Pilot Plant News
Settling in: The First Six Months
Andy Hoffmann, Pilot Plant Manager
As we head into fall, the days are getting shorter and the temperatures are dropping, and here in western Oregon that means the start of the raining season. Although it also means the start of snow sport season!
Since my arrival in April, the Pilot Plant team has been busy running trials for both new and existing customers and completing improvements to the facility. The trials have used a variety of downstream equipment on our 43mm QC3
New Service – Internal
PLC Temperature Control ENTEK is now offering a new service to replace your existing temperature control with ENTEK’s internal PLC temperature control. ENTEK has been working with Allen-Bradley for over 3 years to bring the temperature control into the PLC in an effort to minimize the challenges customers faced due to their external temperature controllers repeatedly being made obsolete. The internal temperature control has been running in the ENTEK pilot plant (Lab) for over 2 years. This replacement includes the latest Allen-Bradley CompactLogix PLC and all the I/O modules required to replace the existing Watlow or Partlow controllers. The control for the Extruder will still be done with the existing Allen-Bradley SLC, PLC and PanelMate HMI.
Twin Screw Extruder. We
have run both strand and underwater pelletization, but we have also done some profile extrusion. In most cases, the customer has taken the trip out to Oregon so that we could better assist them with a current processing problem.
Those that have visited the Pilot Plant in the past will notice one major change - the new epoxy floor coating. This is something that was planned before my arrival, but completed during my third week. It has proven to suit our environment well.
The team has also been working hard to improve our overall operations. One major project we just completed was the creation of a rolling tool board. This handy board should limit the amount of time looking for tools and ensure that all tools are accounted for, and the fact that it is set on casters allows it to be moved with ease to the location in which the tools are needed.
If you are interested in running trials on the 43mm QC3 Twin Screw
Extruder within the ENTEK Pilot Plant, or on your machine at your facility, contact me at
ahoffmann@entek.com. If you do make the trip to Lebanon, OR, not only will we complete your trial but you also have the opportunity to see the extruder manufacturing operations.
In addition to the upgrade of the existing temperature control to the internal PLC temperature control, this new service also includes a new roll-a-round cart and HMI. The HMI is the ENTEK- based Smart HMI that runs in a Windows based environment, which allows for more intuitive programming and an easier learning experience. It has a lot of new features that the existing PanelMate does not, including touch screen control and historical trending. If you like your existing PanelMate control, don’t worry! You will be happy to know that the PanelMates are now back in production, and ENTEK can now supply brand new PanelMate replacements or spares.
EXTRUSION SOLUTIONS is an ENTEK publication. Visit us at
www.entek.com
OCTOBER 2016 PAGE 5
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