Extrusion International 4-2023-USA

57 Extrusion International 4/2023 High-Performance Ceramic Cutting Blade „CE20S“ for Strand Pelletizers Schoenenberger has expanded its product range and now offers high-performance ceramics in addition to the proven premium carbide cutting blades and Stellite cutting blades. These new, innovative ceramic cutting blade complement the existing range and offer a powerful extension for demanding applications. T he use of ceramic cutting blades in strand pelletizers is not new and has been used for decades. New is, that Schönenberger has developed the new high-per- formance ceramic „CE20S“ together with a renowned ceramic manufacturer. This technical ceramic has excellent wear and abra- sion resistance, which means that „CE20S” cutting blade can have a longerlife time than comparable ce- ramic materials. Moreover, the “CE20S” has an excellent chemical sta- bility which makes it resistant to many chemicals includ- ing acids, alkalis and aggressive process water. Characteristic for the “CE20S” is the high hardness, achieved by a higher density of the technical ceramic, as well as the extended high fracture toughness (elas- ticity), which is redefined by the addition of stabilisers. In the manufacture of the technical high-perfor- mance ceramics, the company attach great importance to precise dimensional accuracy. This means that each cutting blade conforms exactly to the given specifications. The thread is directly inserted into the “CE20S”, so there are no threaded metal bushings, which can lead to corrosion. In summary, the new “CE20S” cutting blade is a tech- nological advancement that is convincingly wear-resis- tant and extremely corrosion-resistant thanks to its ex- traordinary properties. The fine-grained structure and the addition of stabilizers increase the fracture tough- ness and the stability of the cutting edges. The “CE20S” is available for all renowned strand pel- letizer manufacturers. Special dimensions can also be produced on request. H. Schönenberger GmbH Plochinger Str. 36, 73779 Deizisau, Germany schoenenberger-messer.de for the PowerCast XL line compared to 90 Wh/kg for the MiniCast. Decreasing heat emissions Insulating hot surfaces, which are subject to heat loss due to radiation, is a very effective and inexpensive method to cut energy costs. Furthermore, insulation, for example on melt adapters, can be easily retrofitted. Measurements have shown that the power consump- tion per 1 m length to maintain the set temperature of an adapter can be decreased from 8 kWh without any insulation to 6 kWh with insulation (- 25 %). SML has also modified the heating/cooling-unit for the extruder barrel in order to reduce radiation losses in the heating mode by up to 30 %. Detecting hidden energy consumption in peripheral equipment Pump drives or blowers frequently operate at full speed, regardless of the line speed and output. By install- ing frequency converters and modifying the machine control, the drive speeds and, thus, the power required can be adjusted to demand without affecting the output of the line. A further step is to use bitWise, SML's data generation and analysing tool to optimise the machine parameters to exploit the full savings potential. SML Maschinengesellschaft mbH Gewerbepark Ost 32, 4846 Redlham, Austria www.sml.at