Plastics Manufacturer Solves Sticky Situation
ABOUT:
Equipment Vendor: Coperion K-Tron
Industry: Plastics
Product: Titanium Dioxide
CUSTOMER CHALLENGE:
The customer struggled to provide a consistent feed of a very difficult non-flowable powder, TIO2. The material is very sticky and does not flow well. Issues with motors also occur if the powder builds up on rotating machine surfaces. Additionally, TIO2 was bridging above existing gravimetric feeders which provided a poor and non-repeatable refill amount, therefore affecting the gravimetric feeder performance.
VENDOR SOLUTION:
To establish a consistent refilling of the gravimetric feeder, Shamrock Systems enlisted Coperion K-Tron to provide a K-MV-S500 volumetric feeder with a removable horizontal agitator and 150mm flighted auger to the customer. PTFE non-stick internal surfaces and a DC drive motor were also included, and a special transitional flange was supplied to adapt to the existing flanged outlet of the bulk bag unloading hopper.
Below the bulk bag unloader with the S500 feeder, Coperion K-Tron also provided a K2-ML-T80 twin-screw gravimetric feeder, a 25 cubic foot capacity vertically agitated hopper, PTFE non-stick coated wetted parts, and a KCM gravimetric controller with Allen Bradley Ethernet communication. This feeder is designed for the controlled feed rate of the TIO2 (up to 2 tons per hour) into a central collecting screw conveyor. The conveyor then feeds an extruder for the manufacturing of the compounded resin pellets for the manufacturing of plastic bags and films. As a requirement, Coperion K-Tron included a custom-designed control panel that contained HOA switches, motor starters for the two feeders, and speed potentiometers to complete the integration of these feeders into the existing control package. With these additions to the customer’s system, Shamrock Systems created an effective process to ensure the consistent refilling of the gravimetric feeder.
CUSTOMER COMMENT(S):
We are currently in the process of starting up this package. Mechanically, the feeder manages the refilling as well as gravimetric feeding of the difficult TIO2. Control integration is currently in process.
Learn How Shamrock Systems Helped This Customer Find a Solution
