TECHNOLOGY | GRANULATORS
those of the virgin granule,” the company notes. Another notable feature is the possibility to
configure G17 units with either a staggered rotor or an open one, to best fit the application. Rotor blades and stationary blades are all adjustable. The entire G17 unit can be accessed, cleaned and put back into operation in a few minutes. All parts are accessible with no need for tools. The units have a new sound insulation shell, which CMG says is designed to obtain noise levels well below those industrially acceptable (EN12012-1). CMG also has a new series of low-speed
screenless granulators, with similar attributes in terms of output quality, ease of operation and maintenance, and sound levels. The SL range consists of four models, for capacities ranging from 5 to 30 kg/h. CMG says that unlike conventional screenless granulators, the new types do not fracture or crush parts. The sector grinding elements are available in three different sizes. SL units have a metal trap positioned in the feeding zone: metal contaminants are captured by a high-intensity magnetic plate. All hoppers are equipped with sight glass for visual inspection of the grinding operations. All SL models are designed to be accessible
Below: Matsui’s MGL2-TPE unit is a slow-speed granulator for soft materials
from one side and do not require to be moved away from the injection moulding machine to perform maintenance or cleaning. With its new MGL2-TPE model,Matsui claims it has the only low-speed granulator in the world designed to cut all soft plastics. Low-speed granulators, which use rollers,
torque, and teeth to get the job done, rather than blades, speed, and screens, are normally used for harder plastics. Low speed provides high quality regrind, low dust, and higher homogeneity, says Matsui. Granulators use less power, they are safer in that they stop more quickly, running costs are low, as are noise levels, and they are cleaner. “Until this day, fast speed granulators were the best way to grind thermoplastic elastomers, polyeth- ylene, and the like,” says Matsui. “Indeed, slow speed grinders couldn’t have a clean cut and would only stretch the material therefore giving an uneven regrind quality while the fast speed granula- tors could give better clean cut.” The MGL2-TPE changes that. The company says it has designed a special cutter to make it possible to use low speed cutting to granulate soft plastics.
The company gives little away about what exactly is special, saying only that “it is all due to the S-cutter (the big knives) and the roller teeth.” The unit is
38 INJECTION WORLD | January/February 2022
Comparison of regrind produced by a standard low-speed cutter (left) and Matsui’s new unit. From the top: Grilux TPE-E from DIC (Shore A hardness 85-95); Hytrel TPE-E from DuPont (93-98), Milastomer TPV from Mitsui Chemicals (55-65); Rabalon TPE-S from Mitsubishi Chemical (35-37)
protected by several patents. The Fakuma show in Friedrichshafen, Germany, was back as a live event in October 2021, and several granulator makers were there to ply their wares again. Hellweg, for example, took the opportunity to highlight the fact that its entire range of granulators is now equipped with its digital Smart Control System, which premiered two years earlier at K 2019. Monitoring is now an option for all sizes, starting from the 150 series machine- side granulators for small parts and sprues right up to the heavy-duty 600 series designed for the toughest applications. The control system detects not only parameters such as power consumption, motor speed and bearing temperatures but also the state of blades, screens and V belts. Hellweg adds that the recent implementation of the Ethernet-based OPC UA (Unified Architecture) cross-platform open-source standard for data exchange means the machines can now be integrated into control centre systems. In addition to providing component monitoring
and interconnection with other machines, the control system also has a boost mode for adapting grinding capacity to production-related fluctua- tions. “Adaptation of operating parameters to defined plastics means that even temperature- sensitive grades can be straightforwardly pro- cessed without water cooling,” says Managing Director Mark Hellweg. The eco operating mode adjusts machine speed to the prevailing input volume, reducing power consumption. Hellweg says Smart Control is meeting a long-felt
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IMAGE: MATSUI
IMAGE: MATSUI
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