MATERIALS HANDLING | TECHNOLOGY
have a single selection pipe - rigid and enamelled to handle polymers of all hardness grades – of a variable diameter (40, 50-60 and 76 mm) for small, medium and large capacities, from a few to thousands of kg per hour. Piovan has also recently installed a central drying
and material handling system for Forteq UK at its Huddersfield site. The plant produces automotive components, such as engine mounts, engine timing system guides, air suspension pistons, door latch housings and mechanisms, precise gears for wiper-motors and HVAC housings. The company also manufactures high end and high volume technical parts using flame retardant PC/ABS grades for the gas meter and water meter sector, utilising twin-shot moulding. The materials handling system supplies over 30 injection moulding machines. Forteq UK processes more than 1,000 tonnes of polymer each year, including glass-filled engineering grades such as PBT, PA66, PA12, PPA and PPS for technical components. Precise drying and handling of the polymer is a critical phase of the process as many of the components are functional and operate in demanding environ- ments. The installation is part of a €5m investment in new technology and lean manufacturing. Piovan says that the drying system will reduce Forteq’s carbon footprint and lower energy consumption by 30%, as well as being a substantial part of its environmental continuous improvement plan. The system incorporates the WinFactory 4.0 supervisory system that connects all of the Piovan equipment, including monitoring of the cooling plant. Modula is a high- efficiency drying system with a multi-hop- per, fully automatic adaptive system and Piovan says that it was chosen by Forteq due to the automatic control operating parameters based on ambient temperature, initial moisture level, type and
quantity of polymer, the final moisture content of the polymer and granule size. Modula software controls the optimal operating settings for each hopper, providing energy savings of as much as 50% compared with the traditional central drying system previously used. The Modula central drying system is capable of calculating exactly how much material is required by the injection mould- ing machines and adjusts the operating parameters accordingly. In addition to maintaining a constant dew-point, Modula adjusts the airflow and regulates the thermal load for each kg of polymer processed. Space was limited so a mezzanine floor was installed for the drying system. The system also includes a Pureflo filter-less receiver that reduces maintenance and
cleaning during resin changes. The loss of performance due to blocked filters and worn components inside the hopper loader is also eliminated when conveying glass-filled resins. In combination with Pureflo, Piovan installed Varyo vacuum pumps which reduce the mechani-
cal stress on the resin and electrical consumption by controlling the velocity of pellets in the pipe. In addition, an automatic stand-by feature along with glass pipe bends gives a robust and wear resistant solution to conveying abrasive resins. Wittmann has developed the Net5 system material conveying system. The company says that the demand for small conveying systems is rising, and the flexibil- ity of the Net5 system means that it can be applied in many different ways. It can be used for single material loaders that are difficult to reach because of their location, as well as the control of mid-sized conveying systems.
www.injectionworld.com
Above: The materials handling system
installed by Piovan for injection moulder Forteq UK
Left: Piovan’s Pureflo filter-less receiver
Left: Modula is a high-efficien- cy drying
�
system with a multi-hopper, fully automatic adaptive system from Piovan
October 2017 | INJECTION WORLD 15
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