What was new in Atlanta.

What Was New in Atlanta

Although there was a much greater volume of news at the big international shows covered elsewhere in this issue, there was a good handful of noteworthy introductions at the recent Plastics Fair in Atlanta. Those included a first-time entry in twin-screw compounders, small high-performance extruders, extrusion feeders, new injection controls and sprue pickers, thermo-forming trimmers, dryers, loaders, cooling towers, and a high-powered tabletop punch press from a new supplier to the plastics field.

NEWS IN EXTRUSION

After years of making spare parts for twin-screw compounders, Theysohn Corp., McPherson, Kans., announced plans to start marketing its own twin-screw corotating extruders in the U.S. this year. The TSK series was quietly introduced at K'89 in Dusseldorf by Theysohn's German parent company. Helmut Holzmueller, president of the U.S. branch, says the new extruder will be exhibited at NPE '91 in Chicago this June.

The new line ranges from a lab extruder to production machines with outputs as high as 7700 lb/hr. One of the unique features, a Theysohn spokesman said, is the manner in which the units' screw elements are mounted on the shaft. Using what is described as a two-position key system, Theysohn says it has eliminated many of the problems of disassembling a screw after prolonged use. This design, the spokesman said, increases the cross-carrying force of the screw and permits higher torque than other screw designs. The extruders' barrels use support brackets rather than flanges, resulting in a truly aligned axis. The barrel sections are held together by four tie rods into an anchor plate, the spokesman said. (CIRCLE 23)

Another extrusion introduction at Atlanta was from Wayne Machine and Die Co., Totowa, N.J. The new Yellow Jacket tabletop extruder is designed specifically to process high-performance, high-viscosity engineering polymers that require high screw torque. To do this, Wayne has used a double-reduction, helical gear box previously only available on larger, heavy-duty extruders. The small extruders are available in 0.75-in. and 1-in. models with L/Ds of 20:1 and 25:1. (CIRCLE 24)

Process Control Corp., Atlanta, and HydReclaim Corp., Fenton, Mich., showed new gravimetric feeders for extrusion lines. Process Control displayed its latest gravimetric additive feeders designed to complement the company's Gravitrol gravimetric coextrusion control system. These new feeders reportedly enable processors to control additive percentages by weight with accuracy to [+ or -]0.5%. (CIRCLE 25)

HydReclaim unveiled its new Model 270 self-adjusting gravimetric feeder, said to prevent overfeeding of concentrates or additives. With computer control the new feeder automatically adjusts for bulk-density and pellet-size changes. As the computer keeps track of the amount of material being metered, it continually adjusts the motor drive of the feeder to maintain the preset feed rate. (CIRCLE 26)

NEW FOR INJECTION MOLDING

Methods Plastics Machinery, Sudbury, Mass., displayed for the first time a closed-loop control system for its line of Shinwa Seiki molding machines from Japan. Included in the system is a fully programmable mold setup feature capable of storing up to 30 complete setups on a memory card. (CIRCLE 27)

HPM Corp., Mt. Gilead, Ohio,