MACHINERY | PELLETISERS
Right: Maag’s Duration blades are said to offer cost optimised performance for the most demanding pelletising applications
Last year, Swiss company Maag expanded its
portfolio of strand pelletising systems and brought in a number of new developments designed to provide its customers with an opportunity to improve their productivity. The first of these new innovations is an improved HE (High Efficiency) Air-Knife, which reduces residual moisture values of the polymer in water bath strand pelletising applications. While maintaining the same performance of the suction fan, the residual moisture of the pellets can be improved up to 40% compared to standard designs. The improved design only affects the suction box, optimising the air flow and dwell time of the polymer strands in the drying zone. This brings the advantages of the new HE-Dryer sharply into focus for potential retrofits on existing Air- Knifes, the company says. The improved design also results in better handling and extended lifetime of the suction grid. Another element that impacts on the efficiency
of strand pelletising systems is the cutting blade. Maag says it has developed a new blade option that maximises longevity and durability. It says its customers rely on the quality of its carbide and diamond blades, with carbide representing the industry standard with four cutting edges to dial. Switching to long-life solid diamond cutting blades may ultimately prove more efficient, but it says the initial investment can be prohibitive. Maag’s Duration solution represents a compro- mise between both blade types. Compared to the carbide cutting blade, the Duration design offers a
much improved service life and good corrosion resistance in a more economical framework. The company says it can be considered as a strong alternative for polymer pellet producers that require better performance or durability than the carbide industry standard, but for whom switching to diamond cutting tools has previously not been an option.
Maag has also developed a new type of cutting
rotor — named Tiger — to act as a counterpart to the new cutting blade. There are currently three types on the market; solid rotors, tipped rotors, and carbide rotors, with the latter topping the list in terms of service life. The new cutting rotor is a solid type that has been designed to offer the durability required for production of abrasive polymer compounds.
Italian company Filtec, which produces a range
of highly customisable products for pelletising plastics, celebrated its 30th anniversary this year. The most recent addition to its product line-up is the UW LAB, which is said to pack all the primary features and benefits of its larger UWG models — including high energy efficiency — in a more compact arrangement. The UW LAB provides a maximum production capacity of 40kg/h and has
Sikora targets pellet quality with Purity
At the end of last year, German measurement technology firm Sikora celebrated the tenth anniversary of the introduction of its Purity Scanner, an inline inspection system that uses a combination of X-ray and optical technologies to detect impurities and sort pellets. The original system was developed
in partnership with a producer of insulation material for high voltage power cables, where any metallic contamination can present major problems. Since then, application has extended into critical areas such as medical compounds and packaging resins. Current users include Italian compounder Industrie Polieco and
30 IMAGE: SIKORA
German pellet classification specialist SortCo. The company says the Purity Scanner has been continuously improved and modified over the past 10 years to provide faster and more effective performance in a broad
COMPOUNDING WORLD | January/February 2024
range of pellet sorting applications. “Thanks to the combination of the highest possible detection and hybrid blowing, the Purity Scanner Advanced enables material of the highest quality,” says Ralf Kulenkampff, Head of Sales Plastics at Sikora. “Discolorations and black specks in
transparent or on translucent and coloured raw materials are detected by up to three optical black and white cameras. In addition, the X-ray camera detects metallic contaminants from 50 µm in size in the pellets. This further optimises production processes, and the reduced bycatch contributes to cost-efficient and sustainable produc- tion,” he says. �
www.sikora.net
www.compoundingworld.com
IMAGE: MAAG GROUP
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