Extrusion International USA 5-2022

54 Extrusion International 5/2022 K 2022 CENTERWAVE 6000/250 automati - cally adjusts the transceiver's rotation speed to the line speed, thus ensuring 100 % seamless quality control. Novelty: PURITY SCANNER ADVANCED with three innovative 25 µm high- resolution black and white cameras The plastics market is changing. Raw material shortages and price increases are challenging the indus- try. Consequently, the demands of the manufacturers regarding qual- ity control of pellets are also increas- ing. SIKORA takes this change into account and offers with the PURITY SCANNER ADVANCED a modular sys - tem for flexible optical online inspec - tion and sorting of plastic material. "Even the smallest, critical contamina- tion are reliably detected and sorted out by the system. Both the detection and the ejection behavior of con- taminated pellets are perfectly coor- dinated," explains Ralf Kulenkampff, Head of Sales – Plastics. Thanks to the modular concept, different camera types can be used depending on the inspected material. In addition to op- tical 25 µm high-resolution cameras, which detect black specks and discol- orations, an X-ray camera can be in- stalled to detect metallic contamina- tion. Common systems on the market have a maximum of two optical cam - eras. However, these quickly reach their limits due to relatively low cover- age as soon as the contamination are outside the cameras' field of view. "By using a third black and white camera in the PURITY SCANNER ADVANCED, a significantly higher detection rate is achieved, so that more contaminants are detected – this is unique with our system," explains Kulenkampff. The PURITY SCANNER ADVANCED automatically sorts out detected con- taminationviaablow-out unit. For opti- mizing the by-catch, SIKORA has devel- oped the "hybrid blow-out" function. The customer can define in advance which contaminants in the material are uncritical and select a smaller blow-out unit for these, so that their by-catch is reduced. These include, for example, small, light-colored black specks that frequently occur in thematerial. On the other hand, a larger blow-out unit is specified for critical contaminants, for example metal contaminants, which can impair the functionality of the sub- sequent end product. "The interaction of reliable detection and hybrid blow- out ensures the highest material qual- ity. At the same time, production pro- cesses are optimized, and the reduced by-catch contributes to cost-efficient and sustainable production," says Ku- lenkampff. Live material tests with the PURITY CONCEPT For random sample inspection of plastic pellets or test plates for speck analysis, SIKORA presents at the K the PURITY CONCEPT Systems with opti- cal inspection (PURITY CONCEPT V) or X-ray analysis (PURITY CONCEPT X). Within a few seconds, depending on the system, the test material is inspect- ed for metal contamination or optical deviations. Contaminants are auto- matically detected, visualized and sta- tistically evaluated. In a laboratory en- vironment live material tests with the PURITY CONCEPT V are offered at the SIKORA booth. Visitors are invited to send in free of charge pellet samples, which will be inspected and analyzed directly on the booth with the PURITY CONCEPT V. Alternatively, visitors can bring small quantities of their pellets directly to the booth for testing and evaluation and personally convince themselves of the precision, speed and ease of operation of the system. Service Maintaining the availability and ef- ficiency of the SIKORA systems at the customer's site is SIKORA's top prior- ity. At the K, the SIKORA service team presents the entire range of its service portfolio. From installation and com- missioning of the devices to consult- ing and training, always matching the individual customer requirements. Testing savings potential In extrusion, costs can be specifically absorbed by using sustainable measur- ing technology. For example, optimal centering in pipe production by the CENTERWAVE 6000 measuring system leads to a material savings potential of approx. 3 to 5 %. Start-up scrap is re - duced to a minimum and, in addition tomaterial, valuable production time is savedwhich can be used for processing additional production orders. In addi- tion, this saves energy during produc- tion and at the same time contributes to more sustainability by conserving valuable resources. SIKORA has devel- oped its own tool to calculate possible saving potential in terms of material, production time, costs and CO 2 emis- sions which will be presented for the first time to a broad audience at the K. SIKORA AG www.sikora.net K 2022: Hall 10, Stand F14 The combination of three optical high-resolution black and white cameras ensures the highest detection of contamination from 25 µm in plastic pellets The “Hybrid blow-out” feature allows the customer to select which impurities in the material are not critical and to choose a smaller blow-out unit for these, so that their by-catch is reduced. Live material tests at K: Customers are invited to bring small quantities of plastic material to be inspected by the PURITY CONCEPT V at the SIKORA booth