BlendSave, Making Plastics Manufacturing Smarter

The significant transformation taking place in the plastics manufacturing world due to the advent of Industry 4.0 is becoming extremely compelling. This fourth industrial revolution is taking computers and automation enhancing them with smart and autonomous systems. Even before becoming the buzz word it has become today, LIAD designed its products guided by an Industry 4.0 philosophy. As a pioneer in plastics manufacturing technologies for over 20 years LIAD has been able to maintain its position as a leading developer of innovative feeders, blenders and quality control equipment. Companies who opt to use and realize this potential strive to become vanguards in the industry themselves.

According to LIAD’s CEO Uri Eisenstein, the Company has been working on ways to provide the industry with innovative solutions steadfastly becoming in increased demand. “Our focus has been on leading the charge towards Industry 4.0 compliance even before it becomes a standard. Our aim is to provide the plastics manufacturing industry with unparalleled flexibility and the ability to quickly react to industry changes in a fast-paced competitive environment. So, we have set out to develop a Central Multi-Channel Gravimetric Batch Blender able to provide optimal management of multi-ingredients and multi-processing machine combinations for plastics plants.”

BlendSave

The problem, which LIAD set out to address is that the current manner of weighing, blending, and conveying raw plastic material is wasteful, inefficient, and overly complex. Standard Gravimetric Blenders weigh batch components in a serial order. Each component is dispensed separately and is subsequently dropped into a mixing chamber. This method limits the speed that a blender releases a batch. Additionally, in a world where capital expenditure considerations are crucial to the bottom line of any company, the high costs associated with expensive auxiliary machinery coupled with factory space, manpower, and long-term maintenance make manufacturers think again before using standard Gravimetric Blenders.

BlendSave is LIAD’s patented an automated resin management and blending system. It can optimize the flow of raw materials offering unparalleled consistency and high throughput. According to factory specifications, multiple BlendSave systems can intercommunicate with each other, thereby creating a platform that is theoretically unlimited in the amount of raw materials and recipes that can be processed, as well as how many processing machines can be supplied.

Eisenstein added: “In BlendSave we developed a centralized blender with up to fourteen individual weighing chambers. These chambers are fed directly from silos or containers. 

We configured BlendSave to simultaneously and accurately weigh raw materials, combining them as a batch according to a predetermined recipe destined for pre-determined processing machines. Each batch is then distributed via a rotating-arm-dispenser to its own buffer deriving from up to fifty chambers.

Each of the buffers is inked to one processing machine. Once receiving a signal from a mixer that is located at the inlet of the processing machine, content from the linked buffer is transferred via a delivery pipe to the mixer. The volume within a buffer bin and that of the linked mixer is adjusted so that the second can accommodate the first. Thus, exceptional batch uniformity is achieved.

With dedicated weighing chambers that eradicate the risk of cross-contamination, BlendSave offers a unique solution that eliminates many manufacturing challenges when working with recycled plastic and various types of raw materials.

Each of the fourteen-weighing is configured as a twenty-liter weighing chamber or as a three-liter weighing chamber, with a potential throughput of up to six tons per hour.

Weighing in parallel allows for the use of smaller load cells, affording superior batch accuracy at greater throughputs. Furthermore, BlendSave can provide a consistent and high-resolution weighing channel within 0.01g by utilizing a combination of dual weighing step.

Depending on the number of the masterbatches, they can either be dispensed via the BlendSave or by Integrating LIAD’s single component gravimetric feeder ColorSave precision dosing unit that provides significant savings in the cost of the additives.

BlendSave provides full monitoring and control of customized job status, batch auditing, historical graphs and performance reports for each machine and job via an interactive PC dashboard or by linking BlendSave to a factory’s ERP platform.

The convergence of Industry 4.0 is leading the charge towards the development of smarter and more efficient factories. BlendSave allows factories to improve their efficiency by simplifying and streamlining the workflow process, resulting in faster production with greater quality control providing new opportunities for business growth.

For More Information: https://liadsmart.com/ or contact us at: prod@liadsmart.com

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