critical markets such as medical.” The company has also introduced a new dispense


device for ultra-small dosing of difficult-to-feed ingredients from the hopper into the weigh chamber. The new carousel valve mimics the action of a vibratory feeder and can dispense masterbatches and additives at rates of less than 1 g/s. It takes the number of different interchangeable dosing options available for the company’s blending systems to more than 50, says Edmondson.


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