Pelletizing

The pelletizing industry is so vast that addressing each possible pelletizer material is nearly impossible. However, most pelletizers fall into a handful of broad categories. Each of these groups has unique pelletizer blade concerns and requirements.

Two Common Types of Pelletizing

Pelletizing falls into one of two types: underwater and strand.

Underwater Pelletizers

Underwater pelletizers require blades that can stand-up to the harsh environments created during the pelletizing process. If the material to be cut is corrosive or acidic, a blade material that is tough, corrosion resistant, and possibly even coated with a wear resistant material may provide the greatest value.

Underwater pelletizing is often used to process recycled materials, which can be particularly

The balance of maintenance cost versus downtime is the most common question we receive from our industrial cutting customers. Maintenance-induced downtime is costly in so many ways. Obviously, when a machine is down for maintenance it is not running production; however, production loss is not the only factor. There is also the cost associated with replacement parts, labor, and maintenance materials.

Evaluating each factor that contributes to maintenance-induced downtime costs allows your business to make optimal decisions. For underwater pelletizing applications that demand maximum up-time, Titanium Carbide (TiC) blades may be an ideal choice. Blades manufactured of Nikro 128 or Nikro 143 provide substantially higher wear and corrosion resistance over standard tool steel and even tungsten carbide blades. As a

In today's advanced manufacturing world, plastics are used to produce everything from lawn furniture and automobile dashboards to medical tubing, computers, and children's toys such as Legos. Plastic molding (sometimes spelled moulding) is the process of pouring liquid plastic into a hollow form so that it hardens into that shape when it cools.

There are a variety of different plastic molding processes. The type of molding process put into use depends on the product being manufactured. Regardless of which type of plastic molding process is in use, there are cutting requirements at various points whether it's the pelletizing of virgin material to make plastic pellets, trimming the excess plastic from a finished part, or plastic recycling knives at the end of the line to granulate excess material so it can be used at the beginning of the process.

The following are considered some of the most effective forms of plastic molding manufacturing.

One of the goals of the plastics industry is to close the loop of plastic production to increase the use of existing materials and significantly reduce waste. You can't turn around without seeing plastics. They're absolutely everywhere. As far as materials go, plastic is cheap and can be used in seemingly endless applications. It's estimated that a single plastic bag only has a 15-minute lifespan. Brief use of plastic products has become a hallmark of what many consider to be a modern disposable lifestyle in which many plastic products are only used once.

1. Globally, over 1-million plastic bottles are used every minute
2. 5-trillion single-use plastic bags are used annually
3. 300-million tons of plastic waste is produced every year
4. Only 9%

The critical importance of reducing the amount of waste in landfills is more prevalent than ever. As environmental concerns increase, granulating operations globally are growing in number and looking for ways to maximize efficiency by increasing output and reducing costs.

How granulator knives fit and how sharp they are have a significant impact on the efficiency of any granulating operation. Well-maintained knives reduce dust and fine-free, uniform regrinds. Dull blades do the opposite and produce regrinds of various sizes with dust and fines. Granulator blades that are not well-maintained can cause premature wearing of the knives and can make setting the desired gap impossible.

The Gap

The gap between

Most underwater pelletizers look to their blades when pellets change consistency or production decreases. As the most common wear-out part, underwater pelletizing blades should be inspected at routine intervals. However, many operators miss-out on cost reduction opportunities by skipping die inspections and maintenance.

Both carbide-faced and solid D2 or M2 pelletizer dies can be sent out for maintenance to dramatically reduce maintenance costs. Carbide-faced dies provide longer useful life than standard tool steel dies and are generally utilized in polypropylene and polyethylene pelletizing applications in clean environments. If minimized upfront costs are the primary concern, dies manufactured of solid tool steels provide a less expensive alternative to carbide-faced dies.

The best approach is to dig out and eliminate problems where they are assumed not to exist. “ Shigeo Shingo

How to Implement a Die Maintenance

Underwater pelletizers know that machine uptime is paramount. When pelletizers are down, production suffers. Minimizing blade and die change-out ensures that maximum productivity is achieved and increases the lifetime of the pelletizer.

In an effort to reduce pelletizer downtime, some operators push dies past their limits. As a result, pellets become inconsistent and may require re-processing and pelletizer blades must be changed more often. If pellets are not re-processed, customers may be shipped inferior product resulting in customer dissatisfaction and eventual loss of business.

Forgoing maintenance also negatively impacts the pelletizer machine and leads to breakdowns. Significant pelletizer breakdowns require failure analysis and extended repair times. This increases long-term shutdowns and contributes to decreased production and loss of profits. In extreme cases, pelletizer machines can be ruined by

Industrial improvement projects often boil down to a central theme: do it better, for less cost. However, these two goals can seem run at odds with one another, but their opposition is only surface deep, especially where maintenance is concerned.

Most of us have experienced the frustration of a dead car battery or a flat tire. It always seems to happen at the most inconvenient time, causing us to miss out on an important meeting at work or a much anticipated social event.

In the moment, our actions are fueled by heightened anxiety. The issue must be resolved¦now! This urgent need drives us to spend more money on a fix than we would typically deem acceptable just to find a resolution as quickly as possible. If our tire blows-out on the highway or our battery dies in a dangerous part of town, our failure to perform preventive maintenance could even pose a physical threat, both to us and those around us. If we fail to get our oil changed on time, we are putting undue stress

In the past six decades, since the mass production of plastics began, the global production of plastics has increased rapidly resulting in the development of 8.3 billion metric tons of plastics. Since plastics take more than 400 years to degrade, plastics recycling programs are essential to ensure both the health of our planet and the health of the plastics industry.

Recycling plastics keeps the product out of landfills and oceans; however, we need to recycle more. According to Science Advances, 79 percent of the plastic produced in the previous 60 years is accumulating in landfills or resting as litter.

Why is recycling plastics so important?

At some point,the United

When the life of your granulating blade is optimized, your entire granulating process is improved. Your production lines experience less downtime, your output is consistent and reliable, and your work environment is safer and more efficient.

Utilizing a precision granulator knife sharpener, establishing an appropriate feed rate, and accurately setting the gap between your granulator blades ensures the highest possible efficiency from your operation.

Pride, precision, and perfect product. “ Tom Buchanan

Precision Sharpening Your Granulator Blades

Granulating requires precision blades. To properly maintain your knives and achieve optimum life and performance, blades must be professionally sharpened by a vendor with precision grinding experience. Many vendors claim to offer granulator