A major U.S. compounder of PVC purchased their first Applicon blender/cooler in 2006, and a few years later were adding a new compounding line, with Henschel ™ high intensity mixer, a multi-batch blender/cooler, and continuous gravimetric feeding to the extruder & pelletizer. They contact
ed Applicon again for the mid-line equipment.
The new all stainless steel blender-cooler is longer than the earlier blender, 5 ft. swept diameter x 13 ft. long U-tub body. The machine, while still using a paddle style agitator, is augmented by a ribbon spiral to enhance lateral transfer at the center of the agitator.
The 7" diameter main shaft carries massive spokes, which in turn carry the paddles & ribbon. This industrial application did not require a sanitary finish, so the customer chose not to incur that extra expense. Because the dry blend was somewhat abrasive, they did chose the more expensive shaft seals with self adjusting face seal ring and air purge.
The blender body has an integrally welded cooling jacket to provide better heat transfer than a bolt-on or separately welded jacket.
The blender discharges cooled compound into a high capacity continuous gravimetric feeder (loss-in-weight), metering up to 13,000 lb/hr of product to the extruder below. This 65 cu.ft. gravimetric feeder is equipped with a stirred bottom that maintains a uniform bulk density after the refill, and insures positive flow to the feed screw.
A second smaller Applicon loss-in-weight feeder, with vacuum hopper loader, handles color concentrate. That feeder is integrated with the compound feeder, slaved by weight to ratio meter color concentrate directly to the extruder.
