TECHNOLOGY | GRANULATORS
Right: Wittmann’s Ingrinder system
Injection moulding technology group Wittmann has focused its R&D on the needs of moulders, with a new solution developed for smaller ma- chines. The group’s new Ingrinder is an injection moulding production cell consisting of a machine combined with a sprue picker, granulator, and vacuum conveyor. The solution is designed for smaller injection moulding machine models from the Wittmann Battenfeld EcoPower and SmartPower series, since these machines are often used together with moulds incorporating cold runner technology, thus producing sprues which must either be scrapped or passed on to a recycling system.
With the Ingrinder, a Wittmann sprue picker
Below: Wittmann’s S-Max 1 granulator for inline recycling of sprues
robot with swivel drive removes the sprue during the injection process and passes it through an ejection chute integrated in the machine frame to a built-in, specially modified G-Max 9 granulator. A vacuum conveyor transports the recycled material to the machine’s material hopper enabling alter- nate loading of virgin material and regrind, so the materials are thoroughly mixed. The HiQ Flow software package is used, enabling viscosity fluctuations to be detected during the injection phase and actively corrected. Integration of the auxiliaries into the production
cell leads to a smaller footprint. Depending on the machine model, the amount of space saved by using the Ingrinder is 400 to 600 mm. The latest model of the screenless granulator series from Wittmann, the S-Max 1 introduced at K 2022, is described as: “The ideal tool for inline-recycling beside-the-press. Low speed means high torque, less wear on cutting tools for reduced maintenance, low sound levels [and] low energy consumption. The low-speed decreases noise and flyback during operation and provides a consistent regrind and better quality.
This compact screenless granulator is ideal for inline recycling of sprues from injection moulding machines up to 90 tonnes. The small footprint accommodates tight spaces and the wide-mouth, flared in-feed hopper easily handles a range of robot or conveyor drops and sprue/runner sizes.” The S-Max 1 is equipped with a knife, two toothed rollers and a cutting chamber, while motorisation comes courtesy of a 0.75 kW gear motor placed vertically for the smallest possible footprint while free access from the top allows safe cleaning of the cutting chamber.
30 INJECTION WORLD | January/February 2023 Herbold Meckesheim recently launched
several new technical developments regarding its SB series of granulators. The SML 60/100 SB 2 is suitable for wet opera- tion with horizontal forced feeding by means of screw conveyors, which allows space-saving installations and easy feeding. Another advantage is the high throughput capacity due to a 1 m-wide inlet from the hopper and 50 cm strong feeding screws transporting material to the rotor. Seven rotor knives and an optional third stator knife allow up to 21 cuts per revolve meaning the SB mill can process up to 2 tonnes of polyolefins per hour or well over 1 tonne of film. In addition to the high throughput capacity, SB
granulators are characterised by uniform load absorption and low energy consumption. In line with market trends, a significant focus was placed on safety aspects and ease of maintenance with the design ensuring the feeding device and hopper can be hydraulically swung away in one piece to open the housing. The case cover with the stator knives opens in the opposite direction, and the knives with the pressure bar are equipped with a lifting device. The discharge trough is also easily accessible, and the rubber rings of the machine’s ground plate feet effectively absorb vibrations which is reflected in lower noise emissions.
CLICK ON THE LINKS FOR MORE INFORMATION: �
www.cmg-granulators.com �
www.neue-herbold.com �
www.rapidgranulator.com �
www.hosokawa-alpine.com �
www.wittmann-group.com �
www.herbold.com �
www.triaplastics.com
www.injectionworld.com
IMAGE: WITTMANN
IMAGE: WITTMANN
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