processing feature | Materials handling
They are also designed to assure consistent quality of end products no matter where they are compounded. As materials suppliers continue to
expand globally, often following major customers around the world, it is critical that specific grades have exactly the same properties and performance whether compounded in Asia, the Americas, Europe or elsewhere. The Leistritz and AZO collaboration, which capitalizes on global demand for highly filled compounds, specifies materials-handling systems from AZO that complement the performance requirements of compounding lines installed by Leistritz. “Fillers are tricky materials that
are in need of top-notch materials- handling and feeding solutions,” notes
Leistritz spokesman Michael Thummert. He says that AZO’s technology and expertise in
Coperion K-Tron’s ActiFlow emits vibrations tuned to a material’s particle-disper- sion frequency
systems engineering assures the reliability and quality of equipment that moves material from silos to hoppers, blenders and feeders. “Production of highly filled compounds confronts the processor with enor- mous challenges,” he continues. “What is important here is a system where all functions mesh flawlessly.” The companies built an advanced compounding line at the Leistritz plant in Nuremberg, Germany, prior to K 2013 to demonstrate the synergy and productivity of their respective systems. “The concept behind the line is to reach stable production with consistent product quality when using premium components,” Thummert explains. The line processes 1.5 to 2 tonnes/hour of highly filled compounds (including 85% loadings of calcium carbonate). Throughput can be scaled up.
The line uses AZO’s
Maguire’s MaxiBatch
feeder and blender
accurately meters
difficult-to- handle
additives
Mixomat, a conical stainless steel vessel mounted above the Leistritz ZSE 75 MAXX twin-screw extruder with 48 L/D. The Mixomat weighs, blends and doses single or multiple additives including colours. Vacuum tubes transport materials to the vessel and to the compounder, optimizing conveying speed and energy efficiency. KraussMaffei Berstorff and Zeppelin
have been jointly building complete compounding lines for some time. The current initiative, formally announced at K
40 COMPOUNDING WORLD | February 2014
2013, targets large producers that engage in high- volume production of filled and reinforced technical polymers, says Andreas Weseler, a KraussMaffei spokesman. Zeppelin has a diverse background in materials handling and supplies a range of back-end equipment to the venture, from silos and mixers to feeders for polymers, additives and colorants. Weseler reports that with experts from both
companies engaged in all phases of plant design, start-up and optimization, compounders can achieve “greatly reduced total costs and closer control of cost and project scheduling.” The combination of Coperion and K-Tron has
created “the only company worldwide to offer complete customized compounding systems and bulk materials handling systems from a single supplier”, according to a Coperion K-Tron statement.
Good vibrations At K 2013, the newly combined venture was highlight- ing is ActiFlow advanced feeding control. Rather than regulate material flow with mechanical agitation, the unit mounts to the outer wall of a hopper above the feed screws and vibrates at frequencies tuned to the particle-dispersion requirements of different materials to prevent bridging and other impediments. Additional benefits of this technique include ease of
access to hoppers, rapid cleaning and fast material changeover since no internal components need to be removed and reassembled. There is also no contact between the ActiFlow device and materials. ActiFlow, for use with gravimetric blenders, has
been commercial for several years but continues to attract attention for its precision, reliability and simplicity, according to the company. It says that it is a viable alternative to mechanical agitation and to other vibra- tory systems.
Jaime Gomez, global
business development manager at the company, says most conventional vibrating
systems do not tailor operations to the particle-dispersion frequencies of individual materials. ActiFlow, in contrast, scans each material prior to feeding to develop the optimum resonance frequency, expressed in hertz down to two decimal points, helping to prevent bridging and other flow problems. “There is only one frequency Mother Nature gives us for each material that makes particles separate,” Gomez
www.compoundingworld.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66
