Wittmann: Clear Tube Offers Visual Material Monitoring

FEEDMAX B clear tube conveying unit

WITTMANN has introduced a clear tube feature for their FEEDMAX B material loaders. The new VVM (Visual Material Monitoring) feature is achieved by simply placing a glass cylinder between the stainless steel center section and the stainless steel material flow cone, to provide a clear view of the material inventory in the loader. This simple design also allows easy retrofitting of existing FEEDMAX B vacuum loaders while they are on the machine, blender, dryer or other resin consuming equipment. And, because of the tool-less assembly of the loaders, the complete retrofit takes only a few minutes.

FEEDMAX B material loaders with the clear tube feature retain all their functionality and features common to the other FEEDMAX B loader models. In fact, the loaders benefit from an increase in material capacity for added flexibility as the glass cylinder has a volume of 5 liters and is designed to fit loaders with 3, 6 and 10 liter body cylinders. All units are suited for dedicated as well as common material line conveying. The loaders can be equipped as an option with a triple-shielded capacitive level sensor in order to avoid programming and faulty entry of loading times.

The construction of the FEEDMAX B loaders otherwise remains unchanged including the slanted center section which not only makes it visually unique but also offers the highest functionality. By slanting the cylindrical part of the center section, a greater cross sectional area of the loader is achieved thereby guaranteeing easiest access for thorough cleaning. As frequent material changes are common in practical applications, easy cleaning is essential for long life and efficient use of the material hopper.

Like all FEEDMAX B loaders, a pneumatically actuated material discharge bell is used for positive discharge, eliminating material hang-ups or other problems associated with flapper valve designs. By pneumatically actuating the discharge bell, atmospheric pressure differences between the interior of the loader and the discharge cone have no influence on the function of the unit. This also eliminates the need for a filter in the cone which would otherwise need to be cleaned after material changes.

The FEEDMAX B loader design provides mounting of the screen as an integral part of the cover to allow easy handling. The screen is fixed to the lid and rotates out of the interior when the lid is opened and is automatically placed in the correct position between the material inlet and vacuum outlet when the lid is closed. Besides convenient access to the unit, a further safety feature is realized as the user, if standing on the machine, ladder or platform, does not need to handle a separate screen. When cleaning the screen the lid can be simply removed from the hinge and blown off with compressed air as there are no vacuum or materials lines connected to the lid. The preformed stainless steel screen is designed for the toughest applications.