MATERIALS PREPARATION | TECHNOLOGY
locations eliminates the need to move back and forth between machine-side dryer and hopper locations to change settings. And it obviously frees up space around processing equipment. At the last Fakuma show in Friedrichshafen,
Germany, in October 2021, Koch-Technik showed its Eko-N dry air dryer, which was presented in its original version at K 2019. The dryer has been developed further with respect to energy efficien- cy. Together with the company’s Koch-Öko energy system control, the new dryers can save up to 50% energy. Koch also showed its KKT mobile granulate dryers with a new touch control. The new colour displays are larger than before and provide simple, intuitive operation of the control unit, the integrat- ed central conveying system – which can communi- cate with other equipment as a result of the OPC UA communication standard – and the option of full integration into the Koch visualisation. Motan-Colortronic exhibited a new Luxor SG 50 dry air dryer at Fakuma 2021. This is the first mo- bile and compact dry air dryer in the company’s new Luxor SG series. The dry air generator comes with a dry air capacity of 50 m³ per hour and is connected to a single drying bin with 150 litres capacity. Additional functions include a dew point display and the ecoProtect material protection function. An integrated microprocessor control manages the dry air generator and the drying bin. A 7-inch graphic display allows all drying functions to be clearly shown and monitored. Compressed air dryers in the CARD series were
added to Wittmann’s product portfolio in 2020. At Fakuma 2021, it showed the two most recent additions, the CARD primus 10 and the CARD primus 20. Card primus appliances are offered as package solutions, each including a VacuJet material loader with delivery hose and suction lance as well as the dryer itself. They come with drying silos of 10 and 20 litres capacity respectively, and are suitable for temperatures of up to 200°C. All CARD dryers work without desiccants. Drying temperature can be set via a touch screen operating panel, and at the end of the pre-drying phase a signal is issued to release an automatic produc- tion start-up. The material drying data can be exported via a USB port or via OPC UA.
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Wittmann says that an integrated week timer
makes it possible to adapt the use of the dryers to production planning; they can be made ready to run as soon as dried material is required. “In the CARD primus models, the compressed air con- sumption is very finely and precisely adjusted to the actual demand by an intelligent digital air volume control system,” it adds. The VacuJet loader ensures a continuous material supply. CARD dryers can be mounted directly onto the machine feed. In combination with a claw flange, the appliances can be pushed into a parking or emptying position. Use of quick-change adapters saves time when transferring the dryers from one machine to another. Vacuum dryers provide another
alternative to dryers that use desiccants to dry the hot air. Whereas the latter keep the hot air in a closed system and then dry it with desiccants when it becomes too wet to do its job, vacuum dryers don’t recirculate and redry the air because the lower temperatures they use don’t merit the expense. Maguire debuted its offering at the beginning
of the century. Chris Crittenden, Director of Maguire Europe, says the technology was originally developed as an answer to two problems associ- ated with desiccant dryers: their relatively poor energy efficiency, and the time they need to get fully into action (as the material heats up). He says Maguire dryers were the first to make use of the fact that water can be driven off from wet material faster if the ambient pressure is reduced. The LPD (Low Pressure Dryer) models, launched in 2000, were capable of drying materials like polycarbonate and PET in a fraction of the time needed for desiccant dryers then available, but with their design incorporating three cannisters on a single carousel, for preheating, vacuum, and dispensing respectively, when it comes to applications with larger throughput requirements, they do not provide maximum flexibility in terms of the time taken for each stage, resulting in less than optimal energy con- sumption. On request, Maguire still offers three LPD models, with maximum throughputs of 14, 45, and 90 kg/h.
IMAGE: WITTMANN
Above: Motan Luxor SG 50 compact
mobile dry air dryer with a Metro G
hopper loader
Left: Wittmann’s CARD primus 20 compressed air dryer with FIT control and VacuJet loader
� March 2022 | INJECTION WORLD 37
IMAGE: MOTAN
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