Page 72 - Plastics News September 2016

PRODUCT NEWS
Graham introduces MVP® system
Graham Engineering Corporation has introduced its
MVP® system, latest addition to Graham wheel blow
molding machine portfolio, comprises two proprietary
innovations: a self-contained, modular clamp design,
and a variable pitch feature. Combined with the Quick-
Change™ mold system, this radically new design offers
the precision and output of a Graham wheel with the
versatility of a shuttle. Key features of the system
include: i) Recon?gurability between 12 and 24 stations,
ii) Ablility to produce bottles up to 16 in. (40cm) tall, European trade show debut
iii) Capability of varying bottle height up to 28% within
a con?guration, iv) Quick-Change™ molds at about 5
minutes per station
v) Capability of up to 8 rpm, with bottles per hour
capacities of 11,520 for single-parison operation and
46,080 for dual-parison, neck-to-neck operation. The
Revolution MVP system offers unprecedented ?exibility
from a simple change of molds, to a change of height
within a con?guration for running a different bottle, to
completely changing the wheel to a new con?guration
with a different number of stations.
A key Graham Engineering innovation at the heart of the
Revolution MVP is the modular clamp station. Each clamp
station is independent of the others and all forces are
self-contained within the clamp. Water manifolds through
the platens to facilitate a mold change, and individual
clamps can be removed for of?ine maintenance to reduce
downtime. This modularity enables the user to vary the
number of clamp stations from 12 to 24 on the same
platform and con?gure the wheel based on the application
and bottle height. Variable pitch creates a multiplier
Plastics News | S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 6 72
effect, enabling up to 100 possible positions on the same
platform. This allows a range of bottle sizes to be run on
a single platform and also provides ?ash optimization at
each bottle height, particularly important for multilayer
applications. Each clamp station is adjustable from
39 to 47 inches (in 1-inch increments). It takes about
?ve minutes per clamp station to vary the pitch with a
simple mechanical adjustment. The Revolution MVP offers
unprecedented ?exibility and can be custom con?gured
for a range of applications. The system can comprise up
to ten extruders in sizes from 40 to 175mm for monolayer,
trilayer, multilayer coex, or view stripe applications.
Easy to start up, the Revolution MVP produces good
bottles in 4 or 5 revolutions, with a stabilized process
in 10 or15 minutes.In-mold labeling (IML) is available at
rates up to 120 bottles per minute, and bottle takeout
options include rotary or star wheel.The system features
the award-winning Graham Engineering XBM Navigator®
control system with a 15 inch touchscreen operator panel.
Conair's R-PRO making
Conair Group’s patent-pending R-PRO, dense-phase,
vacuum conveying system will make its ?rst appearance
at a European trade show at K 2016 (Hall 10, stand J59).
The R-PRO minimizes pallet fracturing, angel hair and
equipment
wear caused by
conventional
dilute-phase
conveying.
Pellets move
at slow speeds
in dense slugs
of material.
Material speeds can range from as slow as 230 feet per
minute up to 1,200 feet per minute.The R-PRO results in
a slower ?ow of material that causes less resin damage
without limiting throughput. Other Conair innovations at
K will be a new FLX-128 Plus conveying control, which
now can be set up to operate the R-PRO, a new Mobile
Drying/Conveying (MDC) system with standard color
touchscreen control interface, and several examples
of Conair’s MedLine range of auxiliary equipment for
clean rooms.