GRANULATORS | TECHNOLOGY
New ways to control granulators
Granulation technology has grown in
importance as moulders up their game in material
recycling.Peter Mapleston reports on advances in granulators and their increasingly smart controls
Advances in control systems are enabling even the humble granulator to become part of the “smart” injection moulding factory. Equipment producers are upgrading existing machines and adding new ones as they follow the trend towards the Internet of Things that lies at the heart of Industry 4.0. Developments are also driven by the need for processors to fit into the circular economy that calls for a major boost in plastics recycling. At CMG, General Manager Giorgio Santella describes a new series of system solutions for PET preform recycling applications. “The very innova- tive and unique attributes of such new series are several and all contribute to obtaining the highest degree of productivity, regrind quality (homoge- neous particle dimensions and absence of dust), efficiency of operation and the lowest TCO,” he claims. Standard configurations cover capacities ranging from 150 to 1,000 kg/h. Smaller, intermedi- ate, or larger capacities can be provided to order. The new concept features an integral infeed conveyor with a rigid belt, stainless steel holding hopper and sides, metal detector, and an enclosed feed chute to the granulator. The infeed conveyor is controlled by the granulator so as to fully
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synchronise all operations. Santella highlights the signature CMG cutting chamber on the new systems. This is assembled from CNC machined steel parts, fabricated with tolerances in the tens of microns range. The very high degree of precision of assembly guarantees very accurate cut, dimensional homogeneity of the regrind particles and no generation of dust, he says. Regrind is evacuated from the granulator collection bin, positioned underneath the cutting chamber, by a full-vacuum regrind conveying system, which Santella says is also unique to the new series. Vacuum conveying through large diameter steel piping is said to prevent dust generation. “Conventional thru-fan solutions are very detrimental to the quality of the PET preform regrind,” he says.
An additional claimed benefit to the implemen-
tation of full-vacuum evacuation and conveying systems is the total elimination of powder to the surrounding environment. CMG’s new PET preform grinding systems have
controls that monitor all functions from the moment the preforms are put into the holding hopper of the infeed conveyor through to when the regrind
January/February 2021 | INJECTION WORLD 41
Main image: CMG offers a new series of system
solutions for PET preform recycling applications
IMAGE: CMG
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