Mixers for PVC | machinery feature
Creating a stir with the latest mixers
Pat Toensmeier reports on recent developments in
continuous and batch mixers, including improvements in rotor and machine designs
Suppliers of batch and continuous mixers are develop- ing improved machine designs to meet compounders’ changing demands to produce the latest materials formulations more efficiently. These requirements include: l Material versatility and innovation: Compounders are running more specialty resins and ingredients, and in the process dealing with formulations that need fine-tuning to achieve the required properties. Mixers are being upgraded with special equipment and capabilities that allow process tailoring for creating innovative materials. l Higher throughput: Increased productivity means an improved return on investment, but only if materials meet quality standards. Mixing systems are being engineered for high throughputs, notably in screw, rotor and mixing-blade designs that boost output with no trade-offs in quality. l Energy efficiency: Cost savings go right to the bottom line. In some countries, reductions in energy also satisfy regulatory standards. l Automation: Reducing manual input saves money and assures consistent quality in batch and continuous machines. l Profitability: Many high-tech compounds go into
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commodity applications, putting downward pressure on production prices. The ability of mixing to improve margins is an important tactic in a strategy aimed at increasing profitability. Over the following pages we review recent continu- ous and batch mixer developments from Farrel Pomini, TPEI, Ajax Equipment, B&P Process Equipment, Mixaco, Promixon and Marion Mixers.
Continuous improvements Recent developments at Farrel Pomini include the extension of the CP (Compact Processor) Series II range of continuous mixers. Launched this year, the CP4000 achieves a nominal throughput of 4,000 kg/hour (8,800 lb/hr) and bridges the gap between modular continuous mixers that are integrated into a unitized frame, and the company’s higher-output non-unitized designs that can process materials at rates above 6,000 kg/hour. The CP4000 is the seventh and final model in the line, says Paul Lloyd, business unit director at Farrel in the US. This is because the unitized frame of the modular series cannot be duplicated for higher output mixers. “Any mixer with throughput above 4,000 kg/hour will require different construction,” he explains. “The
March 2015 | PIPE & PROFILE EXTRUSION 23
Farrel Pomini’s new CP4000 mixer has a number of process
variables that
improve mixing and throughput
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