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Achieving accurate feeding results The feeders' electronic weighing system
The company operates the compounding ensures accurate feedrates to the extruder,
facility 24 hours/day, 5 days a week, and which allows the company to consistently
since installing the new extrusion system, produce high-quality products for its
the loss-in-weight gravimetric feeders customers. “There are no load cells that
have functioned flawlessly. “NFM and can wear out,” says Rowles. “And
the feeder supplier provided us low-cost because there are no load cells, there's no
reliable equipment that efficiently chance for drift, which occurs when a
produces a wide range of high-quality load cell fails and the amount being fed
custom compounds for our increasing into the extruder no longer matches the
and diverse customer base,” says Rowles. feedrate setpoint. This negatively affects
The strands of heated thermoplastic
resin discharge from the extruder “I've worked in other compounding the end product's quality and operational
facilities that have used the supplier's
efficiency because we have to shut down
into a water bath, where they’re feeders, and they've always been the line to fix the problem. We don't have
cooled before being pelletized.
dependable feeders. The supplier's to worry about that problem with this
customer service has also been supplier's feeders.”
exceptional; anytime we've had a
material weight loss per unit time. The technical question or issue, they've gotten
main controller compares the calculated back to us within four hours. And
weight loss to the setpoint and signals because they manufacture their own
each feeder's drive to either speed up parts, they're able to tell us exactly how 20 Empire Blvd.
(increase the feedrate) or slow down long it will take to get a new or Moonachie, NJ 07074 USA
(decrease the feedrate) to maintain an replacement part, so we're not waiting 201-440-8300 • Fax: 201-440-4939
accurate, controlled feedrate to the around for it.” Email: informail@acrison.com
extruder. Website: www.acrison.com

300-0073/A/12-12/7000

Reprinted from Powder Bulk Engineering December 2012