Plastic & Rubber Applications
Cooling Injection Molded Plumbing Parts
A 2" Model 40002 Adjustable Air Amplifier cools off injection molded plumbing parts on a conveyor. Space was at a premium and the use of the amplifiers allowed for reduced conveyor length. They previously utilized water to cool and then blow-off but the costs of recycling the water were becoming prohibitive. The air amplifiers eliminated the water and associated environmental issues and costs improving overall efficiency.
Plastic Hopper Loading
A stainless steel 1-1/4" Ring-Vac™ Air Conveyor Model 30002S is used to load the hopper of an injection molding machine. Previously the resin was loaded manually which was an inefficient use of manpower, and the installation of a complete automatic loading system was deemed unnecessary and too costly for the particular process. However, there are machine builders who do utilize the Ring-Vacs as part of automatic systems for loading.
Blow-Off For Extruded Automotive Trim
A Model 20002, 2" Ring-Blade™ Air Wipe System is used to blow excess water off extruded automotive trim. Previous systems were noisy and used too much compressed air. The cone shaped blow-off profile allowed for adequate water removal inside the grooves and worked well at high speeds. The use of stainless steel shims as a standard in the Ring Blade air wipes allowed as well for essentially maintenance free operation.
Vortex Tube Cold Air Supply
A Model 50030H with Vortex Tube a cold end muffler is used to supply cold air to a twin routing application on a plastic blow molded product, preventing the formation of small plastic fibers and producing a clean cut. No liquids were needed and the production rate was maximized.
Air Blade Ionizer for Packaging Operation
In the packaging section of a cheese plant, small dust particles were attracted to the plastic web causing severe quality issues. Due to the environment, a contact brush was not possible and a blower ionizer was too large. In addition, they needed adequate force to blow off any dust that may just "stick". A 12" Model 15112 Air-Blade™ Ionizer neutralized the plastic preventing the dust attraction and also loosened and removed any particulate from the web. It was mounted to blow the dust away from the direction for packaging providing a clean barrier for the product. It was compact, and essentially maintenance free. Scrap rates were reduced dramatically. The units also “last” because of the high quality static bar, fully shielded cable. Many competitive units had poor quality cable that leads to early failure of their static bar.
Air Blade Ionizer for Thermoforming
In a thermoforming operation of a food application container, there were dust problems due to the buildup of high static charge on the web that attracted small particulate to the web. In order to operate at maximum speed possible, a strong static bar was required. The standard strength static bars tried by competitors failed to dissipate the state fast enough for the speeds utilized. Noise was also a concern.
In addition, there was a need for a compact blow off to remove any dust. An 18" Model 16118X Super Triple X-Stream Air-Blade Ionizer incorporating the extra strength Haug Model VS static bar neutralized the plastic easily even when the static bar could not be close.
Even with air, a standard static bar simply did not neutralize fast enough. The X-stream air blade was compact and extremely quiet in its operation. The Model 16118X with the VS bar eliminated static charge and the dust attraction and the air blade air knife portion loosened and removed any particulate. Quality and production rate improved dramatically
Ring-Blade™ Blow-Off System
A Model 20002, 2" Ring-Blade™ Air Wipe System is used to blow excess water off extruded plastic profiles. Previous systems were noisy and used too much compressed air. The cone shaped blow-off profile allowed for adequate water removal inside the grooves and worked well at high speeds. The use of stainless steel shims as a standard in the Ring Blade air wipes instead of weaker plastic allowed for essentially maintenance free operation.
Control Panel Cooling System
An electrical control panel with a PLC in a relatively hot area of a factory in a rubber operation had problems with rubber dust getting inside the cabinet and playing havoc with the controls. External fans only aggravated the problem by drawing in more dust. They installed a model 61015 Frigid-X™ Panel Cooler control panel cooling system with continuous operation and constantly kept the cabinet purged and clean. This reduced maintenance costs significantly.
Slitting
Slitting was improved by using Tool Cooler on the cutters to keep them sharper for a longer period and kept the edge trim cleaner because of less heat buildup.
Chill Roll Cooling On Plastic Webs
Chill Roll cooling on plastic webs to prevent material bunching because of heat buildup on plastic web edges.
Cooling Plastic Tanks
To shorten the cooling cycle of molded plastic tanks, vortex tubes can be used to blow cold air into the tanks. At least a third or more of cycle time can be reduced depending on the size and thickness of the tank. The simplicity of, and design of the vortex tube allows for its ease of installation and use in such difficult environments.
In choosing the size and type of vortex tube, always remember to use designs that can hold up to an often hostile environment – stainless steel vortex tubes with metal generators are the best choice and avoiding the use of plastic parts that may degrade over time. A properly filtered air supply will maintain trouble free, essentially maintenance free operation and optimum production output. The air supply can be turned on an off as required with a solenoid valve activated when required.
Vacuum Forming
Vortex tubes are used to cool the corners of a large plastic sheet prior to vacuum forming, During the vacuum forming process, the corners formed thicker improving the quality of the product. Such applications are common where the process can vary along a material and :spot cooling” can improve the quality of the resulting product.
Extruded Rubber Web
Model 16118X Air Blade™ Ionizer with the extra strong static bar was the only available system that could solve the high static problem.
