Extrusion International 2-2018

39 Extrusion International 2/2018 Extruder line built by KraussMaffei Berstorff in Florence, Kentucky for Kraiburg TPE SIEMENS INDUSTRY, INC. 390 Kent Avenue, Elk Grove Village, IL 60007, USA www.usa.siemens.com/cnc KRAIBURG TPE CORPORATION 2625 North Berkeley Lake Road, Duluth, GA 30096, USA www.KRAIBURG-tpe.com KRAUSSMAFFEI GROUP USA 7095 Industrial Road, Florence, KY 41042, USA www.kraussmaffei.com Allen Donn, product development engineer at KRAIBURG TPE, along with his team of engineers and tech specialists, evaluated the installation and commissioning of the machine at the Duluth facility. “The data transfer from the PLC into the same process data archival & analysis system that we use for our other lines at KRAIBURG TPE. A simple Excel file is generated with any parameters desired for anal- ysis, plus we can easily exchange data between R&D and production here. The result is that our ability to utilize production machinery more efficient- ly has increased substantially with the use of the new KraussMaffei Berstorff machine in our test department, as the control system gives us real-time hard data we can use to make adjustments on new recipes and entirely new ma- terials.” KRAIBURG TPE performs ex- tensive new compound property per- formance testing on its TPE formulae and the time compression realized by using the new extruder line in this “real world” R&D operation is pro- viding substantial advantages for the compounder. KRAIBURG TPE typically runs mate- rials in the 20-80 Shore A hardness range and, as an example, might test out a variety of adhesion grades for over-molding onto polycarbonate, nylon, or other substrates, Donn ex- plained. “When we can pull the data from any machine in the system, ad- just it, run it on the R&Dmachine, and then feed that data back into produc- tion, it makes a huge difference in our efficiencies.” In one instance, shortly after the KraussMaffei machine was installed, KRAIBURG TPE engineers were testing 15 compound varieties on the machine very quickly, com- pared to using production equipment to do that task. “I could look into the software to compare all set point and actual values, remotely, over the entire test period,” Donn noted. He added that the substantial raw mate- rial cost savings of more tests, faster results and less waste all contribute to an improved profitability for the com- pany, as well. www.maag.com GEAR PUMPS, FILTRATION, PELLETIZING AND PULVERIZING SYSTEMS MAAG – 4 STEPS AHEAD FOR YOUR SUCCESS Visit us at Chinaplas, Hall 2, Booth 2P83 and at Plast Milan, Hall 13, Booth B31 At a glance, the operator sees the condition of the machine in real time and can make better on-the-fly adjustments Various compounds are formulated at Kraiburg and test run on the KraussMaffei Berstorff extruder at the Kraiburg lab in Duluth, Georgia