Twin screw extruders | machinery
One of the key areas of development in twin screw compounding
technology is control. Peter Mapleston reviews the latest
introductions Compounding with improved control
Control is one of the top areas of activity for twin-screw compounding extruder manufacturers, a number of which are aiming to be active participants in the implementation of the fourth industrial revolution, or Industry 4.0. To that end, the K2016 trade fair in Germany last October saw several equipment makers turn the spotlight on new control developments intended to provide the required integration into plant-wide supervision and control systems and to bring more transparency and ease of use to equipment operators. These control developments, of course, come alongside ongoing across-the-board develop- ments in extruder hardware and mixing elements. ICMA San Giorgio presented its I-Smart solution at the K2016 show. This comprises a co-rotating twin screw extruder equipped with advanced sensors with diagnos- tic capabilities able to signal malfunctions, enabling compounders to plan preventive maintenance activities. “This solution also makes it possible to monitor specific process parameters closely related to product quality,” says Managing Director Giorgio Colombo. The subse- quent digital data collection can also be made available on mobile devices via apps, as well as through specifi- cally designed web portals on PCs. KraussMaffei Berstorff has also turned the spotlight
on process control with its intuitive machine control system software. “The BPC Touch is one example of the integrated production area within Plastics 4.0,” the
www.compoundingworld.com
company says. All twin-screw extruders in the ZE BluePower, ZE UTX and ZE Basic series will in future have BPCTouch. Plastics 4.0 is what the KraussMaffei Group calls its
translation of Industry 4.0 concepts for its plastics operations, a programme that includes Intelligent Machines, Integrated Production and Interactive Services. As an example in the Integrated Production category, the BPCTouch control links order manage- ment and production data and enables retrieval of order data, pre-set data transfer and triggering of processes at any time. The control system is also equipped with a remote maintenance interface for target-oriented and extended service features, which also allows additional interactive service options to be installed at a later date. BPC Touch is claimed to substantially enhance ease of use and reduce set-up times during compound changes, with a clear menu structure used to guide the machine operator through all process steps. All relevant peripheral components and downstream equipment can be rapidly integrated into the software using standardised interfaces. Feddem focused on its expertise as a one-stop
systems supplier at K. It showed its ICX (Innovative Compounding and eXtrusion) technology for supplying complete compounding lines, which it developed in partnership with sister company and compounding specialist Akro-Plastic. Feddem says the concept
March 2017 | COMPOUNDING WORLD 45
Main image: KraussMaffei
Berstorff’s BPC Touch control is designed to support the company’s Plastics 4.0 strategy for Industry 4.0
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