Materials handling | processing eature
Shifting and measuring raw materials in a compounding plant is no easy task. Jennifer Markarian looks at the latest equipment that is designed to carry out such tasks efficiently, accurately and safely
on the move
Materials handling equipment suppliers continue to improve their products to meet the industry’s demands for easy-to-clean, flexible and efficient equipment, while continuing the trend towards more automation and “intelligent” systems. Over the following pages we review new develop- ments in dosing, blending and control systems and also look at conveying and loading equipment including bulk unloading devices.
Dosing, blending and control Accurate and effective dosing and blending equipment are essential to the compounding process, and control systems must work efficiently to bring all the parts of the process together. K-Tron’s Dr. Jaime Gomez, the company’s business
development manager for plastics and chemicals, gave a presentation at AMI’s Polyolefins Additives Conference in October on the “Garbage In, Garbage Out (GIGO)” principle of compounding. He explained that having a systems perspective to upstream operation is one key to producing a quality compounded product. “If a feeder becomes clogged, what is the real
problem? We need to consider the whole system, because all the parts are interrelated,” notes Gomez, who has developed a matrix to use as a tool to examine the whole system and identify: l unrecognized inadequacies in equipment design, selection or applications
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l unanticipated interactions among subsystems l underappreciated influences from the process environment, and l unexpected changes in material condition or properties. Gomez says the future of plastics manufacturing equipment is intelligent systems that will have the ability to sense changes in all of these conditions and automatically make adjustments to produce a constant output with the required specifications. He says K-Tron’s ActiFlow Smart Bulk Solids Activator is an intelligent system that takes a step in this direction. The ActiFlow, bolted on the hopper above the feeder of a gravimetric loss-in-weight system, is mounted on load cells that can sense a decreasing trend in flow rate, indicating bridge-building or the beginning of rat-holing. The device automatically introduces vibration to restore flow, senses when no further agitation is needed, and puts itself on stand-by. The K-Tron Control Module (KCM) monitors the system and adjusts the frequency and amplitude based on changing material flow conditions. K-Tron is continually looking at other ways to make intelligent systems to solve industry problems.
Keeping materials
K-Tron’s ActiFlow
(above) offers built-in
intelligence.
Space saving is the goal for Schenk’s
ProFlex C3000 (below)
April 2012 | COMPOUNDING WORLD 41
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