By Ron Shinn
Manufacturers of granulators are seeing demand for equipment that produces a consistent, better-quality granulate at higher throughputs and can be easily connected to a plant’s Industry 4.0 system.
Emphasis on sustainability throughout the plastics supply chain is pushing innovation. Here are a few of the new machines shown at NPE2024.
CMG goes big
CMG made a big splash with a big granulator — the EV916, with a capacity of 15,000 pounds per hour.
The unit is 28 feet tall, with a footprint of 10 feet by 27 feet. The EV916 system was displayed with an evacuation cyclone with integral dedusting chamber and a new air/powder automatic filtration system.
The EV916 is the second machine in the Evoluzione series, joining the smaller EV616. Both have a newly designed cutting chamber and are suitable for wet or dry granulation.
The rotor configuration allows the rotor to cut the plastic feedstock in a perpendicular direction against the bed blades. Rotor blades are mounted on the edge of the rotor holding modules and not on a holding block. This provides easy access from the front of the machine for service or blade replacement, cutting blade replacement time in half, CMG said.
Anti-wear Hardox plates in the cutting chamber are easy to replace because of the unit’s configuration.
Industry 4.0-based controls monitor operating temperature, blade wear, productivity, operational efficiency and energy use. All the parameters can be managed on the machine or remotely.
The EV916 has an open type rotor that is about 3 feet in diameter. The rotor is about 5.3 feet long. Available motor sizes range from 215 horsepower (hp) to 335 hp.
The open rotor configuration takes up only 30 percent of the cutting chamber volume.
The company said the chamber volume utilization ratio of 30-to-70 compares to a 70-to-30 ratio in most other granulators, allowing the EV916’s cutting chamber to accommodate more than twice as much material. This increases the granulator’s capacity.
An optional feed pusher can increase capacity by an additional 40 percent, the company said.
CMG said the rotor’s rotation does not produce a drag effect, which means the mass of material in the cutting chamber does not rotate with the rotor. This results in less dust and fewer fine particles, which normally would need to be removed in the washing process.
The EV916 also has CMG’s Adaptive Motor Power (AMP), which enables the granulator to automatically establish the best power level according to the temperature, quantity of material to be ground, and the shape, weight, thickness and type of plastic.
CMG said the AMP function results in energy savings that will allow users to see a return on investment in less than 12 months. Power consumption is cut by 30 percent, the company said.
Piovan Sp.A. is one of the equity holders of CMG, based in Bologna, Italy, and CMG products are available in North America through Piovan’s Universal Dynamics subsidiary.
Genox expands GCV line
Genox has expanded its GCV series of shredder-granulator combination units with a smaller model, the GCV400.
The Chinese manufacturer introduced the GCV line to the North American market last year. The GCV model joins the GCV600 and GCV800.
The newest model has a hopper opening of 15.7 inches by 15.7 inches, a 10-hp shredder motor and 15-hp granulator motor. Total weight is 2,425 pounds.
The GCV400 can be used to process materials ranging from plastic purge and film to wood and fiber.
The upper section of the machine is a single-shaft shredder capable of high torque and lower-speed cutting, and includes a ram to force material into the rotor.
Shredded material falls directly into the granulator rotor, which is located beneath the shredder rotor.
Genox said the combined unit is durable, has a smaller footprint than two separate machines and is easy to maintain. Overall dimensions are 4.8 feet by inches long, 3.4 inches wide and 6.7 feet high.
Shredding operation length is 15.7 inches, shredding rotation diameter is 6.7 inches and rotation speed is 90 rpm. The shredder part of the unit has 13 + 2 shredding rotor knives and four counter knives. All GCV models have one shredder screen.
The granulator section has a rotation diameter of 10.2 inches and speed of 550 rpm, with six granulator rotor knives and one counter knife.
The granulator screen has 0.5-inch openings.
Rapid Granulator GT1100 arrives
Rapid Granulator’s new GT1100 model, first introduced at K2022, is now available in the U.S. market after being shown at NPE.
It is the latest product from Rapid Granulator designed to be a more-compact and less-expensive solution, according to Jim Hoffman, president of Rapid Granulator Inc. in Pennsylvania.
“The design features minimal floor space, easy setup and operation,” Hoffman said. “Features include easy portability and maneuvering in and around the tight constraints of the production line. Easy-to-remove access panels make maintenance on-site easier and faster than other models for the same sector.”
The GT1100 is built to be easily integrated into a thermoforming line to granulate skeletal waste. It has both external loop control and optional pneumatic control. The loop-control arm is mounted in front of the machine and is removable for machine service and cleaning.
Rotor diameter is about 13.8 inches with five blades in an open configuration. Ten rotating and six fixed, pre-adjusted knives are angled for an optimal scissor cut and to reduce noise and energy consumption. The cutter house is 44 inches by 13.8 inches.
Hoffman said the machine’s screen and knife design prevents excessive noise and dust and improves granulate quality.
The screen is reversible.
Throughput is up to 1,984 pounds per hour. Five motor sizes are available, from about 15 hp to 40 hp, with 30 hp being the standard motor.
Contact:
Genox USA, St. Petersburg, Fla., 724-960-1146, www.genoxusa.com
Piovan UnaDyn, Fredericksburg, Va., 703-490-7000, www.cmg-granulators.com
Rapid Granulator Inc., Leetsdale, Pa., 724-584-5220, www.rapidgranulator.com
Ron Shinn | Editor
Editor Ron Shinn is a co-founder of Plastics Machinery & Manufacturing and has been covering the plastics industry for more than 35 years. He leads the editorial team, directs coverage and sets the editorial calendar. He also writes features, including the Talking Points column and On the Factory Floor, and covers recycling and sustainability for PMM and Plastics Recycling.
