Wittmann
Wittmann has announced a host of new products for K 2013, in the form of robots and automation systems, mould temperature controllers, granulators, material drying, conveying, and blending. All new products will be on display on stand A04 in Hall 10.
In addition, Wittmann Battenfeld will exhibit injection moulding machinery and complete production cells in Hall 16, stand D22.
Wittmann has developed and launched the W842 robot in response to a market demand for greater payloads and versatility around mid-sized moulding machines of up to 800 tonnes of clamping force and higher. Further information on the W842 can be found in our automation and robotics spotlight.
In drying technology, the group will display the Drymax Aton2, a new development for the Wittmann segmented wheel dryer.
The thermal energy refeed via the group’s ‘3-Save Process’ uses only what’s needed from the regeneration energy in order to dry the molecular sieve in the wheel’s segments. If, in addition, a limiting value for the dew point is set, the Aton2 automatically optimises the drying process through ‘EcoMode’.
At K the group will present a complete drying battery consisting of a Drymax central dryer and Silmax drying hoppers with an overall volume capacity of 900 litres. The hoppers are equipped with SmartFlow technology, which is described as ‘breath-responsive activated air control flaps.’ The battery’s hoppers – also ‘breath-responsive’ – are provided with dry air from a Drymax E300-FC central dryer.
There will also be products running in the conveyor portfolio. Wittmann’s Feedmax single loaders as well as the Feedmax B central material loaders will be on show.
The latches on the Feedmax loader can be opened easily without a tool, allowing for quick cleaning. The central section and material inlets are made of stainless steel, as well as the material outlet. The material inlets have a wall thickness of 5 mm, making the unit capable of withstanding polymers such as glass fibre reinforced PA. The central section can be removed and replaced with a glass alternative if desired for visual monitoring.
Wittmann will also present Gravimax blender models from the series 1 and 3 range. All plastic-contact components in these units are made from stainless steel. They also come equipped with two weighing cells and a bowl mixer. The group says that the bowl mixer was designed to avoid electrostatic charging of masterbatch.
The touch-screen control is reported to feature self-explanatory imagery and the option to enter each ingredient value in percentages for easy start-up. Up to 120 different recipes – and their respective components – can be stored using arbitrary names. Wittmann’s Gravimax blenders use Real Time Live Scale (RTLS) technology for batch-to-batch consistency.
Additionally, there are new models of the group’s Tempro directly cooled temperature controllers in the basic C120 series, now with smaller dimensions.
Wittmann now offers many variants of the C120 – from different pumps through to different heating and cooling capacities. Using the largest version of the series, users can heat moulds weighing up to 10 tonnes.
The smaller Tempro basic C120 unit measures 230 × 690 × 630 mm and can achieve a delivery rate of up to 200 l/min. It comes with a heating capacity of either 12 or 18 kW at a pump capacity of 0.75 or 1.5 kW. Options include serial interface, external sensor, alarm contact, internal bypass for relieving the pumps, and also manual mould purging.
The most powerful model in the line is available with either 18 or 24 kW of heating capacity, and can also be adapted to heating capacity of 46 kW. The respective pump capacities range from 200 to 280 l/min.
Finally, Wittmann’s new MC 33 granulator will be making its K 2013 debut. The new machine can be operated beside-the-press or in a central role, and has been designed to handle demanding materials for injection and blow moulding processes, including in-line recycling of sprues/runners, PET preforms during mould start-up, among others.
The granulator operates at 7.5 kW and features high throughput capacities of 100–150 kg/hr.
The infeed hopper is a double-walled steel construction, designed to reduce noise levels. For cutting, Wittmann has used hardened cutting tools made from high quality steel alloys. The MC 33 collection bin has been designed with a 360° swivelling outlet, and allows for vacuum connection from any direction.