Technology Aims to Smarten Up Resin Conveying

At NPE2024, Novatec took the wraps off new technology that it says will give processors more power, flexibility and finesse to convey materials in their plant without the need to oversize the system.

Called The Infinity Conveying Pump Series, the patent-pending conveying technology comes on the heels of Novatec’s reintroduction of the DryerGenie, which was also displayed at NPE2024. Both are efforts by the machine builder to tear down traditional belief on how these machines operate. In the case of drying, the DryerGenie enables processors to dry based on material condition, as opposed to the traditional method of drying based on time.

Concerning conveying, The Infinity Conveying Pump Series takes aim at the convention of suppliers to engineer plantwide vacuum conveying systems to accommodate the longest distance and the highest velocity the processor could ever need. Notes Novatec CEO Conrad Bessemer, “Both of our new systems are about using ‘finesse’ and moving past 50-year-old, etched-in-stone commandments for resin drying and conveying.”

Bessemer maintains that most suppliers have historically designed conveying systems based on the worst-case scenario. This has meant “overpowering” the vacuum system to accommodate the longest possible conveying distance and/or the highest throughput. This approach, however, comes with consequences in cases where high speed and throughput are not required by the process, such as when where machines or other auxiliaries are closer to the vacuum source.

Bessemer elaborates, “Those consequences include high velocities, which are damaging to destination equipment in terms of product wear, especially with the increasing use of abrasive materials. Another issue is the fracturing of material within the lines or deformation caused by excessive heat caused by that high velocity. In addition, because most vacuum conveying systems are designed for the ‘worst case,’ they have to use higher line sizes, this makes them tough to use with minor accessory add-ons such as feeders or some blenders in typical resin handling systems.”

Over the years, suppliers have tried to address these issues with mechanical flow control systems to try to control that rate, but few have had the adaptability or ease of use to truly be practical in a typical plastics processing setting, Bessemer explains.

Finesse Plus Power

But with the Infinity Conveying Pump Series, Novatec has endeavored to rewrite the rules by using novel technology commonplace elsewhere and updating/modifying it for plastics. At the heart of the resin conveying rethink is a totally new machinery concept for vacuum conveying pumps. Often isolated because of their noise, these pumps provide the raw power to carry resin from multiple sources to multiple end-use destinations throughout the factory.

But Bessemer says they’ve been traditionally engineered akin to the gas guzzlers of old — raw power sized for the worst possible case. Now, with using Novatec’s own IPM-SynRM motors — originally conceived to power electric vehicles efficiently — the company is able to achieve remarkable finesse in vacuum conveying pumps with speed ranges unheard of before to address the fundamental flaws of these juiced-up systems.

With the replacement of the fan-cooled induction motor, Novatec’s new pump can go down to incredibly low speeds (around 30%), which the company says conventional VFD systems are unable to achieve. At the same time, they can be ramped up into what Bessemer refers to as “ludicrous speed modes” of up to a theoretical 150% when necessary, such as to help clear such common issues as line plugging caused by verticals. “This dramatic boost in speed ranges achieved by this type of motor over conventional VFD drives gives this series incredible advantages in conveying,” Bessemer maintains.

As the Novatec CEO explains, the ability to “finesse” enables the system to automatically adjust for the pickup velocities and be intelligent enough to slow down at destination to avoid pellet fracturing and abrasion. It’s all done electronically, not through expensive, hard-to-operate mechanical adjustments that Bessemer says are not practical in the plastics processing industry. The pump has no belts or pulleys, enabling it to run much quieter than typical motors, which are measured at 90+ db. At the show, the Smart Pump ran in the middle of Novatec’s booth at about 70 db.

The new pumps are rounded out by incorporating sensors that automatically alert to low lubrication levels and other service conditions pioneered by Novatec’s MachineSense group. Additionally, new sensors can adjust the pump automatically for changes in elevation in most areas as well as measure power use and detect flow anomalies in line flow. Everything is controlled by a modern state-of-the-art system that not only monitors the new pump systems but also the sensors and all the remote destination equipment, such as blenders, feeders, dryers and receivers.

Says Bessemer, “The realities of profit and loss in plastics processing is all about minimizing expensive resin losses and minimizing the time constraints in the process. These two new systems from Novatec — integrated moisture-controlled drying systems with the DryerGenie along with smart conveying with Infinity Conveying Pump Series — are prime illustrations of using modern technology to substantially change the design direction, efficiency, and economics of drying and conveying today.”