OMS and PPI to Emphasize Insulating Panels and Elastomers at NPE2009
Share:
Latrobe, Penn., USA (April 20, 2009) - In keeping with the NPE2009 emphasis on energy conservation and emerging technologies, polyurethane equipment maker Impianti OMS S.p.A. will exhibit technology used in the production of insulating panels and elastomers.
"The demand for insulating panels and elastomeric products has grown steadily over the past few years, and it just keeps increasing," said Mark Clark, general manager of Polyurethane Process Industries, LLC, (PPI), the exclusive distributor of OMS equipment and systems in the United States.
"Our high-pressure equipment is used in the continous production of insulating panels for the building and commercial refrigeration industries," Clark said. "Our low-pressure and microdosing equipment is used with elastomers in the production of everything from gaskets to dialysis filters."
The OMS Group and PPI will exhibit jointly in Booth S5052, South Hall of McCormick Place, Chicago, Ill. throughout the June 22-26 run of NPE2009, The International Plastics Showcase. The display will include high- and low-pressure foam mixing and metering technology, as well as such end-product samples as elastomer parts, insulating panels and viscoelastic (memory) foam.
The NPE trade show is held every three years and typically attracts more than 1,800 exhibitors, ranging from manufacturers of plastics processing equipment and raw materials to makers of plastic, bioplastic, rubber and foam products. More than 64,000 people visited the last NPE in 2006.
Insulating Panels for Energy Conservation and Efficiency
For years, the OMS Group has been at the forefront of developing highly personalized technical solutions and turnkey systems for the discontinuous and continuous production of flexible, metal and rigid sandwich insulating panels of PUR/PIR foam, phenolic resin, preformed core materials such as EPS and mineral fiber lamellas.
The list of OMS-installed systems includes plants for the continuous production of flexible substrate panels for roofing, cavity wall insulation and ducts for air conditioning systems; panels faced with rigid gypsum, cement or wood products for residential construction elements, roof panels, thermo-ventilated roof systems, etc.; and metal faced composites for cold storage, industrial roof and wall construction applications.
Demand for insulation with improved thermal and fire properties fed tremendous growth in the number of continuous panel plants over the last few years. This year, in recognition of this ever-growing demand and the company's 40th anniversary, OMS Group launched OMS Automation, an engineering division dedicated to developing material handling equipment for panel production.
Rising energy costs and energy conservation incentive programs likely will keep demand high in the future. Some early entrants into panel manufacturing also are looking for ways to reduce costs with newer technology.
"Some panel manufacturers and many commercial refrigeration manufacturers have been using 'froth' foam, which doesn't require the use of high- or low-pressure metering machinery," Clark said. "Their initial equipment costs were low, but inaccurate process control resulted in poor foam quality and high chemical costs because of waste. So now these processors are starting to look at high-pressure metering systems and two-component traditional foam."
During NPE2009, OMS will display its Y2K 10 straight, high-pressure mixing head, which is ideal for continuous and discontinuous panel production. The compact Y2K 10 head is designed to accurately control chemical temperature, pressure and mixing for superior chemical usage and foam density control. The head instantly dispenses mixed chemicals as soon as a pour cycle is actuated and instantly stops the pour cycle, eliminating chemical waste.
Elastomers: One of the Fastest Growing Plastics Industry Sectors
Elastomers are used to make such a wide range of products, from hard in-line skate wheels to rubbery gaskets and the spongy foams in running shoes, that this broad family of polymers has become one of the fastest growing sectors in the plastics industry.
Because their physical properties often rely on complete and precise control of the temperature, pressure and amount of chemical components that are mixed, engineering grade and high-temperature elastomers required specialized machinery to process them repeatedly and reliably.
OMS Group manufactures a range of standard medium- and high-temperature machines, as well as purpose-built material handling equipment, for making elastomeric products and coatings. OMS recently designed and installed a low-pressure metering unit that is being used to apply an elastomeric glass syntactic polyurethane-based material to pipe destined for a deepwater ocean oil field. OMS also has developed a fully integrated micro-metering plant for gasket production using thixotropic materials.
"At NPE we will display a low-pressure mix head that is perfect for gasket, filter and small parts produced from elastomers," Clark said.
The C2 Micro Dosing Mix Head features:
o Output range of 2 to 20 gm/sec.
o An internal pneumatic piston that actuates both chemical pistons together to eliminate "lead/lag" problems.
o Chemical reciculation through the jacketed mix head for optimum temperature control.
o Fixed orifices to control chemical pressure.
About Polyurethane Process Industries, LLC
PPI is the exclusive U.S. distributor of polyurethane foam equipment produced by Italian manufacturer OMS Group. The southwestern Pennsylvania sales and service company has provided high-quality, low-cost equipment, parts, repairs, service and engineering assistance to North American polyurethane manufacturers since 2004. The company was founded by Mark Clark, who spent nearly 20 years in the engineering, parts, service and sales departments of such major polyurethane equipment manufacturers as Cannon and Hennecke Machinery.
About Impianti OMS Spa. (OMS Group)
OMS Group ranks among the world's leading manufacturers of polyurethane foam dispensing machines and manufacturing plants. The company was established during the expansion of the polyurethane foam industry in all industrial markets and now exports 80% of the products it manufactures at an 11,000 square-meter factory at Verano Brianza, near Milan, Italy. The company's products include high- and low-pressure machines, presses, standard and or specially designed turnkey plants for a wide range of industries, such as domestic and commercial refrigerator plants; discontinuous and continuous panel plants; automotive components plants; automotive air filter plants; elastomers and gaskets plants; and slabstock and batch plants.
