Self-cleaning granulator for blow moulding

Continuous market evolution and technical development of plastics blow moulding cause more and more frequent materials and colours changes, therefore considering that to clean a standard machine are required twenty minutes at average, the operators’ need is to do it as quick as possible minimizing human intervention.
In this respect, TRIA has worked out a high-tech solution available on 4 granulators of Series 30 and Series 42 that can be perfectly integrated to the blow moulding machine or installed as stand-alone grinders.

Several devices, applied to standard machines, have contributed to the target achievement.
Compressed air jets have been placed into the grinding chamber and the hopper.
An active ionization bar integrated in the hopper removes electrostatic charges from regrind material and dust.
Air jets, granulator motor, suction system and a directional air vibrator applied to the funnel are driven by an automatic Stop&Go cycle controlled by a simple PLC. These devices operate in a sequence of 5 minutes only, move and detach regrind material and dust from all internal parts of the granulator making evacuation by aspiration easier.
Frontal conveyor, hopper and discharge funnel are internally coated by non-stick, anti-static, low-roughness, resistant up to 200°C material, suitable for food contact and functional to avoid regrind material accumulation on treated surfaces.
The same conveyor, hinged to the hopper, is easy to open and the flap mounted into the hopper , it is removed using the same operation. Inside the grinding chamber there is a special plate to avoid fly-back.

Several and long-lasting tests at customers’ and OEM’s premises demonstrate the strength of this solution: the amount of residual regrind material and dust decreases by about 80% compared to a standard machine and the final manual cleaning time of 60-80%, depending on the size of the machine. Hopper and grinding chamber, which are typically the hardest parts to be cleaned, are self-cleaned and only a small amount of regrind material remains on screen and funnel.