Videos from Maguire Explain How Linemaster(TM) Extrusion Control Conserves Raw Material and Holds Tight Tolerances |
Maguire Products, Inc.
11 Crozerville Rd.
Aston, PA, 19014
USA
Press release date: October 26, 2011
Applications Include Mono- and Multi-Layer Extrusion of Blown and Cast Film, Sheet, Coatings, Pipe, Profiles, Tubing, and Wire and Cable Insulation
ASTON, PENNSYLVANIA, U.S.A. - Two new videos posted on the Maguire Products, Inc. home page at www.maguire.com show how the LineMaster(TM) extrusion control system operates and explain how it saves costs, increases productivity, and enhances product quality. Included are a two-minute overview and a comprehensive 18-minute video.
Presenter Chris Crittenden, sales manager for Maguire Europe, shows that the LineMaster system can exert precise control over throughput (pounds or kilograms per hour) or product yield (grams per foot or meter). The benefits he cites for processors include:
Accuracy within 0.5% of target. Every second the LineMaster controller monitors the weight of material going into the extrusion process and makes automatic adjustment to maintain accuracy.
Up to 4% savings in raw material. The accuracy of the system makes it possible to increase product yield per pound or kilogram of compound. By adjusting for the variables that affect the rate of material consumption by the extruder, the LineMaster system ensures that each given length of insulation contains precisely the same amount of material. Faster startups and quicker job changes, with less scrap. Within 40 seconds of startup, the LineMaster system has "learned" the extrusion rate and is ready to be switched to automatic mode, in which it continuously monitors the flow of material into the process and the line speed. During roll or reel changeovers, immediate response to line speed changes makes it possible to maintain target weight-per-length.
Complete documentation. The LineMaster system weighs and records every gram of material consumed during extrusion.
Chief among the relatively few components necessary for deploying the LineMaster system is a loss-in-weight (LIW) hopper that is mounted at the throat of the extruder and continually monitors the weight of the material in the hopper. Once each second when in automatic mode, the LineMaster controller uses this data to calculate the amount being metered into the extruder. A drive control package provides the interface between the LineMaster controller and the extruder drive, the takeaway drive, or both. For installations where line speed needs to be determined, Maguire supplies a digital encoder that is mounted on the takeaway rollers downstream of the extruder.
For multilayer extrusion, an LIW hopper is mounted on each extruder, and their controllers are slaved to Maguire's G2(TM) networking software, installed on a computerized operator interface. The operator enters the total g/m or g/ft target for the combined coextrusion and sets a ratio of that target for each extruder-for example, 80:20. As a result, in the finished product the weight of each compound per unit of length is constant.
MAGUIRE PRODUCTS, INC., headquartered in Aston, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., is the world's largest supplier of gravimetric blenders and liquid color pumps and also manufactures loading systems, dryers, auger feeders, and related equipment and software. Its customers include injection, blow, and rotational molders, extrusion processors, and compounders. Founded in 1977, Maguire operates six manufacturing facilities in Aston. The company maintains a network of distributors in the Americas and overseas and has three sales and service subsidiaries that stock, sell, and service auxiliary equipment systems from Maguire and its affiliate, Novatec, Inc.: Maguire Canada, Maguire Europe, and Maguire Asia. Visit www.maguire.com
Maguire Products, Inc., 11 Crozerville Road, Aston, PA 19014 USA. Tel: 1-610-459-4300. pat@maguire.com. Maguire Canada, 299 Basaltic Road, Unit 1, Vaughan, Ontario L4K 4W8. Tel: 905-879-1100. info@maguirecanada.com. Maguire Europe, Vanguard, Tame Park, Tamworth, Staffordshire B77 5DY United Kingdom. Tel: 44-1827-265-850. paul@maguire-europe.com. Maguire Europe (Italy), Maguire Italia SRL, Via Cile, 14, 35127 Padova, Italy. Tel: 39-049-970-5429.
Italia@maguire-europe.com. Maguire Asia, Maguire Products Asia Pte Ltd., 15 Changi North Street 1, #01-15, I-Lofts, Singapore 498765. Tel: 65-6848-7117. magasia@maguire-products.com.sg. Maguire Asia (China), Maguire Products Asia Co. Ltd., 7C-02 Majesty Building, 138 Pu Dong Avenue, Shanghai 200120 China. Tel: 86-21-588-23410. mpa@maguirechina.com.
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