Super-efficient auxiliary equipment

A new generation of auxiliary equipment are bringing substantial cost-saving benefits to manufacturers. In particular, the Conair Group presented a wide range of super-efficient auxiliary equipment at this year’s NPE which generated tremendous interest from visitors.

For instance, processors can save up to $1100/year in pumping energy costs with Conair’s super-efficient temperature control units. In addition, with extra pressure, more flow, higher maximum temperatures and almost 50% greater efficiency, it may be possible to use a smaller unit in many applications.

The Conair TCUs are available in standard and premium configurations with the latter offering a higher level of customisation, with many user-adjustable parameters. Both offer multiple standard communications options including Modbus and Ethernet/IP. Available heater-control options include electro-mechanical contactor, mercury contactor and solid-state relay with over-temperature safety contactor.
 
Conair also introduced its upgraded EP2A portable air-cooled chillers now with condenser fans that can include optional variable-frequency drive (VFD) motors that reduce energy consumption and improve performance. Unlike standard fans that run at a constant speed, VFD fans can speed up or slow down to match the demands of varying process conditions. Fan speed is precisely controlled to provide accurate condenser head pressure with minimal energy consumption. Without VFD, a fixed-speed fan would need to cycle on and off, which is both energy intensive and can reduce the working life of the fan motor. Additional benefits include the fact that VFD-equipped chillers can have air ducted outside the production space and governed to limit maximum fan speed to meet reduced noise-level requirements.
 
The ESE Series EarthSmart™ central chillers were also put on display at NPE for the first time. Promising more accurate temperature control and long-term reliability, they give plastics processors the flexibility to start with one chiller and expand to a plant-wide multiple chiller system operated by a single easy-to-use controller.
 
ESE chillers are available with integrated pumps and fluid reservoir or as a standalone chiller to supply a separate pump tank system. Systems can be water cooled, using tower water, or can be installed in a remote-air-cooled condenser configuration. There are 12 different sizes available from 10 to 160 tonnes, with a single refrigeration circuit available on units from 10 to 80 tonnes in capacity and dual refrigeration circuits available from 20 to 160 tonnes. Each refrigeration circuit has two Copeland scroll compressors so the system can stay up and running even if one of the compressors should require maintenance.
 
To meet immediate process requirements and allow for future expansion, users can install one or more ESE chillers and then add more modules up to a total of six for cooling capacity to 960 tonnes. All units – up to a total of 12 refrigeration circuits – can be connected to a single control interface using twisted-pair wiring, for centralised control of all chiller circuits.
 

Conair EP2A portable air-cooled chillers

 
 Using EarthSmartTM Adiabatic Cooling Towers, plastics processors can reduce water and energy consumption and prevent contamination of process fluid, while maintaining stable fluid temperatures even in hot weather. Process fluid circulates in a closed loop through tubing in the tower, so it is isolated from contamination and evaporation. The tubing is positioned behind adiabatic panels. As ambient air passes through the wetted panels, water evaporates, reducing the temperature of the air flowing into the unit so that it cools the process fluid. Eleven models are available to handle nominal flow rates from as little as 45 gal/min (170 l/min) up to 510 gal/min (1930 l/min) of process fluid (35% ethylene glycol).

An application-specific programmable logic controller (PLC) and electronically commutated (EC) motors – standard on the EarthSmart towers – ensure minimal electrical power is used during the process. Smart-fan technology varies speed to minimize energy consumption when the tower is under partial load. The PLC also precisely controls when the adiabatic process is required to maintain accurate leaving fluid temperature and reducing water use.

EarthSmart Adiabatic Cooling Towers

Full line of medical-ready equipment for cleanrooms
To help medical plastics processors select, install, commission and start up white rooms and cleanrooms faster and with less paperwork, The Conair Group introduced MedLine®, a complete range of auxiliaries –170 units in all – for moulding and extrusion of medical products. The equipment had their debut at NPE 2015.
 
To showcase the new MedLine portfolio, Conair built a mock clean room facility on the floor of the Orange County Convention Center. It combined features of ISO Class 7 and 8 cleanrooms, white rooms and hybrid rooms – all configurations commonly used in the medical device and similarly regulated industries. The display was complete with simulated processing machines, a full complement of auxiliaries, high-efficiency particulate arrestance (HEPA) filtration and other support equipment.
 
The MedLine product line includes equipment for conveying and storage, resin drying, blending, heat transfer and downstream extrusion. All are based on proven Conair designs, but they have been specially sized, configured, documented and supported for use in cleanrooms and other controlled environments such as those found in cosmetics, electronics and aerospace.
 
Only mechanical equipment and materials that are compliant with standards for ISO 14644 cleanrooms are used in construction. Depending on the application requirements, machine surfaces may be powder coated in RAL 9003 signal white or made from stainless steel. All equipment is supplied with a quality and regulatory compliance package aligned with ISO and FDA requirements. Machines are factory calibrated to meet regulatory requirements, labeled and certified for 1 year. Installation qualification forms are supplied, ready to be filled out and filed. Preventive maintenance procedures required for regulatory compliance are also detailed and reporting forms are provided. This documentation significantly reduces the paperwork processors typically need to generate in order to validate compliance of their cleanroom facilities and processes.

 
The MedLine puller/cutter with integral conveyor  
 
“What we are offering the medical plastics industry is peace-of-mind,” says Larry Doyle, President of Conair. “When a customer selects a piece equipment with a MedLine label, whether it is designed from the ground up for cleanroom applications or it is a part of our standard product line, they can be sure it has been pre-evaluated, pre-configured, pre-calibrated and is suitable to meet the requirements necessary for compliance with applicable standards.”
 
Other Medline equipment that makes up this fully outfitted display is the R-PRO slow-speed conveying system, which is a brand-new Conair conveying system that moves resin at slow speed to virtually eliminate pellet fracturing, "angel hair" and pipe wear caused by high-speed vacuum conveying. It also greatly reduces static electricity, preventing dust and particulate accumulation in conveying lines. Comprised mainly of standard conveying components, this unique system results in less resin degradation without limiting throughput. Another  is the next-generation Material Vision Proofing (MVP) system, which uses a camera to provide automatic 100% validation that the correct material is being conveyed to the right destination, is set up to distribute resin from the ResinWorks system to all three of the simulated processing machines in the display. Also included is the MicroWheel™ desiccant dryer, thought to be the smallest wheel dryer available is compact enough to be mounted on the feed throat of a molding machine or extruder, and the TB-45 TrueBlend™ gravimetric blender.