Portable Multi-Hopper Drying System from Conair Provides Economical, Flexible Solution to Central Drying

Simple enough for the most basic applications or upgradable to a fully featured drying solution, the new Conair Multi-Hopper Cart (MHC) delivers the ultimate in value, portability, flexibility and productivity.

The MHC features up to four dependable Conair CH Series mass-flow hoppers mounted on a lightweight, yet durable, caster-mounted push cart. Even with the largest hoppers mounted, the cart is only 35 inches deep saving valuable floor space and making it easy to maneuver down narrow aisle ways and through doorways. Material can be dried off-line and then wheeled where it is needed or stationed remotely to supply material to multiple machines at once.

There are two basic configurations available: The simplest has hoppers only with an insulated integral welded manifold system for supply and return of dehumidified air from a central dryer which, for smaller applications, can also heat the material. For larger throughput applications or applications requiring higher temperatures, supported by a Conair D Series Carousel Plus dryer with the DC-C Premium control package, the cart can be wired for power and individual heaters added to each hopper. This allows many convenient features, including the ability to dry at different temperatures in each hopper, Temperature Setback to prevent over drying, as well as Dewpoint Monitoring and Dewpoint Control. It can also be integrated into Conair’s SmartServices central monitoring and control platform, providing real-time alarm displays, a key performance indicator (KPI) dashboard, machine view with real-time readouts of setpoint and actual temperatures as well as condition indicator lights. The system can also display trend lines for key measurements in real-time.

Seven different hopper sizes are available ranging from the smallest, which has a 0.5-cu.-ft volume and a nominal capacity of 18 lb., to the largest with 6 cu. ft. of volume and 201 lb capacity. Carts are built in two sizes: a large version that can accommodate up to four hoppers (depending on hopper size) and the smaller cart can be mounted with up to three hoppers (again, depending on size). A slide-gate discharge port prevents material leakage but facilitates easy hopper draining.

Available in carbon or stainless steel, all hoppers are fully insulated from top to bottom in order to preserve heat and save energy. All are designed for easy cleaning with a large clean-out door (with sight glass) and a removable air-diffuser cone. The mass-flow hopper design ensures that all materials is evenly exposed to dry air and heat. Funnel flow and material hang ups are eliminated for superior drying. Each hopper is equipped with an isolation valve so that it can be taken off-line without disrupting operation of the other drying hoppers.

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Conair and Partners Producing IV Tube and 3-D Filament on Medical Extrusion Line

Conair Group, together with technology partners Davis Standard and Zumbach Electronics, are demonstrating production of extruded 4.5-mm (0.18-inch) thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) medical tubing and ABS 1.7mm 3-D-printing filament at MD&M West 2020. The demo line, which will highlight the latest technology in extrusion, vacuum sizing/cooling, gauging, coiling, conveying, and quality control, takes place in Booth 4024 of the annual show, which is being held at the Anaheim Convention Center, February 11-13, 2020.

 

The demonstration marks the first MD&M appearance of the space-saving Conair HTMP multi-pass vacuum-sizing/cooling tank and the ATC Series coiler. Instead of making a single pass through a long tank, the extrudate follows a Z-shaped path so that the compact, 12-ft-long HTMP tank provides cooling time equivalent to a 30-ft tank while fitting neatly into the 20 x 30-ft Conair tradeshow booth. The ATC Series coiler provides tensionless winding of extruded tubing and filament to prevent damage, and is equipped with an automatic coil-isolation safety feature that prevents user access to moving coils.

 

 

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New Thermolator® TCUs from Conair Now Offer Non-Ferrous Cast-Bronze Construction

The latest Conair Thermolator® temperature-control units (TCUs) offer processors optional non-ferrous construction for all wetted parts, making them highly resistant to corrosion and other problems associated with process water supplies that are untreated, unfiltered, or of limited quality. This option is now available in all Thermolator TCUs that use water as coolant.

The new product feature includes a cast-bronze pump volute, heater tube, mixing tube, and impeller. The combination is designed to deliver longer working life than previous corrosion-resistant Thermolator TCU products, explains Jim Fisher, Conair’s Sales Manager, Heat Transfer. “Thermolator TCUs with non-ferrous construction are a great solution for processors who are using distilled or RO (reverse osmosis) water, both of which can be aggressive to iron components, and who want to reduce corrosion levels in their process cooling systems. Medical molders and others can benefit from this design.”

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New Conair ResinWorks™ Central Drying Systems Offer Individualized Hopper Monitoring, Trending, and Control

The latest Conair ResinWorks™ central drying and pre-conditioning system gives users the option to equip each drying hopper with its own 4-inch color touchscreen HMI, enabling independent operation, data monitoring, and other advanced control features.

“This option allows users of new ResinWorks systems to implement advanced control features on a per-hopper basis, even if they are using an older Conair dryer—or certain competitive dryers,” says A.J. Zambanini, Conair’s Drying Product Manager. He explains that the new HMIs, part of a control system upgrade reaching across Conair’s dryer line, offer much simpler, plain-text interaction with hopper features, settings, and help information.

ResinWorks multi-hopper units or sleds, equipped with hopper-specific HMIs, give users instant access to a range of features and control settings, including:

  • Auto-start. Users can program automatic start-up for individual hoppers so that pre-drying begins at a set day and time, and under specified drying conditions.
  • Temperature control. The HMI can be used to set and monitor different temperatures at each hopper, enabling the system to dry a variety of different resins simultaneously.
  • Drying Monitor. The HMI displays data and trends from Conair Drying Monitor™ probes which measure the temperature profile of resin at multiple points in each hopper. It also supports Conair’s “material ready” feature, which prevents material from being conveyed out of a ResinWorks hopper until the control verifies that the material has been properly dried per user instructions.
  • Temperature setback. Once desired drying conditions are reached, the HMI supports automatic temperature setback that reduces the temperature in the hopper to a lower standby temperature to prevent over-drying, save energy, and keep resin ready for immediate use.
  • Energy consumption and trending. Users can precisely track energy consumption trends in real time for each hopper, then use consumption data from the HMI display to calculate production costs more accurately.

Users who pair the latest ResinWorks equipment with one of Conair’s new Carousel Plus™ dryers have the added option of controlling all hoppers centrally using the dryer control, or locally with the optional HMIs.

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