FEEDING AND DOSING | EQUIPMENT
Optimising feeding
and dosing
Manufacturers of feeding and dosing equipment are placing their development efforts on improving precision and enhancing connectivity, writes Peter Mapleston
Suppliers of feeding and dosing equipment suitable for compounding applications are aiming to provide processors with more performance for their money, with improved accuracy in hardware and more sophisticated software for supervision and control high on the list of enhanced features. Wittmann says its latest Gravimax blenders offer
a useful route to savings in material costs. The company says that, in addition to easy operation, these blenders offer high levels of accuracy and precision in dosing, made possible by their use of RTLS (Real Time Live Scale) real-time weighing. This helps maintain a metering accuracy of 0.006% while keeping the mixing ratio of polymer to additives on a constant level. New functions contribute further to measurable cost savings in complex metering processes. Plastics processors often tend to exceed the necessary dosage of additives by up to 30%, Wittman says. This is due to concerns that, due to fluctuations in metering hardware, the dosage could fall below the required minimum level and lead to production of scrap. This can quickly lead to unnecessary extra annual costs, which in some cases
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could be measured in six figures. Gravimax feeders include a metering mode
called Reference Additive, which is intended to address the strong vibrations of the machine or sudden shocks that can lead to deviations in blending of additives. In Reference Additive mode, the blender instantaneously adjusts the quantity of virgin material to be blended according to the actual quantity of additive so the ratio between the two types of material corresponds to the ratio defined in the original parameter settings for the production lot. This means if an additive is overdosed it is compensated for by addition of more virgin material. Central material drying and handling systems that deliver
materials to all processing machines in a plastics production plant are often accessible to all staff members and open to potential risk in set-up or operation, which makes it prudent to put special security measures in place. Wittmann says that a well-planned central system will include several different options in this area. For instance, appliances included in its central systems can be blocked by a key lock function or the entire system
Main image: The latest materials handling
technologies aim to maintain better control of raw materials and process recipes
Left: Wittmann’s Gravimax G34 blender offers a throughput of up to 350 kg/h
July 2019 | COMPOUNDING WORLD 51
PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK
PHOTO: WITTMANN GROUP
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