Top 5000 P Elmet has upgraded its dosing system for injection molding of two-component liquid silicone rubber (LSR). The Top 5000 P is designed for high-volume production and is suitable for shot weights ranging from less than 0.1 gram to several pounds. It can accommodate 20-liter and 200-liter drums and has an open design to make drum changes easier.
What's new? A scanner that reads a bar code on the drum. Elmet worked with LSR component supplier Wacker Chemical Corp., which now provides its drums with a label that has a bar code in addition to the usual A or B designation. Elmet provides a hand-held bar-code scanner with the Top 5000 P; the system's control unit only allows the pump to be immersed in a new drum if it recognizes the correct bar code. In the hopes that the system will be widely adopted in the industry, the company did not patent it. Two other large suppliers of raw materials for LSR molding are considering using the labeling system, according to Elmet.
Benefits The elimination of costly mistakes when processing LSR components. The new labeling system prevents the downtime and time-consuming cleaning work that results when workers inadvertently mix up A and B components.
Elmet North America Inc., Lansing, Mich., www.elmet.com/en; U.S. sales representative Bob Pelletier, 517-580-9001
