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BENEFITS
OF LINEMASTER™
- Improved product quality through permanent and consistent control.
- Reduced material costs through improved yield.
- Automatic regulation of extruder output
- Increased line productivity with fast start-up and reduced production scrap.
- Quick product changeover.
- Alarms and user security.
LineMaster is for all continuous extrusion processes including film, sheet, pipe, profile,
coating and laminating, wire and cable and compounding. LineMaster provides an integrated system combining gain in weight dosing control with loss-in-weight
extrusion control. The system is designed around simplicity of use at low cost. LineMaster provides an alternative to fully integrated loss-in-weight systems
with a significantly lower cost solution without compromise to performance and control.
XC-1/XC-2/XC-3
LineMaster is a comprehensive range of products that is designed to serve the
vast majority of extrusion operations that require solutions based at every level of the cost/performance spectrum.
XC-1 Extrusion Control
XC-1 is the most basic version of control providing lb/hr or kg/hr throughput control. Control is made by regulating the extruder speed via 0-10 volt signal
to a Digital Potentiometer that adjusts extruder speed accordingly.
 XC-2 Yield Control via Blender Controller
XC-2 offers more choice providing weight per length (lb/ft or gm/M) yield control. All settings are made via the blender controller. The extruder operator may select extruder speed and the haul-off will follow or vice versa. A digital encoder is supplied for Haul Off monitoring.
XC-3 Yield Control via Computer
Provides complete yield control via simultaneous control of the Extruder and Haul Off speed. XC-3 is typically applied to multi-layer extrusion lines. The
blenders on the extrusion line are networked via a computer using XC software and a signal amplifier.
WEIGHT MEASUREMENT OPTIONS
Standard Weight Control
Extrusion line throughput may be determined by monitoring material consumption as recorded by
the batch weighing process of the blender divided by the time the batch takes to be consumed. Throughput is determined by the blender controller when 5
consecutive batches have shown a steady throughput rate. If 2 or more batches show consecutive errors and adjustment is made to maintain desired throughput
rate.
Standard Weight Control provides a very cost effective solution for long production runs
on mono-layer lines. The blender must be throat mounted. Standard Weight Control is simple, has less mechanical parts and requires low maintenance.
Standard Weight Control Limitations:
- Frequent job and/or material changes
- Blenders not mounted on the extruder throat (surge hoppers/floor stands)
- Co-extrusion lines running low throughputs
- Line with frequent ramp up/ramp down requirements
- Restricted loading systems or poor flowing materials
Advanced Weight Control
The LineMaster product range has the option of monitoring materials consumption by a LOSS-IN-WEIGHT hopper. Instead of using the weight data as recorded by the
batch weighing process of the blender, the weight consumption data is determined by a separate loss-in-weight hopper. The loss-in-weight hopper connects directly
to the blender controller and updates consumption information frequently. The loss-in-weight hopper determines accurate throughput within 5 seconds and
updates thereafter every 0.5 seconds.
 Advanced Weight Control Benefits:
- Lines requiring constant feedback
- Frequent job/material/production changes
- Blenders not mounted on the extruder throat
- Co-extrusion lines
- Lines requiring frequent ramp up / ramp down control
- Lines using only one material
PC Control and Data Options
With the LineMaster product range the Gravimetric Gateway® (G2) software program is available for centralized control and data reporting. The software
program is an integral part of XC-3 Extrusion Control and offered as an option for XC-1 and XC-2.
A brief overview of G2
The Gravimetric Gateway® Software (G2 Software) is the name given to the server software written exclusively for the Maguire Weigh Scale Blender. The G2
software enables you to communicate directly from the server with one or more WSB controllers or connect remotely from anywhere over a TCP/IP network. The
server provides two-way communication with the network of blenders for constant retrieval of information such as:
- Precise weight of all materials processed
- Settings - sending and retrieving.
- Recipe numbers
- Word order numbers
- Operator numbers
The
G2 software organizes and tracks material usage and allows the user to gather accurate information according to a number of factors including: time range
(day, shift, etc.), process machine, work order, operator, recipe, line and line recipe.
 Viewing Yield Control
Yield control offers the ability to control Co-extrusion lines consisting of 1 to 7 extruders while controlling downstream take-off equipment.
Depending on the number of blenders you are using, 1 to 7 tables will be displayed. All
lines visually merge where the Total Throughput is displayed. Take-off and downstream controls are displayed at the right showing Line Speed and calculated
weight per length. In the lower right hand corner you will find a visual indicator of current take-off information.
A more detailed examination of each blender's settings and output can be accessed
through the Line Blender Screen. The Line Blender Screen is accessible through the Yield Screen by clicking on the WSB ID fields.
 Throughput Reporting
The software also allows reporting on average throughput, total throughput and the percentage of total uptime of a particular blender or all blenders in the
line. Reports are based on start/stop date and time, weight units and percentage of run time.
Event Monitoring
The computer software also incorporates an event monitoring service allowing
users to see a history of alarms, actions and changes.
Materials and Blend Management
The software can also store a complete dataset of materials and recipes using in production. This data is easy to edit and maintain and allows for full tracking
of materials consumption and management - a valuable tool for data on quality, costs and productivity.
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