 The Maguire
LPD:
A revolution in resin drying.
The Maguire Low Pressure Dryer (LPD) is a
revolutionary device that uses vacuum to accelerate the resin drying process.
The use of vacuum provides many process
and cost benefits compared to conventional drying technology.
Maguire Products did not invent the science of low pressure
(vacuum) drying. In
fact vacuum drying has been used in the manufacturing process of plastic resins,
chemicals, food and pharmaceuticals for many years. But, Maguire Products
is the first to bring this
technology to the plastics industry in a package that is affordable,
reliable and simple to operate.
Why is the LPD Better?
 Speed
of Drying
Typically the vacuum dryer will dry materials in one-sixth the time of a
desiccant dryer. If
your desiccant dryer drying time is 4 hours, the vacuum dryer will do the job
in 40 minutes. The result is
time-savings of 3 hours and 20 minutes every time you start
up a dryer. This not only represents reduced energy cost (see below), but could
also represent 3 hours and
20 minutes of additional production time.
Energy Savings
Side-by-side testing of the vacuum dryer and a desiccant dryer shows reduced
energy consumption of 70 -
80%. The key to the reduced energy consumption is that
the vacuum dryer does not rely on desiccant. Desiccant, once saturated, must
be regenerated by a heating
and cooling process so it will again be able to absorb moisture.
All energy required to regenerate desiccant is lost to ambient.
Reduced Maintenance
Since desiccant degrades over time it must be replaced on a regular basis. This
expense is avoided with a
vacuum dryer. In addition the need to monitor the condition
of desiccant is eliminated.
Low
Material Stress
Long drying times
at elevated temperatures can cause thermal, chemical and physical
material degradation. Materials if exposed to prolonged elevated temperature
during drying run the risk of degradation including discoloration and/or IV drop
which leads to reduced physical properties of the end product. The reduced
drying time required with the vacuum dryer dramatically reduces the risk of
material degradation. Since the vacuum dryer first heats up the material, then
applies vacuum to accomplish
drying the heating cycle is only 20 to 30 minutes.
On-The-Fly Material Change
Additional
savings can be achieved with the vacuum dryer in the form of on-the-fly material
changes. Since the vacuum dryer dries in batches a material or color change
can be accomplished on-the-fly. This means no downtime related to clean-out
of the drying hopper during a material change. Every time you have a material
change with a desiccant dryer the dryer must be shutdown and the drying
hopper cleaned. This is normally a time-consuming, labor-intensive process.
The vacuum dryer will automatically notify the operator when it's time to
conduct an on-the-fly
material change. No interruption of the drying process occurs
during the on-the-fly material change.
The LPD Dryer
Microprocessor Controller
 The
LPD controller is very simple to use. The dryer may be operated by simply
setting the proper temperature and cycle time on the
thumbwheels located to the right. The display will
indicate temperature and elapsed cycle time or, alternatively, temperature
and vacuum level. If a problem occurs during operation an alarm strobe
and horn will be activated and the nature of the problem will be indicated
on the display. The controller monitors numerous alarm
conditions to ensure proper performance. Comparable
to a dew point monitor, vacuum level is always monitored to ensure proper
vacuum level is maintained.
As an aid to monitoring dryer performance
and documenting operation a printer port is
provided on the controller. A printed output of dryer operation may be obtained
for each drying cycle.
The controller can be easily removed for
service or replacement. If you have a controller
problem a complete new control panel may be installed in minutes.
Maguire Products did not invent the
science of low pressure (vacuum) drying. In fact
vacuum drying has been used in the manufacturing process of plastic resins,
chemicals, food and pharmaceuticals for many years. But, Maguire Products
is the first to bring this technology to the plastics
industry in a package that is affordable, reliable
and simple to operate.
How the LPD Dryer Works:
The
dryer operates with 3 Stainless Steel canisters that are mounted directly onto a
carousel that indexes counterclockwise
360 degrees. Through this 3 step process each canister systematically goes
through the following 3 stages to dry materials.
|
Stage 2
Stage
3:
