Materials preparation | drying
Efficient drying of material is vital for injection moulding, but energy use is a driver for innovation. Mark Holmes reports on new developments in drying technology that are making important contributions
Controlling the drying process
Energy efficiency remains the main issue for injection moulders when drying polymer. However, production flexibility, speed, reliability and precision control are other important factors. Manufacturers of drying equipment are developing a range of ways to meet these demands.
Jamie Jamison, Drying Product Manager at Conair,
says: “As cycle times get shorter, as wall thicknesses get thinner, and as processors continue to be pressed to increase quality and drive down costs, drying technol- ogy will be one of the most important areas of develop- ment. While we cannot comment on technical details just yet, we have several projects in the pipeline that will give processors an even better understand of their drying process and continue to ramp up precision and efficiency.”
Conair launched the DC-A dryer control in late 2016 on its smaller Carousel Plus desiccant dryers and MDCW mobile drying/conveying systems. It is now available on mid-sized dryers and has been further enhanced with remote access via Virtual Network Computing (VNC). The company says that this new capability means that users can interface with the
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control using any Internet-connected device from virtually anywhere just as if they were standing in front of the dryer on the plant floor. Any operation that can be performed on the dryer interface – monitoring condi- tions, changing settings, responding to alarms, troubleshooting or downloading process data – can also be performed remotely. The DC-A control is based on the Allen-Bradley
micro 850 PLC platform that supports many advanced capabilities. It has a 7-inch colour display with intuitive graphical design, minimal text and no function codes to decipher. It provides descriptive help screens for operators and features auto-start capabilities, pass- word protection and has Conair’s Drying Monitor capabilities built-in. Trending capabilities simplify maintenance and troubleshooting, while providing users with information they can use to optimise drying param- eters and save energy. The new DC-A control is standard equipment on
Carousel Plus dryer Models 15 to 300, and on MDCW Models 15 to 200. Carousel Plus Models 150 to 400 are available with either the DC-A control or the DC-T, which has a larger touch screen. It can manage multiple drying
March/April 2017 | INJECTION WORLD 41 Main image:
Manufacturers of dryers are using new control
technology with automated features
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