EQUIPMENT | FEEDING AND DOSING
Right: Coperion K-Tron’s K-ML-BSP- 150-S Bulk Solids Pump feeder
K-Tron brand at recent shows around the world. At Chinaplas in May, for example, it demonstrated what it says is a highly accurate Coperion K-Tron Quick Change twin screw feeder fitted out with an ActiFlow bulk solids activator, Electronic Pressure Compensation (EPC) and 2415 vacuum receiver for refill, as well as its K-ML-BSP-150-S Bulk Solids Pump (BSP) feeder for granular materials. The QC feeder allows for the
removal of the entire feeding module with screws in place for replacement with a second unit. The removed feeding module can then be transported to a cleaning facility for further disassembly, cleaning and prepped for another material. Twin and single screw feeding modules are available. Single screw feeding units handle free flowing powders, granules, pellets and other non-flooding materials, while twin screw units are ideal for floodable powders and more difficult, sticky or hard-to-flow materials. The ActiFlow smart bulk solids activator offers
what Coperion says is an innovative method to reliably prevent bridging and rat-holing of cohe- sive bulk materials in stainless steel hoppers without resorting to internal hopper agitation. ActiFlow is a non-product contacting device consisting of a vibratory drive and intelligent control unit that is designed specifically to work with Coperion K-Tron’s line of gravimetric loss-in- weight feeders. Together with the ActiFlow control unit, it continuously activates the material inside the hopper at an optimised frequency and ampli- tude without exerting any mechanical force on the bulk material. Coperion says the K-ML-BSP-150-S BSP feeder is a unique alternative for gentle feeding of free-
Right: The latest version of Coperion K-Tron’s K-vision control software can handle four times as many feeders and devices
PHOTO: COPERION
flowing granular materials. Rather than using the usual screws/augers, belts or vibratory trays to convey material, it utilises positive displacement action with vertical rotating discs to feed free-flowing materials with high accuracy. The company says it offers “uniform discharge, consistent volume and gentle handling.” Because the feeder design has no pockets or screws and only one moving part, it can be cleaned in seconds. At Plastimagen in Mexico in March of this year, Coperion showed a gravimetric screw feeder with continuous and uniform infeed set up for the production of master-
batch. The KT20 twin screw feeder with
interchangeable feeding tools mounts on a 24 kg fully enclosed platform scale for high accuracy feeding of difficult flowing ingredients. A horizontal agitator gently moves the bulk material to the large throat and then into the screws. The company says the twin screw feeders are well suited for use with difficult, sticky or poorly flowing materials, as well as for use feeding fibres and flakes. Last year, the company released version 2.0 of
the Coperion K-Tron K-Vision software, which introducing several new features. The K-Vision controller presents a graphical operator interface for controlling multiple devices such as feeders or feeder refill (vacuum receivers). With the latest software, it can handle a total of 24 devices in one or two lines (the previous version managed up to six feeder controllers in a single line). K-Vision uses a 12.1-inch colour LCD display together with a touchscreen as the primary operator input mecha- nism. It offers a quad screen display mode for viewing multiple pages on one feeder or a single page on multiple feeders.
Joint development Leistritz takes a different route from Coperion in terms of dosing and feeding technology, cooperat- ing with third party suppliers rather than develop- ing its own products. It recently, for example, cooperated with material handling specialist AZO to develop a comprehensive package for produc- tion of highly filled compounds. Together, the two companies constructed a demonstration plant at Leistritz’s Nuremburg location. AZO took responsibility for ensuring that addi- tives in powder form would be fed into the closed system with minimal generation of dust. It specified its AZO Mixomat mixer for the project, which was
54 COMPOUNDING WORLD | July 2019
www.compoundingworld.com
PHOTO: COPERION
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