TECHNOLOGY | MONITORING AND TESTING


Above: The Purity Concept V optical laboratory testing system from Sikora


tion, composition and contamination all impact on products such as bottles and film. Other mechani- cal and physical attributes can also be measured, including mechanical testing for tensile strength, modulus and strain. Polymers routinely analysed include: polyesters, including PET and PEN; polyolefins, such as HDPE, LDPE and LLDPE; PVC and styrene-based polymers. Sikora has developed the optical laboratory testing system Purity Concept V for plastics with colour detection. The system is an automated light table where plastic pellets, placed on a sample tray, are moved through the inspection area. Within seconds, the material is inspected by a colour camera. A projector optically marks all contami- nated pellets directly on the sample tray. By evaluating images and contamination, such as black specks, from a size of 50µm on the surface of transparent, translucent and coloured material, pellets are automatically detected, visualised and statistically evaluated. A clear allocation of the contamination and follow-up inspection are possible at any time. Another feature of the optical laboratory testing system is the automatic detec- tion of colour deviations in the pellets. “Real pellet tests are the best way to prove that a system works and give information on the advantages that one can achieve,” says Hilger Gross, Business Develop- ment und Area Sales Manager for the plastics area at Sikora. The company has also developed the laboratory testing system Purity Concept X with x-ray technol- ogy for detection of metallic contamination. The device is for the inspection of metal inclusions in coloured pellets that would be invisible with optical systems. The x-ray technology also provides the system with the possibility to detect contamination


48 PLASTICS RECYCLING WORLD | November/December 2019


on the surface, as well as inside pellets. Purity Concept X is particularly suitable for sample inspection of black and coloured material. The Purity Scanner Advanced is for optical online inspection and sorting of plastic material. The system combines x-ray technology with up to four black and white and/or colour cameras. This combination ensures the detection of metallic contamination inside the pellet, colour deviations as well as black specks on its surface. Contaminat- ed pellets are detected and automatically sorted. Due to powerful processor systems and intelligent software, the system is a reliable device for quality assurance. The Professional Data Analysis Manage- ment (PDAM) provides a statistical evaluation of detected contamination, sorted by size and frequency, during production as well as an image gallery of the pellets that have been detected by the optical camera as well as the x-ray camera. “Quality requirements with regard to material purity are increasing. Online inspection and sorting is therefore gaining further significance. The Purity Scanner Advanced is in this class the most efficient sorting system available on the market,” says Gross. For high material throughput, the sorting system is available as a Twin Pack solution, which was presented for the first time at K2019. The company says that the system is specifically suited for optical sorting and applications where the focus is on higher throughputs. The Twin Pack reaches throughputs of up to 2 tph. Collin Lab & Pilot Solutions has introduced new inspection and testing systems as part of its blown film lines that can use standard and bio- based polymers, as well as post-industrial and post-consumer material. The company says that with this line all these raw materials can be used with high levels of precision. The three Collin extruders for the blown film line have been equipped with new adapter systems. The blown film line is a further development of existing Collin lines and is equipped with improvements, includ- ing a new calibration basket, take-off unit and winder. The company says that with an integrated inline viscometer and the Collin FI camera system, product quality is constantly controlled, which is essential particularly if recycled material in sensitive areas such as packaging is used.


CLICK ON THE LINKS FOR MORE INFORMATION: � www.erema.com � www.starlinger.com � www.intertek.com � www.sikora.net � www.collin-solutions.com


www.plasticsrecyclingworld.com


PHOTO: SIKORA


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52