TECHNOLOGY | MATERIALS PREPARATION


Above: The touch screen display of the Aton plus H is shown on the screen of the injection moulding machine’s control system under Witt- mann 4.0


system at all times, the display of the dryer’s control system has been adjusted accordingly. The company adds that the integration of this appli- ance into the machine’s control system now makes it possible to set and/or alter the dryer parameters, for example drying temperature, simply on the machine. The status of the dryer and the current dew point can also be checked from there. Even dryers equipped with several drying hoppers can be accessed from the processing machine. The Aton plus H dryer now features a touch


Right: The DMR desiccant mobile rotor series of dryers from Labotek


screen enlarged by almost 50%, with a 7 inch diagonal. Wittmann adds that normally a material dryer requires most of its energy for desiccant regeneration. The Aton plus comes with the 3-Save process as standard, a function for thermal energy recovery, which enables the dryer to run more efficiently. The hot air required for regeneration is first pre-heated inside a specially designed heating tube, then directly heated up further by a heater element. The hot air is then blown onto the desiccant in the direction opposite to that of moisturisation, to accelerate the demoisturisation of the desiccant even more. The temperature of the regeneration air is adjusted to the drying temperature required for the material. The Aton plus is thus able to select the optimal temperature range for the regeneration automatically and to raise or lower the regeneration temperature where necessary. In combination with a dew point sensor, the Aton plus can be operated in EcoMode. This function enables the dryer to select an ideal regeneration


48 INJECTION WORLD | March 2018


process for the respective material. If it is not necessary for the segmented wheel loosely filled with desiccant to keep rotating without interrup- tion, so that continuous regeneration is needed, the dryer will switch over automatically to the EcoMode, thus reducing the number of regenera- tion cycles. This lowers its energy consumption even further, while still promoting a good drying air performance with a low dew point. Labotek has introduced a number of stand- alone drying units recently. The DMR-desiccant mobile rotor series is claimed to ensure maximum efficiency and flexibility for small- and medium- sized applications. The compact dryer supplies air flows of 30-90 m3/h with a constant dew point of -35°C better due to the desiccant rotor technology. The structure of the desiccant rotor ensures a large absorbing capacity and no dust emission. The LCD compressed air dryer series can provide a dew point down to -50°C. Machine mounted, they are for small to medium throughputs. The electronic control panel is said to provide easy programming via the internal database of main materials, while the operator can also input drying parameters. The electronic control allows modulation of the compressed air flow as a function of the hourly capacity and material type. In combination with the anti-stress system, this automatically reduces power consumption.


LHD is a hot air hopper dryer used for drying the surface of free-flowing plastic granules, in particular hygroscopic materials. LHD is claimed to ensure a set material temperature with advantages including improved surface finish, reduced holding and injection pressures, and consistent charging time and presuure. The new compact LRD series offers lightweight dryers for mounting on the machine with hopper volumes of 30-100 litres. Also employing desiccant


rotor technology ensures high drying performance at a consist- ent dew point of -35°C or better. The dry air volume is 15-30 m3 Controlled regeneration and


rotor technology is clamed to provide high energy efficiency and low power consumption. German company Simar has developed the eDry drying process. The fundamental principle of the process is


reduced moisture loading of the desiccant and an optimised regeneration process. The


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/h.


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