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Bulk Material Mixer MIX-A-LOT – Application Range Extended to Flakes and Powders

For extrusion applications in the plastics industry

At K 2022, we will be presenting a further development of the proven MIX-A-LOT bulk material mixer. Thanks to the optimization of the mixing tool, it is now also suitable for admixing flakes, a process step that is frequently required in the recycling of plastics. In addition, powder can now also be added to the granules. The proportion can be up to 25%, depending on the properties of the recipes.

As an optional addition to the compounding plants made by this manufacturer, the bulk material mixer MIX-A-LOT ensures particularly efficient, high-speed and gentle homogenization of the fed material. The readily accessible and easy to clean MIX-A-LOT is available in three sizes for throughput rates up to 5 t/h, there is also an ATEX version. The surface of the mixing chamber can be electro polished.

The combination of an outstanding mixing effect and extremely short mixing time is due to the optimized design of the mixing rotor. Its low circumferential velocities and the optimum design of the gap to the housing, permit gentle handling without particle destruction or heating of the product. The large inspection door on the front of the MIX-A-LOT provides easy access to the entire process chamber. An additional opening at the discharge flap also facilitates inspection and cleaning of this section.

Tests under production conditions in the Coperion Test Center

At the Coperion Test Center in Weingarten/Niederbiegen, Germany, a MIX-A-LOT in size 400 with a throughput capacity of up to 1.5 t/h is permanently installed. It is available for tests with a wide variety of recipes on an industrial scale. Through the tests, we ensure that the respective requirements are fully met under production conditions.

Excellent cost-efficiency thanks to lower investment and maintenance costs

Up to now it has generally been standard practice to feed each individual component to the extruder through a separate differential loss-in-weight feeder with a buffer hopper. However, using this technique, the new MIX-A-LOT first produces the specific pellet mixture, for which one single loss-in-weight feeder is then sufficient. The weighing function of the mixer ensures accurate recording of the weight of each component fed in, to guarantee correct dosing according to the recipe. As the MIX-A-LOT is of vacuum and pressure-resistant design, direct pneumatic feeding is possible without the need for a separate reception bin for pneumatic conveying.

This simplified plant concept allows the reduction of investment and maintenance costs compared to conventional systems. The cleaning effort during changes of product has been greatly reduced, and much less space is required above the extruder.

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