EXHIBITION REVIEW | COMPOUNDING WORLD EXPO
pounds on its range-topping ZSK extruder range. Senior Process Engineer – Engineering Plastics Marina Matta said the new elements also enable higher filler loadings to be achieved, improve filler dispersion and homogenisation of the compound, and contribute to reduced energy consumption. Tests undertaken in Coperion’s laboratory showed a throughput increase from 550 to 900 kg/h when processing PP with 70% CaCO3
on a ZSK 58 Mc18
twin screw extruder. The company also showed its virtual reality
Right: Coperion’s Involute elements are designed to handle highly filled formula- tions
simulation of a compounding plant. This allows customers to “walk through” a planned installation and see exactly how it will operate before a single bolt is tightened. Aside from trialling project plans, the system – currently a development project – could also form the basis of troubleshoot or training tool. Available now, however, is the Coperion Production Contol Centre (CPCC). This incorporates the essential elements of a manufacturing execution system (MES) and interfaces that with a company’s ERP system. It provides full documentation of the production process and allows finished product to be traced right down to the batches of raw material used. Based on the experience gained in the implemention of more than 150 compound- ing lines, the CPCC is intended to be customised to an individual cus- tomer’s requirements. Coperion said the first system will be put into operation in the second half of 2018.
CPM Extrusion, which last year acquired Germany-based Extricom Extrusion, showed an RXT35 twin screw extruder on its stand. Part of the company’s Apex machine range, the RXT series are cost-optimised machines assembled at the CPM Ruiya Extrusion plant in China using a combination of European and Chinese parts but localised to the European market. Director of Process Technology Adam Dreiblatt said the company is in the process of expanding its Chinese production facility. A 15,000m2
extension to the plant at Nanjing in
China will lift capacity to 500 lines annually when completed in March next year. Dreiblatt, who gave a number of training presen-
tations in the conference sessions, is also the driving force behind the company’s training webinars and newly launched Extrusion Knowledge Centre, which makes an archive of some 35 available for on-de-
38 COMPOUNDING WORLD | August 2018
mand viewing. “There is no shortage of twin screw compounding extruders available around the world but the training and knowledge to operate, maintain and troubleshoot is missing,” he said. “The Extrusion Knowledge Centre is designed to provide 24/7 access to our learning portal to those customers who need it most.” Dow Performance Silicones said it will launch a new line of additives for PE films combining slip and anti-block performance at the Fakuma show later this year. Global Segment Leader Plastic Additives Christophe Paulo said the new additive masterbatches use a compatibilisation chemistry that allows silicone slip additives to be successfully compounded with a silica-based anti-block, not something he said can usually be achieved effectively. The new products will also comply with Chinese, as well as EU, FDA and Japanese, regulations. “In the past, you were OK in China if you had EU and FDA approval but now they are enforcing their own standards,” he said. Compounding systems
producer Feddem, part of the Feddersen Group, was promoting the long fibre thermoplastics (LFT) produc- tion technology it has developed with fellow group company Akro-Plastic. That line will go into production in Q3 of this year at Akro-Plastic’s Niederzissen plant in Germany
but is already near sold out, according to Feddem sales manager Michael Hampf, and a second line is already under consideration. Hampf said the LFT production technology is based on the company’s ICX system, which is a combination of process and machine technology developed with a number of selected external partners to allow it to offer performance-optimised systems customised to individual applications on short lead times. He said a particular challenge in LFT production is ensuring the equipment is able to handle the wide variety of reinforcing fibres used. “LFT technology is completely different from compounding,” he said.
With Industry 4.0 rising up the agenda for many,
Fraunhofer LBF presented its ImProcess4.0 intelligent sensor node-based monitoring and opti- misation systems for twin screw extruder produc- tion lines. Researchers at the institute identified suitable sensors and evaluation methods for determining undesirable machine conditions such as wear then established suitable process control
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