Maguire Extrusion Control System Increases Output and Saves on Raw Material in High-Speed Film Production

MAGUIRE EXTRUSION CONTROL SYSTEM INCREASES OUTPUT AND SAVES ON RAW MATERIAL IN HIGH-SPEED FILM PRODUCTION

TAMWORTH, STAFFORDSHIRE, UK, November 12, 2009: An enhancement to Maguire Europe’s LineMaster™ extrusion control system helps to maintain productivity and reduce scrap during film production by making high-speed adjustments to changes in extruder speed. At the same time, the system enables film manufacturers to save costs by tightening control over material consumption.

In the advanced version of the LineMaster system, data on extruder raw material consumption is retrieved at the rate of one update every 0.5 second by a loss-in-weight hopper mounted at the extruder throat. This information, generated by a load cell in the hopper, is instantly relayed to a Maguire gravimetric blender, which is mounted either atop the hopper or on a floor stand. The LineMaster extrusion control software installed in the blender uses the information from the LIW hopper to regulate extruder and haul-off speeds.

The high-speed input from the LIW hopper enables the LineMaster to adjust process parameters even where there are frequent ramp-down/ramp-up cycles, such as for film roll changeovers, or where inconsistencies in extrusion rate pose especially great problems, such as in coextrusion. Film producers thus obtain the benefits of extrusion control, which include enhanced product consistency, savings on raw material, shorter setup times, and reduced scrap.

Unlike the LIW hopper, the Maguire blender is a gain-in-weight device. As such, one of its greatest advantages is high-precision dosing of raw materials into the process. The blender starts each batch by sequentially dispensing ingredients into a weigh chamber. In subsequent batches, small corrections are made automatically. Added to this precise information about the weight of each batch (in grams) is information about the exact time (in tenths of a second) required for each batch to be consumed by the process.

“Raw material savings alone can pay back the investment in this advanced LineMaster system in a matter of a few months,” said Paul Edmondson, general manager of Maguire Europe. “This is because the combination of blender dosing precision and high-speed updates from the LIW hopper can enable a film manufacturer to reduce the average film gauge required to stay within required tolerances. Further cost savings result from reductions in scrap and a higher output of saleable product per unit of extruder uptime.”

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MAGUIRE EUROPE supports a network of distributors throughout Europe, as well as in Africa and the Middle East, with sales and technical support, customer service, and an extensive inventory of Maguire® equipment systems and parts. Maguire Italy, a Padova-based Maguire Europe business unit serving customers through sales agents in five regions of Italy, can be contacted by telephone at 39-049-970-5429 and by email at Robert@Maguire-Europe.com. Maguire Europe is headquartered at Vanguard, Tame Park, Tamworth, Staffordshire B77 5DY, United Kingdom. Tel: 44-1827-265-850. Fax: -855. Email: Paul@maguire-europe.com.

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 and software. Its customers include injection, blow, and rotational molders, extrusion processors, and compounders. Founded in 1977, Maguire operates six manufacturing facilities in Aston. The company maintains a network of distributors in the Americas and overseas and has two sales and service subsidiaries: Maguire Europe, which supports customers throughout Europe and operates a distribution center in Tamworth, Staffordshire, United Kingdom; and Singapore-based Maguire Asia, serves customers throughout South Asia and the Pacific Rim. Visit the Maguire Products web site: www.maguire.com