Auxiliaries: New Auxiliaries for Blending, Loading, Cooling & Granulating

Wittmann Battenfeld (U.S. office in Torrington, Conn.) showed several new auxiliary equipment types at October’s Fakuma show in Friedrichshafen, Germany:

• Blending: Gravimax gravimetric blenders have stationary lids that remained fastened to the blender, with the loaders attached, so hoppers can be removed without dislodging the loaders. However, for larger units with throughput rates above 176 lb/hr, the filled hoppers are too heavy, so Wittmann now offers a new hinged lid of stainless steel that can be moved with a special handle (photo). The rotating handle also serves to close the lid tightly again, so no additional fastening screws or clamps are necessary. Existing Gravimax blenders can be retrofitted with the hinged lid.

• Hoppers: To make cleaning hoppers and hopper loaders easier, Wittmann will present a new pivoting attachment for machine hoppers (photo). It is no longer necessary to disconnect the loader from the hopper lid. In the case of central conveying systems, cleaning can be done without disconnecting material, vacuum, or compressed-air supply lines. The pivoting hopper lid also makes it easy to clean the underside of Feedmax loaders. Various Wittmann machine hoppers can be retrofitted with the pivoting device, using a clamping ring and an adapter.

• Cooling: Tempro plus D temperature-control units (TCUs) can be fitted with a new option called SpeedDrive. It consists of a variable-speed pump and the ability to preset either motor speed, pump pressure, or differential temperature (difference between mold inlet and outlet) without having to purchase any additional equipment. In particular, differential temperature is a useful control parameter, according to Wittmann. Once it has been set, it can be monitored with defined tolerance margins and can be maintained by changing pump speed. What’s more, the company’s Flowcon plus automatic water distributor, which monitors and controls flow and temperature of each individual mold circuit (up to 12 circuits), is now available as a stand-alone system for use with any brand of injection machine—not just Wittmann Battenfeld. The new Flowcon Masterbox provides the visual operating system for the stand-alone version.

• Granulating: An intermediate model joins the G-Max granulator series introduced at K 2016. The new G-Max 23 with 325 × 190 mm cutting chamber and throughput rate of 176 lb/hr fits between the G-Max 12 and 33 models. It is designed for closed-loop recycling of sprues and runners from presses up to 240 metric tons clamp force. Like other models in the series, it uses a special rotor described as a novel hybrid of open and staggered, with 3 × 2 knives with open spaces between the knives and center of the shaft. That provides unrestricted cooling air flow through the 310 × 235 mm cutting chamber. Also new in this series is a remote-control pendant instead of the usual fixed control panel. It offers unusual features such as a digital hour counter to help schedule regular maintenance, a special shutdown function, and an interface for full communication with the injection machine. (For example, when the press is “off,” the granulator stops automatically, saving energy.) And the 3-meter cable on the pendant allows control of the granulator from outside the protective guarding of the injection machine.