Extrusion International USA 5-2022

58 Extrusion International 5/2022 K 2022 Two Innovations for the Circular Economy Live at the Booth T he color of anendproduct is nowan important aspect of modern brand- ing. With ColorAdjust fromKraussMaf- fei, color variations with input goods of different colors are a thing of the past. The innovative system combines a color measuring device with photo- spectrometer technology and machine control to ensure precise, reproducible colors. Visitors can observe the fully au - tomatic color correction process at the K trade show. In the CircularEconomy process on the booth, a twin-screw extruder compounds shredded medi - cal caps into a fiber-reinforced, color- precise recyclate. The ColorAdjust solution developed by KraussMaffei is the first of its kind on the market. It is designed not only for contactless monitoring of color variations, but to compensate even for minor deviations by directly adjusting the precise color setpoint. This gives compound processors high reproduc- ibility even when processing input ma- terials of varying color spectrum. The color setpoint is rapidly achieved when starting the compounding process after a stop as well as in the event of color changes. In view of the fact that start-up scraps and reject material to be subsequently disposed of are thus minimized, ColorAdjust ensures sus- tainable and highly efficient produc - tion of reclaim material. This will save not only time andmoney, but above all valuable rawmaterials. Sustainable production with fully automatic color correction during compounding KraussMaffei’s ColorAdjust system comprises two units: A spectral pho- tometer determines the color of the cooled reclaimed pellets in the vibra- tion chute and transmits the corre- sponding results to the machine con- trol system. These values are used to control the color metering unit that is equipped with at least four colors and four metering devices. Upon re- quest, the system can be expanded to six colors to flexibly cover the entire color spectrum that the human eye can distinguish. The color can generally be added in masterbatch or liquid form. The ColorAdjust system adjusts the colors fully automatically without any operator intervention. Thanks to its in- tegration into the twin-screw extruder control system, it can be operated eas- ily from the central control panel. From insulin pen caps to automotive door modules At the KraussMaffei booth in Dues- seldorf, interested visitors can get a live experience of the entire material cycle: from polypropylene virgin mate- rial used in the production process via re-compounding right through to the finished reclaimed material. The PX 200-1400 injection molding machine equipped with a 96-fold tool produces insulin pen caps fromPP. On the down- streammill, these caps are subsequent- ly shredded to regrind. The resulting reclaimedmaterial is transferred by ap- propriate conveying systems into the ZE 28 BluePower twin-screw extruder in UltraGlide version with a processing section length of 44 D. Thanks to the UltraGlide feature, the screws can be removed automatically from the pro- cessing section for cleaning purposes, while the extruder with its ideal ratio between screw volume and torque en- sures optimum melt homogenization and color dispersion. Glass fibers and additives as required for applications in the automotive industry, for instance, can be incorporated via additional gravimetric loss-in-weight feeders. KraussMaffei www.kraussmaffei.com K 2022: Hall 15, Stand C15/C24-D24 The innovative ColorAdjust system combining a color-measuring instrument based on photo-spectrometer technology with the machine control system ensures precise and reproducible colors (Photos: KraussMaffei) KraussMaffei’s ColorAdjust system automatically monitors and corrects even minor color variations during compounding