Motan-Colortronic now provides Minicolor dosing units with disc dosing. They are particularly suitable for consistent dosing of small quantities and for applications where screw dosing is too imprecise or unsuitable due to the properties of the bulk material. Moreover, disc dosing is ideal for fast cycling injection moulding and for force-fed extruders.
High-quality mixing and extremely accurate and consistent dosing are key requirements when it comes to dosing additives directly on the processing machine. Minicolor dosing and mixing units meet and exceed these demands. Up to two granulate additives can be simultaneously dosed into the free-flowing stream of the main component.
A cruciform in the mixing neck divides the main component into two streams. The additive is fed into the central void by means of screw or disc dosing. All components then flow together to produce a homogeneous mixture. Dosing is either sychronised with the plasticization time of the injection moulding machine or continuously, matching the extruder’s screw speed.
When dosing small or very small quantities, high precision is essential, because even tiny variations in fill level can have a significant impact. Equipped with a disc dosing device, the Minicolor V delivers true volumetric dosing with maximum precision, even where flow rates are extremely low. The principle is akin to using level measuring spoons: the material flows out of the hopper onto a rotating dosing disk with defined cavities (chambers).
A scraper ensures that the chambers are completely filled and the surfaces are level, not conical. For high to medium flows rates, the disc dosing units are equipped with an elastic wiping lip; for low to very low flow rates, an exchangeable cutting blade is used. This cuts through the granules to increase the fill level, delivering even greater consistency.
The best dosing disc for each application depends on the dosing rate required and the behaviour of the dosing material. For the MINICOLOR V, motan-colortronic provides nine different discs. Low-wear versions are optionally available for hard to handle, abrasive materials.
The MinicoloR is mounted directly onto the feed throat of the processing machine, which saves space. For calibration purposes, the dosing unit simply retracts to enable the additive to be caught and measured. Dosing stations can be changed over quickly and easily.
Two dosing and mixing controllers, suitable for both injection moulding and extrusion applications, are available. The user-friendly VOLU MC microprocessor controller with timer is designed for a Minicolor unit with a single dosing head. The VOLUnet MC controller comes with a graphical display with a touchscreen for the graphical user interface. It can store up to 50 recipes, supports one or two dosing heads, and integrates with the Motan CONTROLnet network via a standard Ethernet interface.
