TECHNOLOGYIN ACTION
Contrinex inductives ensure safe automation of press-tool change-overs
An automated
tool-change process reduces setup times and improves machine efficiency, but introduces the risk of damage if the tool-press is not completely closed before its moulding tools are changed.
Therefore a Contrinex inductive sensor is trusted to ensure that the tool-press is completely closed, so that the moulding tools can be changed safely and efficiently.
Customer application
Hydraulic presses that are used to mould automotive body parts have had their tool change automated.
The down-acting hydraulic presses which are common in many industries, feature rams that hold the upper tool half in position as they press down on the lower half.
PULS 0121 58 222 58
https://plusautomation.co.uk
ADVERTORIALS A Sticky Situation Results in business benefits
Caramel can be a challenging material to extract, particularly when delivered in one tonne totes. One of the ways the Burtons Biscuits came up with, was to put totes into a warm room to enable the caramel to flow easier from the tote via a pump then into a hopper. However, they found that one of the main drawbacks on this process of totes was that the caramel would stick to the inside walls of the tote as the pump sucked out the caramel. At times this would mean that between 10% to 30% of the caramel would be left in the tote, unable to be extracted. The method was to connect a pump to the bot- tom outlet of the tote and transfer the caramel to a hopper, which worked well until the level of caramel in the tote fell to between 10% and 30%. From this point the pump cavitated and could not draw the caramel in, resulting in between 10% and 30% of the contents of the tote being returned to the supplier, costing anything between £50,000 and £140,000 per annum in unused caramel.
One idea that came from the Continuous Improvement team while looking at available options to reduce this waste or increase the yield was to revert to 200L drums of caramel rather than the tote. Kecol were asked to make proposals for transferring the caramel from the 200L drums to the line hopper and offered a Kecol H800SN Maxiprime unit c/w 10:1 ratio piston pump.
Kecol
01746 764311
www.kecol.co.uk
On the level, sticky situations resolved with RF Admittance coating rejection
The coating rejection capa- bility of the Drexelbrook RF Admittance level technology is key to its success in the measurement of highly vis- cous media. Drexelbrook’s patented, proven Cote- Shield™ technology is able to ignore coating build-up on the probe ensuring accuracy and reliability with the elimi- nation of false trips, regard- less of product
accumulation on the level transmitter.
This makes Drexelbrook level transmitters ideally suited for level measure- ment in applications involv- ing adhesives, bitumen (asphalt), cement, tarmac, pitch & resins. Furthermore, other features such as its remote electronics ensure immunity to the high tem- peratures, pressures and significant vibration that are often associated with these manufacturing processes.
Petroleum Bitumen, normally called “Bitumen” or “Asphalt” is produced by refining crude oil. Used as a binder in road-building products, it is a very vis- cous, black or dark brown material.
At Nynas Bitumen’s Eastham Plant at Ellesmere Port in Cheshire, which is a joint venture with Shell, the journey from crude to highly refined process
JANUARMAY 2021 | PROCESS & CONTROL 57
oil starts in the distillation column. The crude oil is pumped from storage tanks through a heat exchanger system where its temperature is increased to about 200°C – and then further heated in a furnace to around 300°C where it is partly vaporised before entering an Atmospheric Distillation Column (ADC).
In the ADC the physical separation of the components takes place. The lighter components rise to the top and the heaviest components fall to the bottom of the column. The material from the bottom then enters a Vacuum Distillation Column via another heat exchanger. This is where the bitumen is produced. Vacuum distillation helps to maintain the inherently high binding characteristics of crude due to the lower operating temperatures.
As an approved supplier to Nynas, ABLE specified the Drexelbrook IntelliPoint RF Admittance Point Switch for the critical high level alarm duties on the bitumen storage tanks. Spillages from these tanks as a result of overfilling have a high potential for serious injury, as bitumen is stored at high temperatures and has a large thermal capacity. Furthermore, the coating rejection capability of the IntelliPoint is key to the success of the measurement of this highly viscous medium. The subsequent reliable and repeatable performance of the IntelliPoint has allowed Nynas to raise the high alarm level set-point, thereby increasing the storage inventory of the vessels.
ABLE
info@able.co.uk www.able.co.uk
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