Moretto's Eureka now in the US

Three forces are working together to carry high-end plastics processing automation (ancillary equipment) through to success in the North American market: Moretto’s new subsidiary in Columbus/Ohio, local sales and service partners, and Moretto’s many years of excellent business relationships with Central and South American customers.

MORETTO S.p.A. puts at center stage its Eureka plastics material conditioning system on its booth W7371 at NPE 2015. The displayed Eureka system consists of three elements, a FLOWMATIK airflow management and distribution system, the OTX hopper drier and the X Max drier.

Moretto’s Eureka system has been developed over a 13-year period of simulation, experimentation and testing, leading to what company founder and CEO Renato Moretto describes as “the most ambitious project in the history of dehumidification during my 45 years career in the plastics world”. By choosing the Greek word Eureka (I found it), as famously exclaimed by Greek physicist and mathematician Archimedes upon discovery of his theory of displacement, Moretto says that this word appropriately describes how the three elements of the system have finally “closed the loop” to form a highly efficient drying system.

Moretto says Eureka is “the most advanced drying system for engineering thermoplastics” and that it is “the only drying system that can process 10,000 to 12,000 kg/h of material in compounding, extrusion and PET processing – where it has up to 56% lower energy consumption than traditional drying systems as observed by customers. All vital components indispensable for optimum quality, economy and performance of the process and the end product have been redesigned and calculated utilizing the power and AI of the high-end Leonardo computer (one of only three in Europe).”

The core X MAX drier is based on Moretto’s patented “X technology” and incorporates a multi‑bed single molecular sieve desiccant system providing constant –65°C to –85°C dew point. Although twice the size of conventional beds, it not only works without requiring cooling water or compressed air for the changeover valve, but also features complete energy recovery by rotation, heat being recovered from cooling of the bed during molecular sieve regeneration.

A key enhancement in the latest X MAX drier within the Eureka system on show is its multi-stage centrifugal blower, developed by Moretto since the initial launch in co‑operation with nearby Padua University.

Due to these combined features, the X MAX drier is highly efficient, the X MAX 916 model for example providing each unit up to 1,600 m³/h drying capacity at 300 mbar pressure with exceptionally low electricity consumption of just 13.2 kWh.

From two to ten X MAX driers can be combined, providing extremely large drying capacity, with up to 20,000 m3/h airflow rate when using 10 units. Should full system drying capacity not be required, the FLOWMATIK airflow management unit, first launched at Fakuma 2005, can stop one or more driers and distribute the reduced load over the other driers, as well as sharing air with up to 32 truncated cone shaped OTX (Original Thermal Exchanger) hopper driers.

The OTX is available in 28 sizes and its innovative internal geometry ensures even material and air flow through the hopper for maximum drying efficiency combined with much lower energy consumption than conventional hoppers - and 40% faster.