Chicago - Extensive Redesign of Shuttle Granulator Boosts Ruggedness, Increases Stability and Smoothness of Operation

EXTENSIVE REDESIGN OF SHUTTLE™ GRANULATOR  BOOSTS RUGGEDNESS, INCREASES STABILITY AND SMOOTHNESS OF OPERATION

 Unique System, Radically Different from Standard Rotary Granulators, Is Still Much Smaller and Less Energy-Intensive, and It Requires Substantially Less Investment  

CHICAGO, June 23, 2003 - No one expects a heavy-duty granulator to purr like a kitten, but a top-to-bottom redesign of the Maguire® Shuttle™ granulator has increased the smoothness and reduced the noise with which the machine transforms large parts and purgings into high-quality granulate, it was announced at NPE 2003 by Maguire Products, Inc. (Booth 9101). 

"The new-generation Shuttle granulator is more rugged than ever and carries out its unique 'planing' operation even more quietly and efficiently, withstanding the vibrations and shocks of size-reducing dense, bulky objects like purgings," said Kevin M. Cabana, general manager of Maguire's U.S. Granulator Div., based in Smithfield, Rhode Island, U.S.A.  "What has not changed is the advantages of the Shuttle granulator in comparison with a conventional rotary purging grinder.  The Shuttle unit is still one-fourth the size of a comparable rotary machine, still requires only one-tenth the power, and still costs about 80% less." 

Chief among the improvements to the Shuttle granulator cited by U.S. Granulator engineer Brian Kenney are the following:

• Heavier construction.  Maguire has enhanced the stability and structural integrity of the Shuttle granulator by increasing the ruggedness of the base, shuttle table, hopper walls, and other components.  "We've increased the thickness of major steel panels by 50 to 400%, depending on the component, and have enhanced certain other parts as well," Kenney said.  "In addition, we've adopted more heavy-duty construction for impact- or load-bearing components - changing the shuttle beds, for example, from formed sheet metal to a reinforced weldment."
  

• Improved shock-resistance.  Maguire has replaced the all-pneumatic shuttling system previously used to move the hopper back and forth with a pneumatic/hydraulic system.  "Since oil is much more resistant to compression than air in response to shocks generated as heavy parts encounter the rotor knives, the new system exhibits a smoother, better controlled hopper movement," Kenney said.
  

• Reduced noise.  Besides the improved shuttle operation, another factor in noise reduction is a redesigned machine base and sound enclosure.  "The machine base to which the enclosure is attached is now fabricated of heavy-duty steel," Kenney said.  "As a result, there is less transmission of vibration from the granulator proper to the sound enclosure."

Another benefit of the new base design is that it readily accommodates forklift blades, Kenney noted.

The Shuttle granulator combines two size-reduction steps into one two-stage unit.  Each stage incorporates a radically new concept in size reduction: first, a planing process similar to that used in carpentry, then a grinding process carried out by the MaguireÒ RadialÔ granulator.  In the first stage of Shuttle granulator operation, the scrap or reject part is automatically shuttled back and forth over a table surface that is split into two levels.  As in a carpenter's plane, a cutter is mounted at the point of disjunction.  In the Shuttle design, the cutter consists of a rotor carrying a series of staggered knives rotating at 1,750 r.p.m.; this cutting action reduces the gravity-fed scrap to small pieces and propels them at high speed into the hopper of a Radial granulator located beneath the table.  The Radial granulator completes the size-reduction process, yielding uniform, high-quality granulate.

Two standard Shuttle models are available: the S-20 has a hopper or scrap containment chamber that is 20 by 30 in. (51 by 76 cm); the S-30, 30 by 30 in. (76 by 76 cm). 

MAGUIRE PRODUCTS, INC., headquartered in Aston, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., is the world's largest supplier of gravimetric blenders and liquid color pumps and also manufactures loading systems, granulators, dryers, auger feeders, and related equipment.  Its customers include injection, blow, and rotational molders, extrusion processors, and compounders.  Founded in 1977, Maguire operates five manufacturing facilities in Aston and Smithfield, Rhode Island, U.S.A. The company maintains a network of distributors in the Americas and overseas.  Maguire Europe, a sales and service subsidiary that supports customers throughout Europe, operates a distribution center in Tamworth, Staffordshire, United Kingdom.  Maguire Asia, based in Singapore, serves customers throughout South Asia and the Pacific Rim. Visit the Maguire Products web site: www.maguire.com