World premiere in color dosing for viscous and hard media: Novosystems combines liquid color and masterbatch dosing in one systemNovosystems has radically improved its WB4000 pump, creating a system for color dosing that can handle masterbatch granulate media. This breakthrough means that plastic manufacturers can now dose liquid color and feed granulate to be colored, using just one dosing system. The basis of this multifunctional system is the WB4000 pump combined with a dedicated granulate feed accessory, the ZHD 2000 Easy Feed.
The proven WB4000 pump serves as the drive unit in masterbatch mode. The WB4000 now also works with the granulate feed accessory ZHD 2000 Easy Feed for feeding and dosing of microbatch, masterbatch, granulate and regranulate. A tailor-made flange interface ensures quick and simple changes between feeding granulate and dosing liquid colors. The WB4000 enables precise dosing with minimum variance while ensuring optimal consumption and high color quality with liquid colors and with granulates.
Premiere: Choice of masterbatch or granulate deployment
The WB4000 device makes the choice of deploying hard or liquid color media possible for the first time. The user can, in general, choose one variant – however, depending on the customer wishes, can switch between both media. This is of particular interest for subcontracted production work where manufacturers have to comply with customers’ specifications regarding color media. As a result, microbatch, conventional masterbatch and granulate additives can all be fed using the system. Concerning feed volume, the ZHD 2000 Easy Feed compares well with other feed equipment on the market and can be flexibly tailored to handle small volumes right up to large throughputs, depending on production requirements.
Complete process control
The performance range of the WB4000 dosing system covers injection and extrusion modes with regranulate modulation, monitoring of dosing volumes and remaining quantities. Mixing and dosing datas are recorded by the WB4000 dosing machine in protocols and saved in databases. In addition, the unit can be connected to existing data infrastructure using a LAN cable, Blue Tooth and WLAN. As a result, recipe changes can be inputed via a mobile handheld Palm computer via WLAN. Alternatively these changes can be carried out using a central PC or laptop via RF Master. Novosystems provides special software for these system management options which can handle up to 100 dosing machines.
Universal deployment
Novosystems took into account the many different requirements of plastic manufacturing including the issue of throughput volumes – from the use of liquid colors for laboratory extruders and micro-injection right up to pipe extrusion applications when designing the new universal WB4000 dosing system. Manufacturers can deploy liquid colors or masterbatch for injection molding, extrusion and PU production while maintaining complete flexibility with just one dosing system. With the advanced multi-purpose WB4000 new possibilities and potential exist together with significantly more flexibility in deploying colors in the manufacture of plastic products.
